Lagarde Allegedly Pressed Greece to Block Binance MiCA Approval

Overview

• The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 17–18 that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally urged Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis not to approve Binance’s MiCA application, and the claim has not been publicly confirmed by the ECB, Lagarde, or Greek authorities.
• Binance withdrew its Greek MiCA application on June 24 before the Hellenic Capital Market Commission issued a decision, a move that left the exchange without an EU license after the MiCA transition deadline on July 1, 2026.
• Regulators reportedly raised two core concerns: Binance’s 2023 U.S. guilty plea and the risk that wider Binance access could increase use of U.S. dollar stablecoins inside Europe, which the ECB views as a threat to monetary sovereignty.
• After the withdrawal Binance has maintained limited European access through reverse-solicitation and an Abu Dhabi entity while ESMA has asked for information about whether the firm properly wound down unlicensed EU activities.
• The episode focuses attention on MiCA’s design—national regulators grant licenses that can be passported across the EU—and on ongoing Brussels debates about giving ESMA direct supervision of the largest crypto platforms and the Commission’s current MiCA review.