Lagarde Intervened to Block Binance’s Greek MiCA License Bid

The reported lobbying effort occurred in June, just as Binance was preparing to announce a major regulatory milestone. According to the report, Lagarde raised significant concerns regarding the exchange’s history of U.S. financial crime convictions and the potential for the platform to accelerate the adoption of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins within Europe. ECB officials have long feared that such digital assets could undermine the bloc’s monetary sovereignty and complicate the development of a future digital euro.

Although Binance had publicly stated its belief that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission found its application compliant, the firm withdrew its request on June 24 before a formal rejection could be issued. The move left the exchange without a MiCA-authorized gateway into the European market, forcing it to pivot toward other jurisdictions. While the ECB does not hold direct authority to grant crypto licenses, the incident highlights a broader tension between national regulators and central banking authorities over the oversight of major crypto players. As EU lawmakers continue to debate whether to centralize supervision under the European Securities and Markets Authority, Binance remains absent from the bloc’s official register of authorized firms.