Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Wednesday that it withdrew MiCA application in Greece and pursue authorization in another EU Member State.
MiCA, which stands for Markets in Crypto-Assets, is a comprehensive set of regulations introduced by the European Union (EU) to govern the crypto industry.
Binance manages approximately $44 billion in bitcoin on behalf of customers and serves roughly 300 million users worldwide.
The company’s Head of Europe and the United Kingdom Gillian Lynch said the exchange was not leaving Europe. Lynch also said if the application in Greece didn’t pan out, Binance would pursue alternatives.
“Two people with knowledge of the process told Reuters that Binance has held talks with regulators in Ireland, Latvia and Greece but faced resistance in all three countries,” Reuters reported.
In January, Binance chose Greece when applying for the European bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime, the license crypto exchanges need ahead of a July 1 deadline.
Becoming MiCA compliant more difficult than expected
“We will take the necessary steps before 1 July to remain compliant with applicable requirements,” Binance said Wednesday. “This means some users may be impacted, and we will communicate directly with affected users to provide clear information on next steps.”
The European Parliament approved MiCA in April 2023 in order to establish a comprehensive framework for regulating crypto. The regime requires crypto-asset service providers to obtain authorization from a national competent authority in an EU member state.
While heralded as an achievement by some, becoming MiCA compliant has potentially been more difficult than some exchange executives expected. An OKX executive has estimated that about 80% of crypto exchanges will not survive MiCA.
Related: Greece Plans 15% Tax on Cryptocurrency Profits
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