European regulators are questioning how Binance continues to serve customers across the bloc months after the exchange failed to secure a license under the EU's crypto rules, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and national watchdogs including those in France, Germany and Greece are examining Binance's reliance on reverse solicitation, the exemption under Article 61 of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime for services that a firm outside the bloc provides at what the rules call the client's "own exclusive initiative." The exemption is the crux of the probe: it is what allows an unlicensed firm to provide services in the bloc without authorization, so how strictly supervisors interpret it shapes whether Binance's European business can continue in its current form. Some regulators have asked the company for information, and could move to enforcement, including fines, if they are not satisfied with the response.

Under MiCA, unlicensed firms were supposed to take immediate steps to wind down their EU operations from July 1, serving existing customers only to help them move or sell their holdings. Binance failed to secure a MiCA license this summer and should therefore have begun winding down its EU business from that date.

ESMA's guidelines say the reverse solicitation test should be construed narrowly, that whether a client was solicited is a question of fact, and that "contractual arrangements or disclaimers cannot supersede contrary facts." The authority told the paper the exemption is very narrowly framed and should "not be used to circumvent MiCA requirements."

The Dutch regulator, the AFM, said firms "cannot simply claim reverse solicitation," adding that clear requirements and guidelines have to be met. The French, German and Greek regulators declined to comment, as did ESMA and the AFM when asked about Binance specifically.

Binance and Europe

In practice, customers outside the countries where Binance held local registrations are served by entity regulated in Abu Dhabi, where it was authorized in December 2025, according to one user and two people familiar with the arrangement. The exchange had registrations in six member states — France, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Sweden — all of which have lapsed under MiCA, leaving it without active local registrations in the bloc.

Binance said it "complies with applicable regulatory requirements" wherever it operates and that it keeps its products under review against relevant obligations. The company added that it is "actively working toward becoming MiCA-authorised."

The exchange withdrew its MiCA application in Greece in June, a week after Reuters reported that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission was set to reject it. Binance said at the time that it would pursue authorization in another member state while taking the steps needed to stay compliant before the July deadline, and warned then that some users might be affected.

There was no grace period. Days before the cutoff, the chairman of Spain's securities regulator ruled out exceptions or extensions, and said supervisors were in contact with unlicensed firms to ensure they had to transfer client assets elsewhere.

Regulators are also examining other, smaller firms, one person told the paper, so the scrutiny extends beyond Binance. What comes next hinges on whether the company's responses satisfy regulators, whether enforcement follows, and whether its push to become MiCA-authorised succeeds.