Report: ECB's Lagarde Halted Binance's European Union Plans

According to a Wall Street Journal report, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde prevented Binance from gaining a foothold in the European Union.

On Thursday, the newspaper stated that the major cryptocurrency exchange was near to launching within the EU, but was subsequently informed it could not proceed following the central bank chief's intervention.

Under EU regulations, any Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) operating locally must hold a MiCA license, which Binance lacks. The exchange withdrew its MiCA application in Greece back in June.

Citing interviews with officials, the newspaper report stated: "Lagarde wanted to keep the controversial crypto exchange, which pleaded guilty to financial-crime violations in the U.S., out of the European Union."

Lagarde has consistently opposed Bitcoin and supported central bank digital currencies. In 2021, she described the top cryptocurrency as "a highly speculative asset" used for money laundering. She further criticized cryptocurrencies in general and asserted that central banks would never hold bitcoin.

However, Lagarde has a contrasting stance on CBDCs. A CBDC represents a digital version of fiat currency, such as the US dollar or euro; countries globally are at various stages of development and rollout of such digital currencies.

Under Lagarde's leadership, the EU is rapidly progressing with a digital euro. She has characterized the digital euro as essential for Europe's financial independence, while also criticizing privately issued stablecoins.

Bitcoin advocates and others in the crypto sector have criticized CBDCs, fearing they could enable citizen surveillance. Upon taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting CBDCs.

The WSJ report further noted, based on multiple interviews, that Lagarde was concerned Binance would entrench the prevalence of dollar-pegged stablecoins in Europe, rather than promoting euro-based alternatives.

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, sees billions of dollars worth of stablecoin trades on its platform each day.

Binance and its CEO, Chanpeng Zhao, faced controversy when they pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering violations in 2023 and were ordered to pay a historic $4.3 billion fine.

In June, Binance stated it continued efforts to obtain MiCA authorization in a different EU member state.