Lagarde Accused of Blocking Binance's MiCA License Bid

Binance's attempt to secure a MiCA license in Greece was reportedly blocked by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Binance filed for the license in January 2026 and had almost completed the process by June of that year, but then received word from a Greek regulator that Lagarde had asked Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis not to approve the application.

The WSJ reported that Lagarde was concerned about Binance's scale as the world's largest crypto exchange and its potential impact on the digital euro project. She was also reportedly concerned about Binance's record, including a $4.3 billion fine it agreed to pay in 2023 for breaching the US Bank Secrecy Act.

Despite the fact that the ECB does not formally authorize crypto-asset service providers and approval is granted by national authorities, Lagarde's alleged intervention raised questions about political influence over national supervisory authorities. Binance had no license when the transition period closed on July 1, 2026, and its French entity halted trading, cutting off around 2 million users.

Binance has not commented publicly on the report, but says it remains committed to operating under MiCA on a long-term, compliant basis. The exchange plans to seek authorization in another EU jurisdiction, but faces challenges due to the passporting model that makes MiCA attractive also making it a single point of political failure.