--- title: "Binance Holds No EU MiCA Licence: The Crypto Exchanges That Do and What Their Licence Protects" description: Binance is not on the EU's MiCA register. See which crypto exchanges are authorised, what MiCA protects after a hack and what it does not cover. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-02T08:35:02.423Z updated: 2026-11-02T09:00:47.971Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/binance-mica-licence-crypto-exchanges-eu image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-39135246.webp categories: Blockchain, EU Focus content_type: Guide publication: Sovereign Magazine schema_type: Article --- Binance reopened withdrawals on Sunday 1st November, three days after hackers took about $6.3 billion from the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in roughly 20 minutes. The FBI has blamed North Korea's TraderTraitor group, the same unit it holds responsible for the $1.5 billion theft from Bybit last year, the Associated Press reported. Binance says it has now covered about 95% of the stolen assets, some $6 billion, up from 90% a day earlier, using company money that includes its user protection fund, its futures insurance fund and its treasury, according to Reuters. Customers withdrew a net $3.64 billion in the first hours after payments restarted, about 2.1% of the $171 billion the exchange holds, on Binance's own figures. Our earlier report covers how [Tether and Circle froze part of the stolen money](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/binance-hack-tether-circle-freeze-safu). If you trade crypto in Europe, you can check your own exchange. The European Union has run a single licensing system for crypto exchanges since the end of 2024, and its register shows which firms hold a licence. ## Binance and the EU MiCA Register The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, applies across all 27 EU member states. Any firm that holds, exchanges or transfers crypto for customers in the EU needs authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider from a national regulator. That licence then works in every member state. The [interim register](https://www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/digital-finance-and-innovation/markets-crypto-assets-regulation-mica) kept by the European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA, listed 392 authorised providers when it was updated on 30th October 2026. No Binance company appears on it. Reuters reported on 16th June that Binance was set to have its application rejected by Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission and would lose permission to serve customers in the EU from early July. Binance said at the time that it believed it was compliant. Firms that served EU customers under older national rules were allowed to carry on during a transition period, which ended on 1st July 2026 at the latest in every member state. ## Which Crypto Exchanges Have a MiCA Licence These are the best-known exchanges on ESMA's register, with the regulator that authorised each one and the date: - **Coinbase:** Luxembourg's CSSF, 20th June 2025 - **Kraken:** Central Bank of Ireland, 25th June 2025 - **OKX:** Malta Financial Services Authority, 27th January 2025 - **Crypto.com:** Malta Financial Services Authority, 27th January 2025 - **Bybit EU:** Austria's FMA, 28th May 2025 - **Gemini:** Malta Financial Services Authority, 21st August 2025 - **Bitstamp:** Luxembourg's CSSF, 15th May 2025 - **Bitpanda:** Austria's FMA, 9th April 2025, with further licences for group companies from Germany's BaFin and the Malta Financial Services Authority - **Bitvavo:** the Netherlands' AFM, 26th June 2025 - **eToro:** Cyprus's CySEC, 16th January 2025 - **Revolut:** Cyprus's CySEC, 20th October 2025 - **KuCoin EU:** Austria's FMA, 27th November 2025 - **Robinhood:** Lithuania, 29th May 2025 The register also includes Gate, Blockchain.com, Trade Republic and N26, among others. A licence belongs to a specific company, such as Bybit EU or Foris DAX MT for Crypto.com, so the company named in your terms and conditions is the one that needs to appear. ## What a MiCA Licence Protects MiCA sets out what a licensed exchange must do with the crypto it holds for you. - **Your assets stay separate.** Article 75 requires a licensed firm to keep your crypto apart from its own, both on its books and in law, so that its creditors cannot claim your holdings if the firm fails. It must keep a register of what each customer owns and send you a statement at least every three months. - **The firm cannot use your crypto.** Article 70 bars a provider from using customers' crypto for its own account. Customer cash must go to a bank or central bank by the end of the next business day, in accounts separate from the firm's own money. - **The firm is liable after a hack.** Under Article 75(8), a licensed custodian is liable for customer crypto lost through incidents that can be attributed to it, including a cyber attack. Its liability is capped at the market value of the assets at the time of the loss, and it is excluded only where the firm can show the cause was independent of its operations, such as a flaw in a blockchain itself. - **The firm must hold a buffer.** Article 67 requires each provider to keep capital or insurance equal to at least a quarter of its fixed overheads for the previous year, or a fixed minimum if that is higher. Any insurance must cover its liability for lost customer assets. Licensed firms also need a complaints procedure and a policy for handling conflicts of interest. ## What MiCA Does Not Protect MiCA has no compensation scheme. If you hold money in a bank in the EU, a deposit guarantee covers up to €100,000 if the bank fails. [No such guarantee exists for crypto](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/binance-hack-crypto-exchange-risk). ESMA warned in December 2024 that crypto-assets are not covered by any investor compensation scheme, and that MiCA offers no protection to customers of firms that are not authorised in the EU. Your protection under MiCA depends on the exchange keeping your assets separate and having the capital, insurance and willingness to pay if something goes wrong. ## How to Check an Exchange Before You Deposit 1. Find the legal name of the company you deal with in the exchange's terms and conditions. 2. Search for that name on ESMA's register of crypto-asset service providers. 3. Confirm the licence on the website of the national regulator that issued it. 4. Check whether the exchange publishes how it stores customer assets, including how much it keeps offline. 5. Keep only what you need for trading on an exchange, and move long-term holdings to a wallet you control. ## UK Crypto Rules and the FCA Timetable The United Kingdom is outside MiCA. The Financial Conduct Authority published its final rules for crypto firms on 30th June 2026, including new custody rules. Firms can apply for authorisation between 30th September 2026 and 28th February 2027, and the regime is expected to take effect on 25th October 2027, according to the [FCA](https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/cryptoassets-information). Europe has also weighed tougher controls on stablecoins, as we reported when [Germany and Italy proposed an EU kill switch for US stablecoins](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/eu-stablecoin-kill-switch-germany-italy-proposal). ## Questions About MiCA and Crypto Exchanges **Q: What is MiCA in cryptocurrency?** MiCA, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, is the European Union's law for crypto-assets. It has applied in full since 30th December 2024. It requires exchanges and other crypto service providers to hold a licence from a national regulator, keep customers' assets separate from their own, hold capital or insurance and follow rules on complaints and conflicts of interest. Issuers of stablecoins face separate rules on reserves. **Q: Which cryptos are MiCA-compliant?** MiCA licenses companies and regulates token issuers, rather than approving coins such as bitcoin. Stablecoins have the strictest rules: an issuer offering one in the EU needs authorisation and must hold reserves. For exchanges, the official list is ESMA's interim register of crypto-asset service providers, which names every firm authorised under MiCA. **Q: Is Coinbase MiCA-compliant?** Yes. Coinbase is authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA by Luxembourg's financial regulator, the CSSF, which granted its licence on 20th June 2025. That licence allows it to serve customers across the European Union. **Q: Is it safe to keep your crypto in an exchange?** Keeping crypto on an exchange carries risk, as exchanges are major targets for hackers. In the EU, a MiCA-licensed exchange must keep your assets separate from its own and is liable for losses it causes, but no compensation scheme pays out if it cannot return your assets. Many holders keep only trading balances on an exchange and store the rest in a wallet they control.