Binance seeks fresh European licenses after MiCA setback, co-CEO Richard Teng says

Europe's crypto licensing environment has grown more selective since the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation took effect, and Binance is now navigating that narrowed passage from a different angle. Co-CEO Richard Teng said regulators themselves invited the exchange to pursue new license applications following a MiCA setback. Alongside that European reset, the company is continuing to expand its regulatory footprint across Asia.

A regulatory reset in Europe

MiCA created a single-market authorization framework for crypto-asset service providers across the European Union, requiring exchanges to obtain licensing in at least one member state before passporting services across the bloc. Binance ran into a setback within that system.

The notable element in Teng's account is the direction of the invitation: regulators approached Binance rather than waiting for the exchange to seek re-entry on its own. That signals the exchange's supervisory relationships in Europe have not fully collapsed, though it does not guarantee a cleaner outcome on a second attempt. Teng did not name which jurisdictions extended the invitation or what license categories the new applications would target, leaving the scope of the re-entry ambiguous.

Asia as the parallel track

While the European effort restarts, Teng pointed to continued expansion of Binance's regulatory presence across Asia. No specific markets or license types were described in his comments.

The two-track posture reflects a pattern visible across large crypto exchanges in the current cycle. Cross-border demand for regulated trading services has created pressure to build compliance infrastructure in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, rather than sequencing markets one by one. Concentrating regulatory bets in a single bloc has proven risky as licensing timelines slip or outcomes disappoint.

The read-through for $BNB

MiCA governs how crypto-asset services and associated tokens reach customers across the European single market. Binance's regulatory standing in that region is therefore a material variable for $BNB, the exchange's native token, because European market access affects the demand environment for assets tied to the platform.

A fresh licensing process means the European outcome remains open. Teng's framing is that the chapter is ongoing, not closed. The regulators' invitation to re-apply is the harder fact beneath that claim.

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