ESMA and National Regulators Scrutinize Binance’s Reliance on ‘Reverse Solicitation’ Exemption in the EU, FT Reports

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and national regulators in France, Germany and Greece are questioning Binance over how it continues to serve customers in the bloc, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Their focus is “reverse solicitation,” an exemption that allows a non-EU company to serve European customers when the customer, entirely unprompted, initiates the relationship.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, failed to secure a license this summer under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime. Under that regime, unlicensed firms were expected to take “immediate steps” to wind down their EU businesses from July 1 and stop serving customers except to help them transfer or sell their holdings.

EU law says crypto firms should use the exemption only narrowly and attaches strict conditions even when it applies. ESMA said it should be treated as an exception, “very narrowly framed,” and not used to circumvent MiCA. The Dutch market watchdog, the AFM, added that service providers “cannot simply claim reverse solicitation.” Neither commented on Binance specifically, and the French, German and Greek regulators declined to comment, the FT reported.

Some regulators have requested information from the exchange. If they are not satisfied with Binance’s response, they could take enforcement action, including fines, the FT quoted sources as saying. One of them reportedly said other, smaller companies are also under review.

Binance held local licenses in several European countries, including France, Spain and Poland, that lapsed under MiCA. A user living in Austria and two people familiar with the matter told the FT that traders outside those countries are served by Binance’s Abu Dhabi-regulated entity. Binance became regulated in Abu Dhabi in December 2025. The Austrian user said nothing has changed for them. In EU countries where it had no local license, Binance operates under reverse solicitation, one of the people reportedly said.

Binance reportedly told the FT it “complies with applicable regulatory requirements” where it operates and is “actively working toward becoming MiCA-authorised.” The scrutiny adds to a long list of regulatory troubles for the exchange, which was fined a record $4.3 billion in the US in 2023 and pleaded guilty to criminal charges tied to money laundering and sanctions violations.

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