Spain Dashes Hopes for Crypto Exchanges Amid Failing MiCA Compliance

The Spanish National Securities Market Commission has ruled out extending or waiving the deadline for non-MiCA compliant crypto companies to operate in EU member states. Chair Carlos San Basilio stated that there will be no exceptions or extensions to the July 1 MiCA deadline, which affects Binance and other cryptocurrency exchanges.

Binance's operations in the EU are expected to scale back after it withdrew its application with Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission and had not received approval from any other authority as of Friday. If Binance fails to secure approval, the exchange will be required to halt the onboarding of new EU-based users and limit certain services for EU-based accounts starting on July 1.

Other crypto exchanges have secured last-minute approvals under MiCA, but Binance, with millions of users in the EU, could have a far greater impact on the region's crypto market. According to OKX founder and CEO Mingxing Xu, 'This is Binance’s philosophy of doing business... They ignore laws and regulations, while misleading the public with bullshits.'

Binance users are reportedly considering leaving the platform entirely without a definitive timeline on its return. Some Reddit users mentioned looking into Kraken for their funds, as Payward (doing business as Kraken) has a Crypto Asset Service Provider license through the Central Bank of Ireland.