ECB President Lagarde reportedly blocked Binance's EU MiCA license

A Wall Street Journal report says ECB President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to prevent Binance from obtaining a Markets in Crypto-Assets license in Greece. Binance withdrew its Greek application in June. Binance said it still plans to seek authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets rules. A senior Greek regulator told Binance that Lagarde wanted the decision delayed until the European Securities and Markets Authority takes over licensing decisions for crypto exchanges. The proposed EU reform has yet to be adopted. Financial regulators in individual EU countries grant MiCA approvals. Approval in one country gives the recipient permission to operate across the bloc. The Wall Street Journal said the ECB is influencing decisions because of concerns over stablecoins and the digital euro. The Journal said Lagarde was concerned about Binance's scale as the world's largest crypto exchange. The Journal said Lagarde was also concerned that Binance could deepen the use of dollar-based stablecoins in the region. That could undermine the central banks' digital euro project and euro-denominated alternatives. A Binance spokesperson said the company would not comment on speculation. The spokesperson said Binance remains committed to operating in Europe on a long-term and compliant basis under MiCA.