Lagarde Reportedly Blocks Binance's MiCA License Bid in Greece Amid ECB Concerns

A report from the Wall Street Journal claims that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally pressed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis against approving Binance's MiCA application.

The exchange was close to securing a license it needed to operate legally across the entire European Union, but the intervention reportedly halted the process. According to the WSJ report, Lagarde's reasoning combined two separate worries: Binance's earlier criminal case in the United States and concern that granting the world's largest crypto exchange a MiCA passport could accelerate the use of US dollar stablecoins inside the eurozone.

The European Central Bank has expressed concerns about the risks associated with dollar-denominated stablecoins, which have grown past $300 billion. Lagarde has argued that Europe risks 'digital dollarisation and a loss of monetary sovereignty' if foreign-currency stablecoins become too deeply embedded in the bloc's financial system.