Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will close clients’ accounts subject to European restrictions in France, Spain, Italy, and Poland in 31 December. The exchange did not obtain the EU license required by the new rules for all crypto companies. Those who do not withdraw funds by 29 November will pay at least 10 USDC per month on their account balance, reports Crypto.news.
“Affected accounts will be closed from 31 December 2026,” a Binance representative said. Such accounts can no longer be funded, but clients can still withdraw cryptocurrency and fiat. The exchange rejects talk of immediate freezing and does not say how many accounts it will close in each country.
Clients in France received letters stating that Binance France will close accounts as part of an orderly wind-down. Clients in Spain, Italy, and Poland received the same messages.
This could affect Ukrainians living in those countries. According to Eurostat, at the end of August more than 1,3 million people fleeing the war in Ukraine were under temporary protection there: nearly 940 thousand in Poland, nearly 274 thousand in Spain, nearly 74 thousand in France, and about 57 thousand in Italy. It is unknown how many of them use Binance.
The fee will be 0,025% of the crypto asset balance per month, but not less than 10 USDC. The minimum applies to accounts with a balance of roughly up to 40 thousand dollars. For a one-thousand-dollar balance the fee will be 1%, for a one-hundred-dollar balance — 10%. If an account’s balance is less than the fee amount, the entire balance may be taken. These terms are set out in the letters clients received; Binance has not publicly confirmed them.
The first fee will be calculated on 29 November and debited within three days, the second after 24 December. Initially the fee will be taken from USDC, and if those are insufficient—from other crypto assets. Those who withdraw their entire balance by 29 November will avoid the fee, but the exchange did not promise to waive normal withdrawal charges.
If crypto assets remain in an account after 31 December, they may be deemed inactive. Under the terms of use, Binance may convert or transfer such assets, and returning them may require additional checks.
At the end of October tokens worth about 6,3 billion dollars were withdrawn from Binance wallets, and the FBI linked the attack to North Korea. Later the exchange said it covered 95% of the stolen funds and is gradually restoring withdrawals.
In Ukraine, Binance, along with WhiteBIT, is among the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
On why the crypto market in Ukraine still operates without clear rules and who benefits from that, journalist and TV host 1+1 Yevhen Plinsky writes in the ZN.UA article “Catch the crypto if you can!”.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Binance закриває рахунки в ЄС: хто не встиг вивести гроші, той заплатить". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
