ECB President Christine Lagarde Personally Blocked Binance's EU License Bid

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde reportedly urged Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to reject Binance's application for a crypto-asset service provider license. According to The Wall Street Journal, Lagarde cited concerns over Binance's history of US regulatory violations and fears that the exchange's presence could promote dollar-pegged stablecoins, potentially undermining the ECB's digital euro project. Although Greek regulators initially intended to approve the bid under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, Binance withdrew its application in mid-June following the opposition.