Binance MiCA Fight, Mashinsky CFTC Ban, ETH Exits

Today in crypto, Binance’s European Union license application raised questions about the influence of the bloc’s institutions, Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky permanently lost the ability to trade on US commodities markets and the Ethereum Foundation lost another high-ranking contributor.

Binance’s MiCA fight raises questions over ECB influence

Binance’s faltering EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license application in Greece has raised questions about whether the bloc’s central bank may have played an informal role in the process, despite not having formal authority over licensing decisions.

Even though MiCA assigns approval of crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licenses to national competent authorities, lawyers told Cointelegraph that its wording does not prevent other EU institutions, including the European Central Bank (ECB), from communicating with those regulators during the review process.

Source: EUR-Lex

“Nothing in the MiCA framework would prevent a third party like the ECB from offering its opinion to that national authority on Binance’s application,” David Lesperance, founder at Lesperance & Associates, told Cointelegraph.

The Big Whale reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that ECB President Christine Lagarde had signaled to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that Binance was not welcome in Europe. The report followed a Reuters story on Tuesday that Greece’s market regulator was set to reject Binance’s MiCA application.

The reports surfaced less than two weeks before the end of MiCA’s transitional period on July 1, a deadline that will determine which crypto firms can continue operating across the EU under its licensing regime.

CFTC permanently bans Celsius’ Mashinsky from trading

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission resolved its yearslong legal battle against Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky on Thursday, permanently banning him from registering with it and trading in markets it oversees.

Earlier this year, the CFTC and the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance saying they considered most major cryptocurrencies to be commodities, and Mashinsky’s ban means he will never be able to trade commodities, futures and derivatives.

Source: CFTC

The settlement ends, what the CFTC said when it filed it in 2023, was its first case against a digital asset lending platform and marks the end of one of the last remaining regulatory actions pending against Mashinsky.

Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2025 after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud for misleading Celsius’ customers about the safety of the crypto lending platform, which collapsed during a major market drawdown in 2022.

He still faces charges filed by the SEC in July 2023. The regulator told a federal court in late May that it has “engaged in substantive settlement discussions” with Mashinsky, but no agreement had been reached.

Ethereum Foundation leadership exodus continues with director’s departure

The Ethereum Foundation has lost another high-ranking contributor, amid increasing scrutiny of the research organization as the network faces ongoing questions about talent retention and governance philosophy.

In a post on X, co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang announced that she had stepped down from her role, effective immediately, following a recent sabbatical. Wang wrote that “Ethereum has always been bigger than any role” and indicated that she has not yet decided what she will do next.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin commented on Wang’s an X post, acknowledging that she had taken on “the most challenging position in the Ethereum Foundation” alongside Tomasz Stanczak, who also stepped down from his leadership role earlier this year.

Source: Vitalik Buterin

The Ethereum Foundation has logged an estimated 19 layoffs and departures this year, although the loss of senior executives and core contributors has drawn the most attention. The wave of departures comes as the foundation grapples with intensifying competition, ongoing debate over Ethereum’s governance and long-term development strategy, and continued pressure on Ether’s market performance.