Changpeng Zhao has never been one to go quietly. The Binance founder claims the exchange’s application for a MiCA license in Greece was on the verge of approval before political forces stepped in and killed it.
The fallout: Binance withdrew its application, suspended services for EU users effective July 1, 2026, and is now shopping for a friendlier regulatory home somewhere else in Europe.
What happened in Greece
Binance filed its MiCA application with Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission on January 23, 2026. By CZ’s account, the application was deemed compliant and was moving toward approval. He even claimed that at least two EU countries had been competing for the license, suggesting something of a bidding war for the right to host the world’s largest crypto exchange.
On June 16, 2026, Reuters reported that the Greek application was expected to be rejected. The stated concern centered on anti-money laundering controls linked to CZ’s US criminal record. CZ pleaded guilty in late 2023 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and served a four-month prison sentence, a conviction that apparently still casts a long shadow over Binance’s regulatory ambitions.
