ECB President Lagarde Personally Blocked Binance's EU License Bid: Report

The Wall Street Journal reported that Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, directly requested Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to block Binance's application for a European crypto license.

According to the report, Lagarde expressed worries about Binance's previous regulatory breaches in the US and the possibility that increased dollar stablecoin adoption might undermine the ECB's digital euro project.

A Licensing Bid That Stalled Just Before Approval

Binance submitted an application via Greek authorities for a crypto-asset service provider license under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. Under those rules, approval from any single member state grants access across the whole union.

Greek regulators informed the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in early June that they planned to give the application the green light.

The cryptocurrency exchange had made preparations for an official European rollout, which included a scheduled trip to Athens by CEO Richard Teng. BeInCrypto first reported the rejection allegation in June, at which point Binance said it would seek a license in another EU country.

A representative of Greece's securities watchdog, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), subsequently informed Binance that Lagarde was against the bid. The Journal's report cited sources close to the discussions.

The Concerns Lagarde Reportedly Had

The Journal indicated that Lagarde's resistance stemmed from Binance's previous guilty plea concerning US money laundering and sanctions offenses. She is said to have viewed that record as a warning sign for compliance issues.

The second concern for Lagarde involved the ECB's digital euro project. She is reported to have worried that Binance's presence would speed up the uptake of dollar-pegged stablecoins in Europe, thereby weakening that project.

Under MiCA, the ECB does not have any official role in licensing exchanges. That authority belongs to national regulators, and once one country approves, the license is valid throughout the EU.

Binance pulled its application in mid-June, before the HCMC issued a formal ruling. It also halted promotional activities directed at EU users after failing to meet the July deadline for licensing.