MiCA: Crypto Exchange Binance Targets Greece to Bypass Hesitancy of Other Regulators

At the beginning, European crypto regulation frightened more than one exchange. Too slow, too complex, too nitpicky. Yet, over time, even the most reluctant came to see it as a necessary step. The European Union remains a major part of the global crypto community, and its market cannot be ignored. Today, Binance, long a symbol of independence, turns the page. The giant changes course, and its turn is written in Athens.

Athens, the Unexpected Gateway to MiCA

The news sent a shiver through the European crypto sphere where nearly 90 companies still lack a MiCA license. Binance has officially filed its MiCA license application with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), the Greek market authority. A choice that intrigues: Greece has not yet issued any MiCA licenses, unlike Germany (43) or the Netherlands (22).

But Athens has an advantage: an agile administration. The Binance file benefits from an accelerated procedure led by the HCMC, supported by EY, KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte. The group has also created Binary Greece, a local holding to oversee its regional activities.

In a statement relayed by Cryptopolitan, a spokesperson explained:

Greece is an important player in the European Union’s economic framework, with an economy whose growth exceeds the European average and a regulatory environment that favors financial stability, transparency, and investor protection.

Athens thus asserts itself as a new European laboratory where the limits of smarter crypto regulation are tested, neither too harsh nor too permissive.

Binance in Search of Redemption After the Storm

This return to the European regulatory game is a major turning point. Binance emerges from a series of storms: a $4.3 billion settlement with the United States, forced withdrawals from several European markets, and inspections in France conducted by JUNALOC and ACPR.

Under the leadership of Richard Teng, the group’s new strongman, Binance wants to regain lost trust. Greece symbolizes this second chance: favorable ground, in the South of an often perceived rigid Europe.

With the July 2026 deadline imposed by MiCA, every crypto exchange must obtain its license or exit the market. Already, more than 540 million euros in fines have hit latecomers.

Binance’s representative, quoted by CoinDesk, summed up this turn:

We view MiCA as a positive and important step for the industry — a progress that brings greater regulatory clarity, better user protection, and a clear framework for responsible innovation. 

From a symbol of anarchy, Binance becomes an institutionalized player, ready to embody the new era of regulated and mature crypto.

Crypto Europe: The South’s Comeback and the New Regulation Map

While Paris inspects, Berlin supervises, and Brussels centralizes, Athens charts its own path. Greece sees regulation not as a brake but as an economic lever.

And Binance is not the only one to believe in it: KuCoin has already obtained a MiCA license in Austria, while KBC Bank and Société Générale-Forge adapt to the new situation.

This reshuffling reveals a two-speed European crypto: cautious North, opportunistic South. Greece, with its flexibility, attracts the attention of exchanges seeking stability. For Binance, this is a strategic anchor point — one foot in a unified market, the other in a still agile space.

Crypto Europe moves toward an era where compliance and growth no longer oppose each other.
Binance, an unintentional pioneer, paradoxically becomes its symbol.

Key Points of Binance’s Greek Turn

• More than 50 crypto companies have already received a MiCA license;
• Greece has yet to grant any authorization but attracts applications;
• Fines for non-compliance exceed €540M;
• Binance collaborates with EY, KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte;
• The BNB price trades around $897 at press time.

In its latest report on institutional crypto adoption, PwC praised the European strategy, considering that it fosters innovation without distorting it. According to the firm, this direction now makes institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies irreversible. A vision that confirms that European rigor, far from stifling crypto, could well ensure its maturity.