Binance has told customers in several European countries that their accounts will close on December 31, with a monthly fee starting November 29 for balances left behind. CoinDesk reported on November 7 that users in France, Spain and Poland have received closure emails and that Italian users have reported them too. French outlets describe the email in the most detail: deposits are blocked, withdrawals are open, and accounts still holding crypto after year-end are treated as inactive, so the assets may be converted, transferred or otherwise processed.
The notices look sudden, but they are the second stage of a process that began on July 1, when the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rulebook (MiCA) finished its transition period and Binance did not hold a license. This piece sets out who is affected, what the notices say, what the fee costs, how the licensing timeline got here, and what regulators have told customers of unlicensed firms. We did not see Binance’s own closure email or a Binance support page for it, only press descriptions, so the notice details below are labeled as reported.
What the notices say
According to Cryptoast and CryptoActu, Binance France customers were told all accounts close December 31 because Binance is ceasing activity in France. Deposits are blocked and failed deposit attempts may bring delays and fees before funds are returned. CoinDesk says crypto and fiat balances can still be withdrawn and quotes Binance as saying there is no sudden freeze, and Binance’s own June 24 blog post says assets are secure and available at all times. No source we read gives a start date for the deposit block, so we do not state one. CoinDesk names France, Spain, Italy and Poland, where Binance ran local registered businesses, and attributes to the Portuguese outlet Expresso that Portugal is subject to the wider EU restrictions though Binance had no local entity there. Only the French email is described in detail. We found no notices for Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium or Lithuania.
The fee, and what it costs
Starting November 29, accounts with a balance on the calculation date are charged a monthly fee of 0.025 percent of the crypto balance or 10 USDC, whichever is higher, according to Cryptoast, CryptoActu and CoinDesk. The first charge falls within three days of November 29 and the second after December 24. Fees are taken from USDC first and then other crypto, and if the balance is below the fee, the whole balance is taken. An account emptied before November 29 pays no fee. The French outlets describe the fee as applying to Binance France accounts, and CoinDesk applies the schedule to all affected countries without a separate Spanish, Italian or Polish text, so treat it as reported and check your own notice. Our arithmetic from the described schedule:
| Balance on calculation date | Charge per period | Total across both charges |
|---|---|---|
| 15 USDC | 10 USDC, then the remaining 5 | Entire balance |
| 1,000 USDC | 10 USDC (the floor applies) | 20 USDC |
| 100,000 USDC | 25 USDC (0.025 percent) | 50 USDC |
Source: our calculation from the schedule described by Cryptoast, CryptoActu and CoinDesk; CryptoActu’s worked examples agree. Balances shown are in USDC for simplicity. Not Binance’s own table.
How the licensing timeline got here
MiCA’s transitional period for firms that were already operating under national rules ended on July 1, 2026 at the latest. Binance has no MiCA authorization. On June 24 it withdrew its application with Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission, said it would apply in another EU member state, which it did not name, and said it expected a license “in the coming months,” according to its own blog post. CoinDesk says Binance does not appear in the European Securities and Markets Authority register, and JeChange reports that the register as of October 29 listed 392 firms, none of them Binance.
National registrations lapsed with the transition. France’s market regulator, the AMF, lists Binance France SAS, registered May 4, 2022, as removed on July 2, 2026 because the national regime ended; about 54 providers carry that same date. Some sources say July 1, but we use the AMF’s own date. Binance’s restrictions began on July 1: in Italy, reports said it would stop regulated services and block new deposits, and in Spain it stopped new spot orders, margin and new Earn subscriptions while keeping withdrawals open. The November notices are therefore the closure stage, not the first sign of trouble. Poland is a special case, because it has no designated MiCA authority after the president vetoed the regulator-designation bill a third time on June 11, according to Intellinews, which means Polish firms cannot serve Poland unless authorized elsewhere in the EU.
This also fits the wider enforcement pattern we have covered. See our full MiCA explainer and our piece on Coinbase’s October 30 conversion of non-MiCA tokens. No source ties Binance’s notices to the Coinbase conversion.
What regulators have told customers
ESMA’s June 23 statement says unauthorized providers must begin an orderly wind-down immediately: stop onboarding and marketing, limit services to selling, transferring or closing positions, and tell clients repeatedly about the timeline and the date after which positions are closed automatically. It says clients of unauthorized firms do not get MiCA protections, tells them to check the ESMA register, and says that if the provider is not listed they should move assets to an authorized provider or a self-hosted wallet. Italy’s Consob and the Bank of Italy said on June 30 that unauthorized operators must stop and only wind down existing relationships, and that MiCA protection does not extend to non-EU group entities under the same brand. Spain’s securities regulator chair said on June 26 there would be “no exceptions or extensions,” according to The Block. None of those statements names Binance, and we found no statement by the AMF, CNMV, Consob or Poland’s regulator about the November notices. Our glossary defines CASP and self-hosted wallet.
What Binance says
Binance says the account closures are not a permanent exit and that it is pursuing a license; Parkiet reports its Europe director said it is not leaving Europe. In June, Binance said users outside countries with a local registered entity did not need to act for now, and some support messages pointed to its Abu Dhabi entity, according to Cointelegraph. An ESMA spokesperson told Cointelegraph the reverse-solicitation exemption is narrow and that EU-targeted websites, apps and ads count as solicitation. We found no national regulator named as challenging Binance’s servicing.
What we could not confirm
We did not see Binance’s closure email or a Binance support page for it. We could not confirm whether the same fee text went to Spain, Italy and Poland, Portugal’s status beyond the Expresso attribution, what “conversion or transfer” of leftover assets means in practice, or whether Binance has filed a new MiCA application. Binance reported a theft of about $6.3 billion around October 29, with withdrawals suspended and resumed in phases from November 1, according to AFP; we found no source linking that incident to the closure notices, which follow the licensing exit. See our earlier report on the FBI’s attribution of the hack.
Why it matters
The practical point for affected users is the calendar: the fee starts November 29 and accounts close December 31, and regulators have told customers of unlicensed firms to move assets to an authorized provider or a self-hosted wallet. Converting or moving crypto can have tax consequences that depend on the country. For the market, the closures show how MiCA’s end of transition played out for the largest exchange: not a ban, but a gradual loss of local service for customers in countries where it was relying on national registrations. This is reporting, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Further reading
- CoinDesk: Binance users in some European countries told to pull crypto before fees kick in
- Cryptoast: Binance announces closure of French user accounts on December 31
- CryptoActu: Binance France is closing accounts
- Binance blog: update on MiCA licensing (June 24)
- ESMA public statement: MiCA transitional period ends (June 23)
- AMF: list of removed crypto-asset service providers
- Consob: MiCA transitional period ends
- Decrypt: Binance withdraws MiCA license application in Greece
- Cointelegraph: ESMA on Binance serving certain EU users after MiCA
Frequently asked
Is Binance closing accounts in Europe?
According to CoinDesk and French outlets describing a Binance email, accounts for users in France, and reportedly Spain, Italy and Poland, will close on December 31, 2026. Binance says this is not a permanent exit from Europe and that it is pursuing a license. We did not see Binance’s own notice.
What fee does Binance charge before the accounts close?
As described by Cryptoast, CryptoActu and CoinDesk, a monthly fee of 0.025 percent of the crypto balance or 10 USDC, whichever is higher, starting November 29, charged twice, with an emptied account paying nothing. Treat it as reported and check your own notice.
Why is Binance losing service in these countries?
Binance has no MiCA authorization. MiCA’s transition period ended no later than July 1, 2026, and national registrations lapsed, with the AMF removing Binance France on July 2. Binance withdrew its Greek application on June 24 and says it will apply elsewhere in the EU.
Can customers still withdraw?
Reports say withdrawals remain open while deposits are blocked, and Binance says there is no sudden freeze. ESMA tells clients of unlicensed firms to check the ESMA register and, if the provider is not listed, to move assets to an authorized provider or a self-hosted wallet.
Is this connected to the October Binance hack?
We found no source linking the two. Binance’s European restrictions began July 1, months before the roughly $6.3 billion theft reported around October 29, and the closures follow the licensing exit.