Binance’s MiCA fight raises questions over ECB influence

Lawyers say MiCA rules do not bar the European Central Bank from communicating with national regulators during the application process, though crypto licensing decisions remain with member states.

Binance’s faltering European Union Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license application in Greece has raised questions about whether the bloc's central bank may have played an informal role in the process, despite not having formal authority over licensing decisions.

Even though MiCA assigns approval of crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licenses to national competent authorities (NCAs), lawyers told Cointelegraph that its wording does not prevent other EU institutions, including the European Central Bank (ECB), from communicating with those regulators during the review process.

“Nothing in the MiCA framework would prevent a third party like the ECB from offering its opinion to that national authority on Binance's application,” David Lesperance, founder at Lesperance & Associates, told Cointelegraph.

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