Binance will close affected customer accounts in France, Italy, Spain and Poland on 31 December 2026, extending restrictions imposed after the exchange failed to secure authorisation under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.
According to customer emails reported by CoinDesk, remaining balances will incur a 0.025% monthly fee, with a minimum charge of 10 USDC, starting 29 November.
Binance to Close Affected Accounts in France, Italy, Spain and Poland on December 31
Customers in France, Spain, Italy and Poland have reported receiving account-closure emails. These are countries where Binance previously operated locally registered businesses before the MiCA transitional period expired on 1 July 2026.
The closures follow Binance’s July restrictions on new registrations, deposits and selected products in six EU markets: France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Sweden, CryptoAdventure reported. The latest notices identify account closures in the first four countries, not a blanket shutdown of every Binance account across the EU.
MiCA requires crypto-asset service providers to obtain authorisation in an EU member state to operate across the bloc through the regulation’s passporting framework. Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece in June 2026 and said it would seek approval in another member state.
France’s financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), lists Binance France’s registration, held since May 2022, as having lapsed automatically on 2 July, CoinDesk reported. That lapse came when France’s national registration regime ended and more than 50 providers without a MiCA licence were removed.
Binance to Charge 0.025% Monthly Fee on Remaining Balances From November 29
A Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk the exchange is “progressively restricting certain services for affected users” and described the closure as “a carefully managed process”.
The timeline runs as follows: according to customer emails reported by CoinDesk, from 29 November, remaining balances incur a 0.025% monthly fee with a minimum charge of 10 USDC. Deposits are already blocked, but withdrawals remain open.
Accounts with remaining balances after 31 December may be treated under Binance’s inactive-account provisions, which could result in the conversion or transfer of the underlying assets.
Binance said customer assets remain accessible during the withdrawal period and rejected suggestions that the process involves an immediate freeze of balances, according to CoinDesk.
Binance Customers Can Withdraw Funds or Transfer Assets to Licensed Platforms
Affected customers have two main options: transfer assets to a MiCA-licensed exchange such as Coinbase, Kraken or OKX, which secured authorisation and can passport services across the bloc, or move funds to a self-custody wallet. Co-CEO Richard Teng previously disclosed that roughly 70% of withdrawn EU funds during the July restrictions moved to self-custody, with 30% going to licensed platforms.
Users holding assets in staking or Earn products should unwind those positions before the fee commencement date, as locked positions take time to release. Affected customers should check Binance’s official channels for account-specific instructions.
Balances Remaining After December 31 May Face Inactive-Account Rules
Accounts with cryptocurrency remaining after 31 December may have those accounts classified as inactive, according to CoinDesk. Binance’s published terms already allow it to impose a monthly dormant-account fee and withdraw it directly from the account to cover the cost of maintaining digital assets.
The closures represent a further contraction of Binance’s European retail business, though the current notices do not establish a blanket withdrawal from every EU market.
Regulators have also examined whether Binance can continue serving certain customers through MiCA’s reverse-solicitation exemption, which allows an overseas provider to offer services when an EU customer independently approaches it on their own initiative.
Binance Seeks New EU MiCA Licence After Withdrawing Greek Application
Binance said in June 2026 that it was confident of securing a licence in the coming months, though no target jurisdiction has been publicly confirmed. The exchange has since said it is actively progressing its authorisation pathway.
The exchange’s path back into the EU faces scrutiny over its compliance history. Reuters reported that regulators had concerns about Binance’s compliance record ahead of the Greek licensing decision.
Binance disputed those concerns, saying the Greek regulator had found its application compliant before the exchange withdrew it, according to The Defiant. The exchange’s 2023 guilty plea to federal anti-money laundering charges in the United States and $4.3 billion in penalties remain relevant to that regulatory scrutiny.
