META Channel Corporation | TokenLab division
The Binance case exposes a structural tension within MiCA, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation: the legal standard is European and uniform, but initial authorisation and primary supervisory responsibility remain national.
The home Member State supervisor does not grant a merely local licence. It authorises a gateway to the European market.
And that is the delicate point: once authorisation has been granted, the passport allows the firm to operate throughout the Union, even if other national supervisors had reservations about the same operator.
ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, can push for convergence, coordinate approaches and warn against regulatory arbitrage. But the ordinary decision to grant a CASP (crypto-asset service provider) licence remains in the hands of national authorities.
That is why the Binance case should not be read simply as a matter for Greece, nor as a mere administrative withdrawal.
The underlying question is more serious: can formally uniform European regulation prevent the national gateway from turning into a search for the most accommodating supervisor?
A large part of MiCA’s practical credibility is at stake here.
