TL;DR:
- Richard Teng said regulators invited Binance to apply for new crypto licenses after the exchange withdrew its MiCA application in Greece.
- Teng said Binance had submitted a fully compliant application, but approval delays created a short transition window for users.
- After MiCA’s July 1 transition deadline, 70% of withdrawn EU user funds went to self-hosted wallets, while Binance saw $1.23 billion in weekly net outflows across Europe during that week.
Binance is again looking for regulated entry points in Europe after withdrawing its MiCA license application in Greece, with co-CEO Richard Teng saying regulators have since invited the exchange to apply elsewhere. Speaking at Reuters NEXT Asia in Singapore, Teng said the discussions remain “premature” and declined to name the jurisdictions. The reversal is awkward because MiCA was supposed to simplify European access through one framework. Instead, Binance’s licensing path has become a moving target, shaped by timing pressure, regulator discretion and user migration after the Greek setback. That makes the next license venue commercially important for customers, regulators and rivals tracking Binance’s European operating model after MiCA’s deadline.
MiCA setback turns into a wider licensing test
The withdrawal followed reports that Greek regulators were preparing to reject Binance’s bid, though Teng said the outcome caught the company by surprise. He argued Binance had submitted a fully compliant application and said regulators had told the firm as much. According to Teng, the company withdrew because approval delays would have left users with a very short transition period. The dispute now centers on process clarity, not simply whether Binance wants a European license, because the exchange says the application was ready while the authorization timeline became commercially risky.
MiCA’s transition period expired on July 1, after which EU clients must generally be served through a MiCA-authorized entity, with limited exceptions for unsolicited cross-border business. That deadline sharpened the practical consequences of Binance’s withdrawal. Teng said 70% of funds withdrawn by EU users went to self-hosted wallets, while only 30% moved to MiCA-regulated entities. Binance also recorded $1.23 billion in net outflows during the week beginning June 29, up 207% from about $400 million the prior week. The consumer-protection outcome is therefore contested, because users did not all migrate toward licensed platforms.
The competitive backdrop is already shifting. OKX said its app downloads rose 158% between June 24 and July 5, pointing to how quickly licensed or better-positioned rivals can benefit from transition friction. Beyond Europe, Teng said Binance is expanding in Asia, citing deployments from Japan to Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia, plus a newly announced Philippines arrangement and more markets ahead. The strategic question is whether Binance can turn regulatory setbacks into licensing diversification, especially as Europe tightens market access while Asian jurisdictions remain uneven but commercially important.
