Binance users in some European countries told to pull crypto before fees kick in, with accounts closing by year end

In June, Binance first contacted users in France, Spain, Italy and Poland, urging them to withdraw. Those are countries where it ran locally registered businesses before MiCA’s transition period ended.

Users in countries where Binance had no local entity, including Portugal, haven’t been singled out in the same way, though they remain subject to the broader EU restrictions, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

Starting Nov. 29, Binance will charge users 0.025% of their remaining crypto balance each month, or 10 USDC, whichever is higher. The first charge will be taken within three days of Nov. 29, and a second charge will be taken after Dec. 24. Accounts with less than the fee will have their entire balance taken, according to the emails from Binance to the users.

France’s financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), lists Binance France’s registration, which has been held since May 2022, as having lapsed automatically on July 2. That’s when France’s national registration regime ended and more than 50 providers without a MiCA license, including Gemini’s European unit, were removed.

While the email hasn’t been confirmed, Binance’s terms on the website state that it may “charge a dormant account fee which may be to cover the cost of maintaining the Digital Assets with any Binance Affiliate or any third party, with such fee to be withdrawn directly from the dormant account on a monthly basis.”