USDBinance Files MiCA Application in Greece as EU Deadline Nears, Revives Tokenized Stock Plans
Regulatory Filings, Tokenized Equities Revival, and ETF Momentum Converge Around Binance
TL;DR
- Binance applied for a MiCA license in Greece with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission ahead of the June 30 EU transition cutoff.
- The exchange confirmed plans to explore reintroducing tokenized stock offerings, four years after halting them.
- Grayscale filed an S-1 with the SEC to launch a spot BNB ETF, expanding its altcoin ETF strategy.
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Binance submitted an application for a Markets in Crypto-Assets license in Greece to the Hellenic Capital Market Commission on January 23, positioning the country as a potential regulatory foothold ahead of the European Union’s MiCA enforcement deadline. The filing comes as crypto firms seek authorization to continue operating across the bloc once national transition periods expire. A Binance spokesperson said the exchange is “committed to working closely with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission” and added that MiCA “provides much-needed regulatory clarity and stronger protections for users,” according to a statement published the same day.
The Greek application follows regulatory pressure elsewhere in the EU. France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers said on January 13 that Binance was among ninety crypto firms operating without a MiCA license despite being registered under national frameworks. French authorities warned that the transition period for such registrations ends on June 30, after which non-licensed entities must halt operations in the country. Data from the European Securities and Markets Authority show that, as of mid-January, Greece had not issued any MiCA licenses to crypto-asset service providers, while Germany had approved forty-three, the Netherlands twenty-two, and France eleven.
Binance remains the world’s largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange by volume, averaging about $11.9 billion in daily trading activity, according to figures cited in the regulatory coverage. The scale of its operations has placed the company at the center of MiCA’s rollout, which applies across all twenty-seven EU member states. Under the regulation, firms must obtain authorization in at least one member state to passport services throughout the bloc once the framework is fully enforced.
Parallel to its regulatory push in Europe, Binance confirmed it is exploring a return to tokenized stock offerings, a product line it discontinued in 2021. The exchange previously launched tokenized shares in April of that year tied to companies including Tesla, Coinbase, Strategy, Apple, and Microsoft, before suspending the service following scrutiny from regulators in Germany and the United Kingdom. In its recent statement, Binance said “exploring the potential to offer tokenized equities is a natural next step,” linking the initiative to broader work on real-world assets and regulated products settled in stablecoins.
Separate reporting indicated that Binance is also examining a broader re-entry into stock trading roughly four years after its earlier withdrawal. The renewed interest comes as crypto platforms increasingly move toward integrated investment models that combine digital assets with traditional financial instruments. The shift coincides with developments in legacy markets, including plans by major U.S. exchange operators to build blockchain-based infrastructure for tokenized securities with round-the-clock trading and on-chain settlement.
Attention around Binance’s ecosystem has also intensified in U.S. capital markets. Grayscale Investments filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 23 seeking approval for a spot Binance Coin exchange-traded fund. The proposed product, expected to trade under the ticker GBNB on Nasdaq, would offer exposure to the token’s spot price and forms part of Grayscale’s expanding lineup of altcoin investment vehicles. The filing names Coinbase as prime broker and Coinbase Custody as custodian, and does not include staking features amid ongoing regulatory debates.
The BNB ETF filing follows similar moves by other asset managers and comes as regulators continue to assess whether certain crypto assets fall under securities law. Grayscale’s application adds to a growing list of proposed funds tracking assets beyond bitcoin and ether, extending institutional interest into tokens closely associated with major trading platforms.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao projected a potential Bitcoin “supercycle” in 2026, suggesting that Bitcoin could break past its traditional four-year pattern of expansion and contraction. Speaking with CNBC’s Aaron Ross Sorkin, Zhao said he has “very strong feelings it will probably be a supercycle in 2026 for Bitcoin,” while declining to provide a specific price target. On longer horizons, he added: “[On a] 5-10 year horizon, it’s very easy to predict. We’re going to go up.”
During the same interview, Zhao addressed speculation about personal ties to Donald Trump following his controversial presidential pardon after a four-month prison sentence for anti-money-laundering violations. He stated, “Based on my knowledge, there is really no connection,” in response to industry critics alleging that Binance’s ties to Trump-linked crypto ventures influenced the pardon. Zhao noted that the Trump family is “in crypto,” Binance is a “large crypto firm” and the former president’s administration has been “pro-crypto,” but said he has never met or spoken with Trump, and that his closest physical proximity to the former president was as little as thirty to forty feet at Davos earlier that week.
Zhao’s statements add context to ongoing scrutiny over his pardon, which followed a guilty plea and regulatory penalties tied to Binance’s operations in the United States. The pardon and his comments on both market cycles and regulatory relationships continue to shape industry discussion as firms navigate evolving global compliance landscapes.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
