Binance halts trading in France and other EU markets after missing MiCA deadline
From July 1, Binance suspended trading services in France and some other EU markets and restricted certain unauthorized stablecoin functions, while withdrawals stayed available as MiCA rules took full effect.
Binance suspended or began winding down spot, margin and related trading services from July 1 in France and some other European markets after failing to secure authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, regime by the June 30 deadline. In affected markets including France, Poland, Italy and Spain, users could still withdraw assets, while some reports also said new spot orders, new deposits, sign-ups and some yield products were paused. The regulatory shift also tightened access to unauthorized stablecoins in the European Economic Area, with USDT losing access to regulated EU exchange order books after Tether did not seek MiCA authorization. Binance said customer assets remain safe and that it remains committed to obtaining a MiCA license in the coming months, while the disruption created an opening for MiCA-licensed rivals including Coinbase and OKX and prompted some users to consider self-custody.
- MiCA: The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, which requires crypto firms to obtain authorization to serve users across the bloc.
- CASP licenses: Authorization required under MiCA for crypto-asset service providers to continue serving users in the EU.
- self-custody: Holding crypto in a wallet where the user controls the private keys rather than an exchange.