Binance to close accounts in France, Spain, Italy and Poland on 31 December 2026

On 7 November 2026, Binance confirmed that affected customer accounts in France, Spain, Italy and Poland will close with effect from 31 December 2026. Deposits into those accounts are already blocked, withdrawals remain open, and from 29 November 2026 any crypto left in them starts to cost money.

What happened

A Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk on 7 November that the exchange is "progressively restricting certain services for affected users" since the transition period under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules ended, and that "affected accounts will be closed with effect from 31 December 2026". The company described the closure as "a carefully managed process".

The customers affected are in the four countries where Binance ran locally registered businesses before the MiCA transition period ended, France, Spain, Italy and Poland, and Binance first contacted users there in June 2026, urging them to withdraw. Users in countries where Binance had no local entity, including Portugal, have not been singled out in the same way. They remain subject to the broader EU restrictions, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

The customer email behind the notices was first reported by French outlets Cryptoast and CryptoActu on 6 November, under the heading "Rappel important", and Italian clients received the same email with the same fee and dates, according to Criptovaluta.it.

The fee from 29 November

From 29 November 2026, Binance will charge 0.025% of a customer's remaining crypto balance each month, or 10 USDC, whichever is higher. The first charge will be taken within three days of 29 November, with a second charge after 24 December. Accounts holding less than the fee will have their entire balance taken.

The fees will be deducted from USDC holdings first, then from other crypto assets if needed. Crypto left in an affected account after 31 December 2026 will be treated as inactive, which may result in the assets being converted or transferred.

Binance says users' assets remain safe and accessible, and that there is "no sudden freeze". Deposits are blocked, but customers can still withdraw their crypto and fiat balances.

Why this is happening

MiCA requires crypto exchanges to secure authorisation in one EU member state before they can serve customers anywhere in the bloc. Binance still has no such authorisation. It withdrew its application for a Greek MiCA licence in June 2026 and said it would seek approval in another member state, which it has not named. It does not appear in the European Securities and Markets Authority's register of authorised crypto providers, last updated 5 November 2026.

France's regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, lists Binance France's registration, held since May 2022, as having lapsed automatically on 2 July 2026. That was when France's national registration regime ended and more than 50 providers without a MiCA licence, including Gemini's European unit, were removed.

Binance says its commitment to Europe is unchanged and that it is actively progressing its authorisation pathway. In June it said it was confident it would secure a licence "in the coming months".

What it means in general terms

For anyone with an affected account, the practical dates are 29 November and 31 December. Balances left in place after 29 November start to shrink by the monthly fee, and the minimum charge of 10 USDC means small balances can be taken in full. After 31 December the account itself closes, and anything still in it is treated as inactive.

No hack or freeze is behind this. The exchange has not reported a loss of funds in connection with these accounts, and withdrawals are still working, so the risk for an account holder is delay: leaving crypto in an affected account past the fee date costs money, and leaving it past the closure date means dealing with whatever inactive-account process Binance applies next.

This is also separate from the suspected hack on Binance on 29 October 2026, when the exchange temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals across the platform. That incident is a different story, and the withdrawals there reopened in phases from 1 November.

What happens next

The next date to watch is 29 November, when the first fee is charged, then 31 December, when the affected accounts close. Two things remain open: whether Binance secures a MiCA authorisation in another member state, and what happens to balances still in affected accounts after closure. The answers will come from Binance and the regulators involved.