Binance France is closing its operations in the country, with all user accounts set to be closed on Dec. 31, according to emails sent to customers in early November and reported by Cryptoast, Crypto Briefing and other media on Saturday.
Users who still hold a balance after Nov. 29 will be charged a monthly maintenance fee of 0.025% of the balance, with a minimum of 10 USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. To avoid fees, withdrawals must be completed by Nov. 29, the exchange said.
An email cited by Cryptoast stated: “Due to the orderly cessation of activities, your Binance France account will close as of December 31, 2026. If you have not withdrawn your crypto-assets as of December 31, 2026, this message constitutes a notification of our intention to consider your account inactive, in accordance with our Terms of Use. This can result in the conversion, transfer or other processing of your crypto-assets.”
MiCA transition led to service restrictions
The closure follows Binance’s failure to secure Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory authorization from a member state before a July 1 deadline. In late June, Cointelegraph reported that Binance had notified European Union users that access to key services would be restricted.
On Sunday, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “Following the end of the MiCA transition period, Binance is progressively restricting certain services for affected users, in line with the schedule previously communicated to them.” The spokesperson did not address questions about reports that similar emails had been sent to users in Spain and Belgium.
Binance’s global client base counts at least 300 million customers, according to media reports, and the app was downloaded more than 4 million times in the EU last year.
