- The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance wants to permanently secure its presence in the European Union.
- For this reason, an operating license was applied for in Greece under the EU MiCA Regulation.
The regulation, the conditions of which must be fully met by all EU crypto service providers from July, creates a uniform set of rules for the crypto industry in all EU member states.
Binance: A dazzling past
The application is not a given for Binance. After all, through years of ignoring national regulations, the crypto exchange had acquired a solid reputation worldwide for ignoring existing laws and regulations.
When Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao was asked about such allegations – and this happened regularly by the press and authorities – he put on what he considered to be his friendliest smile, gave the angel of innocence and assured that all regulations would of course be adhered to at all times and everywhere.
But at some point a US prosecutor had enough. Binance-US was forcibly shut down and Zhao ended up in custody, facing the prospect of a 20-year stay in a US federal prison.
Well-connected as he was, his lawyers grilled him. He only got four months and was fined $50 million for aiding and abetting money laundering. He also received a three-year ban from working in the USA and his company Binance had to pay a fine of $4.3 billion.
Since then, no legal violations have been reported under the new Binance boss Richard Teng.
EU MiCA application in Greece
The MiCA license is valid in all EU countries, as provided for by the so-called passporting system. This opens the door to one of the largest financial markets in the world, without the need for separate approvals in each individual country.
This is remarkable Choice of Greece as a location. While in the past Binance would have preferred pleasantly corrupt countries such as Malta, Bulgaria or Romania – for well-known reasons, see above – the decision now fell on Athens.
A holding company was founded there specifically to submit the application. The Greek financial regulator HCMC is considered cooperative but strict and has not yet issued any MiCA licenses. For Binance, this could mean a quick approval process and a correspondingly quick start to business operations.
The application process is accompanied by the international auditors EY and KPMG. Greece hopes that the settlement will strengthen its financial sector and achieve an impressive corporate tax of 22%. Given Binance’s expected profits in the EU, this is an economic factor.
Signal effect
The proposal has significance beyond Greece. It shows that the industry is entering a phase of consolidation and legally secure regulation. For Binance, it is a big step towards regaining lost trust and establishing itself as a reliable, legally compliant player.
For the EU, in turn, it is a test case of how effectively the MiCAR works in practice and whether they are reliably enforced against large crypto companies in practice.
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