Binance Remains Committed to European Market After Licence Setback
Binance's Strategy and Regulatory Challenges in the EU
By Elizabeth Howcroft, John O'Donnell and Francesco Canepa
Binance's Commitment to the European Union
PARIS/BERLIN, June 24 (Reuters) - Crypto platform Binance intends to stay in the European Union and will make a fresh push for permission to operate there, a senior executive told Reuters, after its application under a new licence regime failed, threatening access for millions of users.
"Binance is not leaving Europe," Gillian Lynch, head of Europe and the United Kingdom, told Reuters, after its bid to secure a licence in Greece to offer services such as crypto trading in the EU unravelled.
"We may just have a different pathway to being authorised," she said. "If it is not Greece, I'm looking at other alternatives."
Implications of Licence Expiry
The comments put Binance on a potential collision course with European regulators. The company has one week to secure a licence before its current permission to operate in Europe expires, which would require it to wind down EU operations.
Regulatory Resistance and Concerns
Talks with European Regulators
Two people with knowledge of the process told Reuters that Binance has held talks with regulators in Ireland, Latvia and Greece but faced resistance in all three countries.
Concerns Over Compliance and Company Structure
They said officials were concerned about the company's past penalties for money laundering, its complex international structure and what they viewed as a risk-taking culture.
Regulators in the three countries declined to comment, or did not respond.
Challenges in Securing an EU Licence
The approaches to several regulators highlight how one of the world's largest crypto companies has struggled to overcome regulatory resistance to securing an EU licence.
Lynch said Binance did not know why it had been refused approval and had previously believed the Greek regulator planned to grant a licence.
She said Binance had contacted four or five regulators but only made one application, to Greece.
Binance's Efforts to Address Regulatory Issues
Asked about Binance's past problems, Lynch said Binance had invested in compliance and internal controls, employed about 1,500 compliance staff, and had no outstanding issues related to its application.
(Reporting by John O'Donnell, Elizabeth Howcroft, Francesco Canepa and Lefteris Papadimas. Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Elisa Martinuzzi and Mark Potter)
