Binance Will Close Some EU Accounts on December 31 and Charge Fees on Leftover Crypto From November 29

Binance has started telling customers in several European countries to move their crypto off the exchange, warning that monthly fees on leftover balances begin on November 29 and that the affected accounts will be shut for good on December 31, 2026.

A Binance spokesperson confirmed the timeline to CoinDesk in a report published Saturday, saying the exchange is "progressively restricting certain services for affected users" now that the transition period under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules has ended.

"Affected accounts will be closed with effect from 31 December 2026," the spokesperson said, calling it "a carefully managed process." Users in France, Spain, Italy and Poland have reported receiving the notices.

What Binance is telling users

According to the customer emails described by CoinDesk and Bitcoin.com News, deposits into the affected accounts are already blocked. Customers can still withdraw both crypto and fiat balances, and Binance stressed that there is "no sudden freeze."

French media first reported the emails on November 6, according to Bitcoin.com News. The notice sent to Binance France customers reads: "Due to the orderly cessation of activities, your Binance France account will be closed as of December 31, 2026."

The same message warns that if crypto is not withdrawn by that date, the account will be treated as inactive, which "may result in the conversion, transfer or other handling" of the assets under Binance's terms of use.

The fee schedule, and who it hurts most

Starting November 29, Binance will charge 0.025% of the remaining crypto balance each month, or 10 USDC, whichever is higher. The first charge lands within three days of November 29, and a second one follows after December 24.

Fees come out of USDC holdings first and then out of other crypto if needed. If an account holds less than the fee, the emails say Binance will take the entire remaining balance.

The 10 USDC floor is the part that matters for most people. Because 0.025% only exceeds 10 USDC on balances above roughly $40,000, nearly every small account pays the flat minimum, which Bitcoin.com News notes could add up to 20 USDC across the two charges.

The fix is simple, though. Accounts that withdraw everything before the November 29 calculation date will not be charged, according to Bitcoin.com News.

CoinDesk noted that the email itself has not been confirmed, but pointed out that Binance's published terms already allow a "dormant account fee" to be withdrawn monthly to cover the cost of holding digital assets.

Why this is happening: Binance still has no MiCA licence

MiCA requires crypto exchanges to win authorization in one EU member state before they can serve customers anywhere in the bloc. The regime became mandatory for crypto service providers on June 30, 2026.

Binance withdrew its application for a Greek MiCA licence in June and said it would seek approval in another member state, which it has not named. "We are confident we will secure a license in the coming months," the exchange said at the time.

It still does not appear in the European Securities and Markets Authority's register of authorized crypto providers, CoinDesk reported.

France, Spain, Italy and Poland are the countries where Binance ran locally registered businesses before the transition period ended. The exchange first contacted users there in June, urging them to withdraw.

In France, the markets regulator AMF lists Binance France's registration, held since May 2022, as having lapsed automatically on July 2. That is when the national registration regime ended and more than 50 providers without a MiCA licence, including Gemini's European unit, were removed, according to CoinDesk.

Users in countries where Binance had no local entity, such as Portugal, have not been singled out in the same way, though they remain subject to the wider EU restrictions, Portuguese newspaper Expresso reported, as cited by CoinDesk.

Another blow in a rough fortnight for Binance

The notices land at an awkward moment. Binance is still dealing with the $6.3 billion hack it disclosed on October 29, which the FBI has attributed to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group, according to The Block.

Binance has said the breach started with malware hidden in software downloads and fake job recruitment efforts targeting engineers, Reuters reported. We covered the exchange's own account in our report on how the Binance hack began with a fake job interview.

When withdrawals reopened, customers pulled a net 25,793 bitcoin, worth about $3.6 billion, between November 1 and November 2, Bitcoin.com News reported. That episode is covered in our story on Binance's $3.64 billion in net outflows.

Then on Saturday, Binance said chief financial officer Kaiser Ng is leaving. "Kaiser Ng has decided to pursue a new venture after more than five years at Binance, with a transition plan implemented over the last half year," co-CEO Yi He said in a statement reported by Reuters.

Ng, who has been CFO since January 2022 and previously worked at Kraken, will be replaced by Justin Yek, most recently vice president of finance at payments firm Airwallex, according to Reuters and The Block.

How the market is taking it

The broader market has been quiet rather than panicked. Bitcoin traded at about $75,777 early on Sunday, down 0.34% and virtually flat on the day, Investing.com reported, as Binance's EU closures added to regulatory pressure on the sector.

The regulatory backdrop is busy elsewhere too. The EU has set up a 12-month crypto task force to fight Russian sanctions evasion through digital assets, Investing.com noted, and the US Treasury this week moved to cut MEXC Global off from the US financial system.

What affected users should do now

For customers who received a notice, the practical steps are clear. Withdraw crypto and fiat balances before November 29 to avoid the first fee, and check the exact terms shown in the email or the app.

The Token Press pointed out that the fee schedule was sent through customer emails rather than a single public announcement, and that Binance has not published a full list of affected countries or account types. So one user's deadline may not match another's.

Most remaining customers are likely to move funds to self-custody wallets or to MiCA-licensed exchanges, Bitcoin.com News said. Licensed rivals such as Coinbase and OKX launched campaigns aimed at Binance users after the July 1 cut-off, which affected an estimated 2 million French customers.

What comes next

The key dates are now fixed: fees from November 29, a second charge after December 24, and closure on December 31. Anything left after that will be treated as inactive and could be converted or transferred.

The bigger open question is whether Binance can return to the EU through a licence in another member state. For now, the exchange insists its plans have not changed.

"Our commitment to Europe remains unchanged, and we are actively progressing our authorization pathway," the spokesperson told CoinDesk.