Binance's EU Services Face Scrutiny Over Licensing Exemption

European regulators are investigating Binance's use of a legal exemption to continue serving customers in the European Union without authorization under the bloc's crypto rules.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and regulators in France, Germany, and Greece are examining Binance's use of reverse solicitation under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), as reported by the Financial Times on Thursday.

Binance withdrew its Greek MiCA application in June and said it would seek authorization in another EU member state.

The exemption allows non-EU crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to serve customers who approach them entirely on their own initiative, but ESMA's guidelines stress that companies cannot use it to circumvent MiCA requirements.