Where is Binance available? Restricted countries and alternatives

Binance in the European Union: what happened in 2026

This is the most important change for European readers. Under MiCA (the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation), every crypto platform serving EU clients had to obtain a licence from a national regulator by 30 June 2026. That licence can then be passported across the 27 member states.

Binance applied to Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission in January 2026, but withdrew the application on 24 June 2026, saying it had not received a formal decision. Reuters and the Financial Times reported that the Greek regulator was preparing to reject it, over concerns about the company’s anti-money laundering record and governance.

As a result:

• Binance stopped accepting new clients in the EU and ceased providing crypto-asset services to EU residents from 1 July 2026: no new sign-ups, deposits or orders, and no Earn or staking products.
• Users in countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Poland received emails explaining how to withdraw their funds. According to CoinDesk, Binance said client assets remain safe and withdrawals remain available.
• Binance has also been delisting some tokens for EU users, with withdrawals of those tokens closed after a set date, so check the announcements in the app if you still hold assets there.

Where things stand (September 2026)

Binance says it remains committed to Europe and is now seeking a MiCA licence in France, through the AMF, expecting a decision “in the coming months”. There is no guaranteed timeline, and the new application will face the same fit-and-proper test that stalled the Greek one.

Meanwhile, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has reportedly asked Binance to confirm it is genuinely winding down its EU business, amid reports that some EU users are still being served under the “reverse solicitation” exemption (where the client, not the firm, initiates contact).

If you are an EU resident, don’t rely on workarounds: using an unlicensed platform means you lose MiCA’s consumer protections. Check the current status directly with Binance, or use a MiCA-licensed alternative (see below).

Binance supported countries

Outside the European Union, Binance still operates in more than 100 countries, either through its global platform or through locally licensed subsidiaries. Here’s a non-exhaustive snapshot:

• Africa: Nigeria, South Africa and several other markets.
• Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru (the US is served by the separate Binance.US entity).
• Asia and Pacific: Australia, Indonesia, Japan (through the locally licensed Binance Japan), Kazakhstan, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• Europe outside the EU: Türkiye, Ukraine and Switzerland, among others.
• Middle East: Bahrain (licensed by the central bank), Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (through Binance FZE, licensed by Dubai’s VARA).

This list is approximate and changes regularly. Always check your country’s status on Binance’s official Licenses, Registrations and Other Legal Matters page before depositing funds.

On that licences page, you can see Binance’s regulatory authorisations by country. That said, Binance doesn’t publish a single definitive list of every country where it operates: the picture is regional and constantly evolving.

Historically, Binance operated in most countries by default, unless a jurisdiction had explicitly blocked it. That changed after 2022. Following the US Department of Justice settlement in November 2023 (a $4.3 billion fine and a guilty plea over anti-money laundering and sanctions violations), Binance had to tighten its compliance significantly. Several countries now host locally licensed Binance subsidiaries, while the company has withdrawn from others entirely.

Some of the regulated entities Binance operates through include:

• United Arab Emirates: Binance FZE, licensed by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
• Bahrain: Binance Bahrain BSC (c), licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain.
• Japan: Binance Japan KK, registered with the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
• Australia: registered with AUSTRAC.
• Brazil, Argentina and several Asian markets: through locally registered subsidiaries.

In the EU, the registrations Binance held under the old national regimes (such as the AMF registration in France, the Bank of Spain register or Italy’s OAM) were replaced by MiCA, which is why they no longer allow it to serve EU clients.

Binance restricted countries

Some users have had their accounts closed because they live in a jurisdiction Binance doesn’t serve, usually because of sanctions, regulatory blocks or local licensing requirements.

These are the main jurisdictions where Binance is prohibited or significantly restricted:

• European Union: since 1 July 2026, Binance no longer provides crypto-asset services to EU residents, as explained above.
• United States: the global Binance.com platform is not available, and US residents must use the separate Binance.US entity, which has a more limited coin list.
• United Kingdom: Binance can’t onboard new UK retail clients. The FCA has restricted its UK operations since 2021.
• Canada: Binance exited Canada in May 2023, after new requirements from the provincial securities regulators.
• Russia: Binance exited the Russian market in September 2023, selling its local business to CommEX.
• Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea and the non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine: prohibited because of international sanctions.
• Malaysia: prohibited after a Securities Commission cease-and-desist order in 2021.
• Singapore: Binance.com doesn’t serve Singapore residents. The local entity, Binance Asia Services, closed its Singapore platform in 2022.

Binance also reserves the right to close any account at its sole discretion under its terms of use. Accounts can be restricted, frozen or closed at any time, particularly if they trigger a compliance review (KYC issues, suspected jurisdiction breaches or anti-money laundering alerts).

The most common reasons for these restrictions are:

• Lack of a local licence: in jurisdictions with formal crypto licensing requirements (MiCA in the EU, the FCA in the UK, the Canadian provincial regulators), Binance either hasn’t met the requirements or has chosen to exit rather than comply locally.
• Anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance: the DOJ settlement specifically cited Binance for facilitating transactions in sanctioned jurisdictions and for weak controls, and these gaps drove its withdrawal from several markets.
• Crypto derivatives restrictions: high-leverage crypto derivatives are restricted for retail investors in many jurisdictions, which has forced Binance to limit or remove these products.
• Consumer protection concerns: regulators in several countries have raised concerns about Binance’s risk disclosures, marketing and yield products.
• Stablecoin and listing rules: under MiCA and similar frameworks, exchanges must restrict trading in non-compliant stablecoins. Binance wound down BUSD in 2024 and restricted certain stablecoin pairs for European retail clients.

Does Binance work in the US?

Yes, but only through a separate platform: Binance.US, a US-registered entity entirely distinct from the global Binance.com, which is not available to US residents.

Binance launched its US operation in September 2019 as a separate company, sharing only the licensing of software, trademarks and wallet technology. Despite the similarities, Binance.US differs meaningfully in product range, liquidity and regulatory status.

After the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance.US in June 2023 and the $4.3 billion DOJ settlement in November 2023, which affected the parent company, Binance.US faced significant operational problems, including the suspension of US dollar deposits and withdrawals through its banking partners for an extended period, before these were partly restored. The SEC dropped its case against Binance in May 2025, and the platform has gradually rebuilt its dollar on and off-ramps, but it remains more limited than at its 2020 to 2022 peak.

Binance.US also has state-level restrictions. It is generally not available to residents of:

• Alaska
• American Samoa
• Hawaii
• New York
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Texas
• US Virgin Islands
• Vermont

State availability can change without notice, so check Binance.US’s terms of use and its onboarding flow for the current list before signing up.

The most obvious difference between the two platforms is the number of digital assets supported. The global platform offers hundreds of cryptocurrencies, while Binance.US, as a FinCEN-registered money services business operating under US rules, offers a much smaller selection. Liquidity is also typically lower, which can mean wider spreads on smaller pairs.

Binance alternatives

If Binance isn’t available where you live, or you’d rather use a licensed platform, there are plenty of alternatives. For investors in the European Union, the key question since 1 July 2026 is simple: does the platform hold a MiCA licence, or is it authorised to serve your country? You can check any exchange in ESMA’s register of MiCA-authorised providers.

Here are some options to consider:

How to move your crypto from Binance

If you’re an EU resident with assets still on Binance, moving them is straightforward:

1. Open and verify an account on a licensed platform first, so you have somewhere to send your assets.
2. Withdraw euros to your bank account by SEPA transfer, or send your crypto directly to a deposit address on the new platform. Always check the network (for example, Ethereum or BNB Smart Chain) matches on both sides, and send a small test amount first.
3. Watch for delistings: if Binance has announced that a token will stop being withdrawable, move it before that date.
4. Beware of phishing: fraudsters are sending fake “withdraw your funds now” messages. Only act on notices you see inside the Binance app or website.

Before choosing an exchange, check three things: whether it is authorised to serve your country, what it charges (trading fees, spreads and withdrawal fees), and how it holds your assets. The cheapest platform isn’t much use if you can’t open an account or get your money out.

Conclusion

Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume and user base, but its availability has become fragmented. The November 2023 settlement with the US Department of Justice, the departure of founder Changpeng Zhao and, above all, the failure to obtain a MiCA licence by 30 June 2026 have left it out of several major markets, including the entire European Union.

Binance is now seeking a licence in France and says it expects to return to the EU, so the situation may change. Until then, EU residents need an alternative, and there are several licensed options.

For more options, check our review of the best crypto exchanges in Europe or our broader global crypto exchange comparison.