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Crypto exchanges 22.06: Binance bets on France · NorriWire
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Crypto exchanges 22.06: Binance bets on France
Eight days to the MiCA deadline: Binance pins its last hopes on France's AMF, while Nordic exchange Firi is already licensed and expanding into Sweden. Bitcoin holds around 63,000-65,000 dollars.
Toms Ābeltiņš
6 min read
Monday 22 June: eight days remain until the MiCA transition deadline on 30 June. Binance is pinning its last hopes for an EU licence on France's AMF, while Firi and Coinmotion are already licensed CASPs. Bitcoin holds around 63,000-65,000 dollars and ETF outflows ease.
Monday, 22 June 2026, opened the new week with an increasingly clear contrast in the European crypto market. On one side, the world's largest exchange, Binance, is scrambling to find a last possible route to a European licence - currently that route is France. On the other, several Baltic and Nordic platforms have already secured authorisation under the new rules and are preparing to expand. Just eight days remain until the EU's MiCA transition period ends on 30 June.
Binance pins its hopes on France
After Binance withdrew its MiCA licence application in Greece the previous week, the exchange's attention has turned to France. The French financial markets regulator, the AMF, is now seen as Binance's last realistic chance to obtain a CASP licence before the deadline. Binance has been registered in France since 2022 as a digital asset service provider, or PSAN, but this older registration does not grant the right to operate across the entire European Union.
Binance claims its application file is technically ready, yet according to available information a formal request for full MiCA authorisation has not yet been officially submitted to the French regulator. The company is continuing direct talks with the AMF. Time is short: if Binance does not obtain a valid licence in an EU member state by 30 June, from 1 July it will not be allowed to serve customers residing in the European Union, including in the Baltics and the Nordics.
Eight days until the MiCA deadline
The MiCA transition period in the European Union ends on 30 June, and this deadline is final. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) confirmed back on 17 April this year that there would be no extension. From 1 July, any provider offering crypto-asset exchange, custody or other services in the EU and the European Economic Area will need a full Crypto-Asset Service Provider, or CASP, licence.
The consequences for those who fail to obtain authorisation in time are serious. Platforms that continue to offer services to European clients after 30 June without a licence may be added to regulators' warning lists and face enforcement measures from supervisors such as the French AMF. In practice this means unlicensed exchanges will have to wind down their services to European users in an orderly manner.
The Nordics: licensed operators expand
In contrast to the uncertainty around Binance, several local operators in the region have already secured their future. The Norwegian exchange Firi, the largest in the region with more than 400,000 users, received its MiCA CASP authorisation from the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, Finanstilsynet, on 22 May. This authorisation allows Firi to use the so-called passporting mechanism and expand into other European Economic Area countries. The company has already announced its entry into the Swedish market, which would become its third Nordic market after Norway and Denmark.
In Finland the picture is also becoming clearer. The Finnish supervisor, FIN-FSA, has been actively processing applications after the transition period, and several licensed providers are now operating in the country, including Coinmotion, Northcrypto and Kvarn Capital. Coinmotion obtained its MiCA licence in June, while Northcrypto received authorisation for custody and execution services back in November last year and has applied to extend it to trading services.
The Baltics: uneven, but moving forward
In the Baltic states the picture remains uneven. Estonia, historically one of the largest issuers of crypto licences under the old system, has so far approved relatively few full MiCA service providers under the new regime, because old licences are not automatically converted and companies must meet stricter requirements, including on local presence and capital. In Latvia the transition period ended back at the close of 2025, and Latvijas Banka is issuing CASP licences gradually. In Lithuania supervision is carried out by the Bank of Lithuania, which has also issued licences to several providers.
For users in the region, the main practical advice remains unchanged: before the deadline it is worth checking your operator's MiCA licence status in the European CASP register or the national regulator's list. Those using exchanges without a clear licence status may want to consider already licensed alternative providers in the region.
The market: Bitcoin holds, ETF pressure eases
The crypto market started the week relatively calmly. Bitcoin continued to hold roughly between 63,000 and 65,000 dollars, well below the mid-May peaks when the price briefly exceeded 74,000 dollars. Analysts describe this stabilisation more as a pause after pressure than a convincing change of trend.
The flow picture continues to improve. U.S. spot Bitcoin funds had suffered record outflows at the start of June - more than 3.4 billion dollars in a single week, the largest amount since these products launched in 2024. However, the latest data shows the pressure has eased considerably, with weekly outflows shrinking by around 87 percent from the early-June peak. This indicates that selling pressure is gradually subsiding, although Ethereum funds are still experiencing greater pressure.
What to watch in the coming days
In the coming days three questions will matter most: whether Binance reaches an agreement with France's AMF by 30 June, what the region's regulators decide in their final licensing calls before the transition period ends, and how the market reacts to macroeconomic signals. Investors using Baltic or Nordic crypto exchanges are still advised to confirm their operator's licence status before 1 July arrives.
