Binance France closes all customer accounts Dec 31, levies idle fee from Nov 29

Binance France SAS notified its French customers by email on November 6, 2026 that all accounts will be closed on December 31, 2026, and that a monthly idle-balance fee of 0.025% of the account balance, or 10 USDC, whichever is greater, will be charged from November 29, 2026. The company cites an "orderly cessation" of its French operations after failing to secure MiCA authorization by the July 1, 2026 transition deadline. Primary source: the customer email reproduced by Cryptoast; English-language reporting at Crypto Briefing.

The calendar

• November 29, 2026 — "Calculation Day": reference date for the monthly fee calculation.
• Within 3 days after Nov 29: first fee deduction.
• After December 24: second monthly fee deduction.
• December 31, 2026: all accounts closed. Deposits have already been blocked since Binance's July 1, 2026 French-market exit; withdrawals remain the only action users can take.

The fee mechanism

• Amount: 0.025% of the account balance or 10 USDC, whichever is greater.
• Collection order per the email: first from available USDC, then from other crypto in the account.
• Shortfall rule: if the account balance is below the fee, the entire remaining balance is swept.
• Opt-out: accounts fully emptied before November 29 pay nothing.
• The 0.025%/10 USDC structure makes the fee punitive for dormant small balances; a 10 USDC floor hits any balance under ~$40,000.

Why this is happening now

Binance France SAS held a PSAN registration from the AMF, but did not succeed in converting it to MiCA authorization. Its application — filed through its Greek subsidiary Binary Greece — was withdrawn. The AMF removed Binance France from the PSAN list on July 2, 2026, and Binance publicly announced its French-market exit on June 24, 2026.

Since July 1, French users have retained read-only access and withdrawal rights. The November 6 email closes that window: Binance is moving from suspended service to closed accounts, with the idle fee designed to accelerate withdrawals.

What to watch

1. Residual-account treatment on December 31. Binance's email mentions "conversion, transfer or other treatment" for assets left on dormant accounts, without naming a recipient. European rules on unauthorized PSAN wind-down leave a legal gap here.
2. AMF and ACPR response. Neither French regulator has published guidance on the Binance termination specifically; a position on residual-asset handling is likely.
3. Legal challenge potential. Charging monthly fees against a service already suspended for four months is unusual and may invite customer litigation.
4. Next MiCA jurisdiction. Binance has said it is pursuing authorization in another EU member state; no country has been confirmed publicly.
5. Parallel actions at KuCoin, Bybit and other non-authorized venues. None has yet announced a comparable account-closure fee structure for European markets.

Context

Binance exits roughly 2 million active French users per the firm's June communication. The November 6 notification is, to our knowledge, the first use of a fee-on-closure mechanism by a major international exchange winding down an EU national market under MiCA. Binance France's July 1 service suspension was covered separately — see the parallel French-locale write-up linked above for the regulatory timeline.