Binance EU closures bring fees before December deadline

Binance has given part of its European customer base a hard deadline. The Binance EU closures, set out in emails to users and confirmed by a company spokesperson on November 7, mean affected accounts will be shut on December 31, with charges on any crypto left behind beginning on November 29.

What happened

The exchange told CoinDesk it is "progressively restricting certain services" now that the transition period under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets rules has ended. Deposits are already blocked, but customers can still withdraw crypto and fiat, and the spokesperson stressed there is "no sudden freeze." Users in France, Spain, Italy and Poland report receiving the notices; those are the countries where Binance ran locally registered businesses before MiCA took full effect.

The fee schedule is blunt. From November 29, Binance will take 0.025% of the remaining crypto balance each month or 10 USDC, whichever is higher, with a first charge within three days and a second after December 24. Balances smaller than the fee can be taken in full, and deductions come from USDC first. FinanceFeeds calculated that any account holding under roughly 40,000 USDC would pay the flat minimum. Crypto still sitting in accounts after December 31 will be treated as inactive and may be converted or transferred.

France's regulator lists Binance France's registration, held since May 2022, as having lapsed on July 2, when the national regime ended. CoinDesk noted that Binance's published terms already allow a monthly fee on dormant accounts, giving the exchange a contractual basis for the charges even though it has not publicly confirmed every detail of the emails.

Why it matters

Binance is the largest exchange in the world, yet ESMA's list of authorized crypto providers does not include it. It withdrew a Greek MiCA application in June and has not named the member state where it is now seeking approval. The Binance EU closures therefore mark a further retreat from retail Europe while that process runs, and customers in countries without a former local entity, such as Portugal, remain under broader restrictions.

The squeeze comes as the exchange works through the aftermath of its October hack and as MiCA reshapes who can serve the bloc. Our coverage of Binance's Brazil license showed the company winning approval elsewhere, while European rules have also forced changes at stablecoin issuers, as in the Circle MiCA review.

What's next

Customers in the four countries have about three weeks before the first deduction. Holders of small balances face the starkest outcome, since an account worth less than the fee can be emptied by the first charge. The key signal will be whether Binance names a licensing jurisdiction before year-end, which would change the outlook for the Binance EU closures.

The company said its "commitment to Europe remains unchanged." CoinDesk's report carries the spokesperson's full comments.