Accounts must be closed, and cryptocurrency withdrawn by December 31. Binance users in Spain, Italy, France, and Poland received similar messages.

A Binance representative told CoinDesk that the exchange is "gradually restricting certain services for affected users" following the end of the transition period under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules.

In June, Binance contacted users in France, Spain, Italy, and Poland for the first time, urging them to withdraw their funds. These are countries where the company operated a locally registered business before the end of the MiCA transition period.

Starting November 29, Binance will charge users a monthly fee of 0.025% of their cryptocurrency balance or 10 USDC, whichever is higher.

The first deduction will be made within three days of November 29, and the second after December 24. Accounts with a balance lower than the fee will be charged their entire balance, according to emails sent by Binance to users.

What is the reason?

France's financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), notes that Binance France's registration, which had been in effect since May 2022, automatically expired on July 2.

MiCA requires cryptocurrency exchanges to obtain authorization in an EU member state in order to serve customers across the bloc.

Binance withdrew its application for a Greek MiCA license in June, but said it plans to obtain approval in another EU member state, which it has not yet named.

The company has still not been listed in the European Securities and Markets Authority's register of authorized crypto-asset service providers.

"Our commitment to Europe remains unchanged, and we are actively progressing through the authorization process," a spokesperson said.