Binance hit turbulence in late June after withdrawing its MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) license application in Greece and telling EU customers to pull their funds ahead of the July 1 MiCA deadline. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Asia conference in Singapore, CEO Richard Teng revealed a striking detail: roughly 70% of those withdrawals went into self‑custodied wallets rather than MiCA‑regulated platforms.
That migration toward self‑custody — if sustained — could blunt the EU’s ability to oversee crypto flows and enforce investor protections, analysts warn. Binance says it pulled the Greek filing because of regulatory delays and faced only days to secure a license to keep operating in the bloc. The exchange then sought authorization in France, but that application was rejected.
Teng said several other EU member states have since invited Binance to apply for MiCA authorization, though he did not identify them, and the company believes it has a path to legally return to the European market. For now, Binance has halted trading services in the EU while pursuing a re‑entry plan.
The episode matters: Binance is the world’s largest exchange by volume, and losing access to the EU would be a significant strategic blow. At the same time, the platform has been expanding in Asia — most recently entering the Philippines through a partnership and pursuing additional regional licenses — suggesting its growth focus is shifting geographically while it sorts out Europe’s regulatory hurdles.
What to watch next: whether EU regulators push for tighter controls that steer users to regulated venues, which member state Binance chooses for a fresh MiCA bid, and whether the wave toward self‑custody reverses or becomes a lasting shift in user behavior.
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