European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intervened to prevent Binance from operating across the European Union, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing interviews with officials. Binance had been close to securing authorization through Greece under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, but withdrew its application in June after the reported opposition. The exchange said it remained committed to pursuing MiCA authorization in another EU member state. The report linked Lagarde’s objections to Binance’s 2023 U.S. guilty plea over anti-money-laundering violations and to concerns that the exchange would reinforce the use of dollar-based stablecoins in Europe rather than euro-denominated alternatives. Lagarde has supported the ECB’s digital euro project while criticizing Bitcoin as a highly speculative asset and opposing private crypto arrangements that could challenge monetary sovereignty. Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange, and billions of dollars in stablecoins trade on its platform daily. MiCA licensing is currently handled by national regulators, with the European Securities and Markets Authority scheduled to become the sole regulator in 2027. Binance previously cleared key stages of Greece’s regulatory review, according to earlier reporting, but withdrew its application amid the dispute and turned its attention to other EU jurisdictions.