Binance is moving to close affected customer accounts in France, Italy, Spain and Poland on 31 December 2026, after failing to secure authorisation under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework. According to customer emails reported by CoinDesk, deposits are already blocked, while withdrawals remain open during the wind-down period.
From 29 November, remaining balances will incur a monthly fee of 0.025% or a minimum charge of 10 USDC, whichever is higher. Accounts still holding assets after 31 December may be treated under Binance's inactive-account provisions, which could allow the exchange to convert or transfer the remaining assets under its terms of service.
The closures follow Binance's earlier restrictions on new registrations, deposits and selected products in six EU markets: France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Sweden. Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece through the Hellenic Capital Market Commission in June 2026, saying it would seek approval in another member state, but no new licence has been publicly confirmed. France's Autorité des marchés financiers lists Binance France's registration, held since May 2022, as having lapsed automatically on 2 July.
A Binance spokesperson described the process as “progressively restricting certain services for affected users” and “a carefully managed process”, adding that customer assets remain accessible during the withdrawal period. Affected users have two main options: transfer funds to a MiCA-licensed platform such as Coinbase, Kraken or OKX, or move assets to a self-custody wallet. Co-CEO Richard Teng previously said roughly 70% of withdrawn EU funds moved to self-custody, with 30% going to licensed platforms.
The news comes as Binance is still restoring services after a $6.3 billion hack at the end of October, the largest cyber incident in crypto industry history. The exchange has said about 95% of the stolen amount has been covered, and withdrawals for networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, XRP, and more recently HYPE and APT have been re-enabled. However, users pulled almost $4.65 billion in less than 10 hours after withdrawals were restored, and total net flows over the past month exceed -$10.2 billion.
