Binance Continues to Onboard EU Customers Without MiCA License

Binance's ongoing operations in the European Union have raised questions about compliance and enforcement of the bloc's landmark crypto regulation, MiCA. Despite the July 1 deadline for exchanges to halt customer recruitment without a MiCA license, Binance continued to onboard EU customers, according to an investigation by Sandmark.

Testers at Sandmark successfully registered and completed full know-your-customer verification from France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Belgium on August 19. The newly created accounts received immediate access to crypto deposit functions, with no warning about Binance's regulatory status under MiCA.

The findings suggest that Binance has not implemented geographic blocks or automated filters to prevent residents of euro-area countries from opening new accounts. This raises concerns about the exchange's compliance posture and the effectiveness of EU regulators in enforcing MiCA.

On August 14, Austria's Financial Market Authority fined Bitpanda 70,000 euros for violations tied to notification and marketing obligations under MiCA. This enforcement action illustrates the precarious position of exchanges operating without full authorization.