Binance has begun restricting trading services for users in France and other European markets after failing to secure a Markets in Crypto-Assets license before the European Union’s July 1 deadline, marking one of the most significant compliance setbacks for the world’s largest crypto exchange.
The company told customers in France that its local entity could no longer accept new clients and would stop providing crypto-asset services from July 1, 2026. Similar notices were also sent to users in other EU markets, with reports identifying France, Italy, Poland and Spain among the affected countries. Binance said users’ assets would remain accessible, indicating that the restrictions are part of a regulatory wind-down rather than an immediate forced withdrawal process.
The move follows Binance’s unsuccessful attempt to obtain a MiCA license through Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission. Reuters reported in June that Binance was expected to lose the ability to serve EU clients after its Greek application faced rejection. The company later withdrew the application, leaving it without authorization in any EU member state before the transition period ended.
MiCA Deadline Forces Compliance Shift
MiCA allows a crypto-asset service provider licensed in one EU member state to passport services across all 27 countries in the bloc. That made Binance’s licensing outcome especially important. Without approval in at least one jurisdiction, the exchange cannot legally continue offering regulated crypto services across the EU under the new framework.
European regulators have repeatedly warned that firms without authorization must stop onboarding users and wind down unlicensed activity in an orderly manner. France’s AMF has also said unauthorized providers may face public warnings, blacklisting and website-blocking measures if they continue operating without permission.
For Binance, the disruption is a major reversal in a region it once viewed as central to its regulated expansion. The exchange previously built a significant European presence and had considered Paris an important hub. Its inability to secure a MiCA license now puts it behind rivals that have already obtained authorization or are operating through clearer national transition paths.
The company has said it remains committed to Europe and is continuing work on regulatory approval. Still, the loss of uninterrupted market access highlights how Europe’s new framework is reshaping competition. Under MiCA, scale and liquidity are no longer enough. Exchanges must meet standardized requirements covering governance, capital, custody, cybersecurity, disclosures and anti-money-laundering controls.
Regulatory History Weighs on Approval
Binance’s European setback comes against a difficult global compliance backdrop. In 2023, the company agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle U.S. charges related to anti-money-laundering, sanctions and money-transmission violations. Founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a related charge and later served a prison sentence.
European regulators have also scrutinized the group’s governance, ownership structure, executive suitability and financial-crime controls. Reports said ESMA privately raised concerns with national regulators as Binance’s MiCA application process approached the deadline. Those concerns appear to have made approval more difficult at a time when EU regulators were under pressure to show that MiCA would be enforced strictly.
For the broader market, Binance’s disruption could accelerate user migration toward licensed European platforms, including global exchanges with MiCA approval and regional providers that secured earlier authorization. It may also deepen consolidation as compliant firms gain a regulatory advantage over competitors still trying to adapt.
The episode is a defining test for MiCA. The EU designed the regime to replace fragmented national registrations with a single supervisory standard for crypto firms operating across the bloc. Binance’s failure to obtain approval shows that the new system has real consequences, even for the industry’s largest players.
For crypto exchanges, the message is clear. Europe is no longer a patchwork market where local registrations can sustain broad access indefinitely. Under MiCA, firms either meet the bloc’s unified regulatory standard or risk losing access to one of the world’s most important crypto markets.
