Binance Sees $400M Weekly Net Outflows as EU MiCA Deadline Approaches

More than $400 million were withdrawn from Binance's accounts during the week of June 22. This withdrawal occurred at the time that the European Union was approaching its July 1st deadline for crypto businesses to operate within the parameters of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). As the EU transition deadline approaches, initial data from exchanges has not indicated a mass exodus of users from Binance. After Binance stated that they withdrew their MiCA license application in Greece, the outflows followed.

According to DefiLlama data that Cointelegraph reviewed on Sunday, the 7-day net outflows of Binances were approximately 0.3 percent of the $133.3 billion of tracked assets. When BNB is excluded, Binances native token, the number represents approximately 0.35 percent of Binances $113.8 billion of crypto assets. On Wednesday, the day that Binance reported that they would be withdrawing their MiCA license application in Greece, Binance experienced $1.96 billion in daily net outflows. On Thursday and Friday, Binance experienced an additional $2.52 billion and $1.46 billion in net outflows respectively.

Earlier coverage: Binance To List Centrifuge (CFG) For Spot Trading On March 16

Binance led tracked exchanges in weekly net outflows. Source: DefiLlama

Although these figures seem substantial, they do not represent anything new or unusual for Binance, as the exchange consistently processes billions of dollars in daily inflows and outflows. Also, since there is no geographical information available regarding the origin of the funds, it is impossible to establish whether or not the movements are related to European users.

Daily net flows in the billions of dollars are not unusual for Binance. Source: DefiLlama

BINANCE OUTFLOWS COME AHEAD OF JULY 1 MICA DEADLINE

Binance will begin restricting its onboarding process and other service offerings for many EU based customers who may be impacted by the MiCA transition. The deadline for Binance was just one week prior to the MiCA transition deadline. As part of an overall movement of all crypto firms within the EU to comply with the MiCA licensing requirements, these restrictions on Binance are a result of this transition. MiCA was created to provide a consistent regulatory framework for all crypto asset service providers across the EU.

Once authorized, firms will be able to operate across the entire EU using a regulatory passport. Those firms that have not received authorization will have to either limit or cease providing some of their current services. Binance is facing additional pressure to obtain authorization in Europe prior to missing its initial opportunity to do so during the first phase of the MiCA transition.

RIVAL EXCHANGES COMPETE FOR EU USERS

In an effort to woo Binance customers prior to the MiCA deadline, there were multiple competing crypto exchanges attempting to lure Binance's user base. OKX received MiCA authorization in Malta in January 2025. Over the same weekly time frame, OKX had a total of $285.5 million in net inflow from their reserves wallet monitored by DefiLlama.

However, OKX did not rank first among the exchanges for the highest weekly inflow. Bitget received approximately $710 million in net inflow during the same time period. In comparison, Bitfinex had a total of approximately $400 million in net inflow. Neither Bitget nor Bitfinex were listed on the interim MiCA registry provided by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which was most recently updated on Friday. Data shows that although Binance experienced outflows, the exchanges receiving the greatest amount of inflow have yet to be directly associated with MiCA authorization.

Additionally, the initial data makes it hard to determine if large quantities of European users are transferring their funds due to the impending regulatory deadline.

EURO TRADING REMAINS A SMALL PART OF BINANCE VOLUME

cryptoquant analyst maartunn recently stated to cointelegraph that euro trading represents approximately 1% of binance's total spot volume. The low percentage of euro-based trading will likely limit the negative financial effects of any MiCA-based restrictions to binance's overall global operations. while binance continues to be the world's most active crypto exchange based upon trading volume, europe is merely a single aspect of binance's larger global market. although binance has publicly acknowledged that europe is critical to its long-term strategic plan, "we do not underestimate the importance of the european market for binance," yi he stated. "although it currently accounts for a very small portion of our overall operation, we are very much invested in the eu and in providing excellent service to our customers in europe."

BINANCE TELLS SOME EU USERS TO MOVE FUNDS

Some EU customers have been notified by Binance about having to transfer their funds to a self-custodial wallet or another exchange. A Binance representative informed Cointelegraph that the specific limitations placed on each customer would be determined based on where the customer is located. Binance further stated that if a customer receives support from them via one of their locally registered entities then no additional action needs to be taken. In a June 23rd release regarding the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), it was stated that all crypto service providers operating within the EU without a license as of July 1st will have to begin immediately winding down all operations in the EU. According to ESMA, those providers who do not have a license may only provide services related to the sale of assets, transfer of assets, relocation of assets, or closing of positions.

MICA PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS EUROPE

The situation of Binance reflects a greater change happening in the European crypto market as MiCA goes live. MiCA is expected to have a significant impact on how exchanges, custodians, and other crypto asset service providers will be operating throughout the EU. Companies receiving regulatory authorizations will likely find it easier to provide services to their customers within the EU; however, companies that do not receive authorization may experience limitations.

While the outflow of funds from Binance has been substantial, it is not significantly different than the amount of funds flowing out of Binance on an average day, nor is it substantially different from the total value of assets held by Binance. The next few weeks may give us a better idea if there are any measurable changes to the ways users interact with major crypto exchanges due to MiCA.