Binance's Greek MiCA Bid Hits Roadblock Amid Lagarde Intervention Reports

Binance's bid for a MiCA licence in Greece has stalled after it withdrew its application before the deadline. According to CoinDesk, citing The Wall Street Journal, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intervened in the process, although this claim is not confirmed by Greek authorities.

The application was submitted to the Hellenic Capital Market Commission for permission to operate as a crypto-asset service provider under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. A successful grant would have allowed Binance to provide authorised services across the EU through passporting, but this will no longer be possible without re-applying.

The reported intervention is attributed to people familiar with the process and not a published finding by the Greek regulator. The actual outcome is that Binance did not obtain the authorisation before the relevant transitional deadline and withdrew its application.