EXCLUSIVE: Binance Still Onboarding EU Users Seven Weeks After MiCA Deadline

On 19 Aug, Sandmark editorial staff opened and verified a new Binance account using a European identity document and residential address, then deposited crypto into it. The account did not exist before 1 Jul.

Further tests using connections in Austria, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium produced similar results, both with and without virtual private networks (VPNs) - a tool that disguises a user's location. New accounts could be taken through registration and identity checks, with fully verified accounts opened in two countries, while none of the tests produced a warning that Binance lacked MiCA authorization. In the accounts that became active, crypto services remained available, including the ability to receive deposits.

At stake is whether the EU's flagship crypto regime is being enforced consistently across the market. ESMA's register listed 330 authorized providers as of 20 Aug, against 1,343 operating across the European Economic Area before the transition closed, according to blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. Binance is not on the register.

In comments to Sandmark, Binance said it has not given up on Europe, noting that it is still pursuing MiCA authorization and intends to operate in the region on a long-term, compliant basis.

The US blocks, Europe does not

Accessing Binance from a US address produced the opposite experience. The exchange has been restricted in the US since 2023 following regulatory action, and the site immediately redirected to Binance.US. After logging in, the platform suspended deposits and trading, permitting withdrawals only.

Sandmark reporters then accessed Binance using IP addresses in Austria, France and Germany. No warning appeared in any of the three. In Austria, a fully verified account was opened within minutes using a Spanish identity document and an Austrian IP address. No disclaimer stated that Binance lacks MiCA authorization, and the exchange's own page listing its licences and registrations makes no reference to one.

A third registration, made from a Spanish connection without a VPN and using a Spanish address and employment details, completed the full sign-up process before Binance rejected the application. The exchange said the applicant already held an account, not that they were resident in the EU.

Where a Belgian customer's money goes

A further registration, made from a Belgian connection and also without a VPN, took about ten minutes to become active. The process required a photograph of an identity card, a live face check on camera and questions about income, savings and professional status.

Binance's terms state that a Belgium-based client contracts with Binance Poland Sp. z o.o., a Polish-registered virtual asset service provider. Poland has no authorized providers on ESMA's register, and neither Binance Poland nor any other Binance entity appears on it. Fund transfers are handled by BPay Global B.S.C., Binance's Bahrain-based payments affiliate, and settle through an account at JSC Pave Bank in Tbilisi, Georgia.

An attempt to move funds through SEPA, the EU's euro bank-transfer system, triggered a further round of checks from BPay. Our reporter didn't complete the transfer, so it is unclear what additional checks, if any, would apply had it been submitted.

What the regulator told firms to do

The findings appear at odds with guidance from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's markets supervisor. In a public statement on 23 Jun, ESMA said unauthorized providers must immediately stop onboarding new EU clients, restrict their services to exit actions only, and that by 1 Jul any unauthorized provider "must have implemented its wind-down plan".

National regulators were told to verify those plans and to "take action against the unauthorized provision of crypto-asset services". ESMA also warned supervisors to scrutinize migration strategies designed to keep unlicensed firms operating behind client transfers. It had said in April that any entity providing crypto services to EU clients without a licence "will be in breach of EU law".

Nor has any national authority publicly named the exchange. ESMA maintains a separate register of firms flagged as providing crypto services without authorization, which listed 167 entries as of 20 Aug. Italy's Consob supplied 164 of them, with the Dutch and Slovak regulators contributing one each. Binance is not among them.

MiCA governs the provision of crypto services rather than whether a website can be reached from the EU. The tests therefore examined whether a new EU user could register, verify and fund an account, not the full range of services available afterwards. The VPN services used to test the process were NordVPN and NymVPN.

The wind-down that has not happened

Binance withdrew its Greek MiCA application on 24 Jun, days before the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, Greece's markets regulator, was expected to reject it. It then told users across the bloc that services would be curtailed.

Notices reached customers in Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Belgium and Sweden saying the exchange would stop accepting new registrations and deposits, and would suspend its Earn products, which pay a yield on deposited crypto, from 1 Jul. However, users were not required to withdraw funds by that date. Binance said assets would remain safe while it pursued authorization elsewhere in the EU, but did not specify when withdrawals or transfers would cease.

Sandmark's registrations, conducted for the purpose of this story, indicate the block on new accounts has not been fully applied, though some guardrails remain. The first account, opened on 19 Aug from Austria using a Spanish ID, was blocked from depositing euros by bank transfer after a third-party provider flagged an address mismatch, even though Binance's own dashboard showed the address as verified. Crypto deposits, however, were still permitted.

In a written response to Sandmark, Binance said it does not comment on individual users, accounts or specific onboarding cases. It said the availability of products and services in Europe may vary depending on the jurisdiction, transitional arrangements, the service involved and individual user circumstances.

"Following the implementation of MiCA, we have taken steps to ensure that the availability of our products and services in Europe aligns with relevant legal and regulatory frameworks," Binance said.

The exchange did not explain why new accounts could still be opened and verified in Sandmark's tests after 1 Jul. It said it remains committed to securing MiCA authorization and is "actively progressing" its application.

First MiCA fine lands in Austria

On 14 Aug, the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) announced its first case under MiCA, fining the Vienna-based exchange Bitpanda €70,000 for failing to submit a crypto asset whitepaper at least 20 days before publication and for distributing marketing materials without a disclaimer stating the regulator had not reviewed them.

Sandmark put its findings to Binance and to ESMA on 19 Aug, asking the supervisor whether an unauthorized exchange verifying new EU accounts and accepting deposits after 1 Jul was consistent with its guidance, and whether it was aware of other exchanges doing the same. 

ESMA's press office confirmed receipt the same day and said it needed more time to respond; Sandmark has agreed to hold the question open until 21 Aug. The Austrian FMA declined to comment. This article will be updated with any additional comment received.

(Updated at 18:04UTC on 20 Aug to remove paragraph on occupational choices on site drop-down and associated image due to lack of relevancy.)