Binance, MEXC: the exchanges without a MiCA license four months after the grace period
The MiCA transition period ended in France on 30 June 2026. Binance, which had withdrawn its application in Greece on 24 June, stopped serving French residents on 1 July: no more new accounts, no more deposits, no more spot orders, no more Earn subscriptions. Existing customers, about two million according to the press, can still reduce their positions and withdraw. On 1 October, margin positions that were still open were closed automatically.
The case isn't closed. According to the Financial Times, ESMA and the French, German and Greek regulators are looking at how Binance keeps opening accounts for Europeans by invoking the “reverse solicitation” rule in Article 61 of MiCA, an exception reserved for customers who come of their own accord, without advertising or marketing. No authority has found a violation so far.
MEXC, widely used for small tokens, is in a clearer position: on the AMF blacklist since 4 June 2024, without a MiCA license, and in the process of leaving the Netherlands, where accounts have been closed since 24 October. France isn't on its list of banned countries, but nothing protects a French customer if the platform shuts down or freezes accounts, and the AMF can ask a judge to block access to it.
On the licensed side, the AMF lists Kraken (licensed in Ireland), OKX (through OKCoin Europe, in Malta) and Coinbase (in Luxembourg), which operate in France thanks to the European passport. A license doesn't protect you from a hack or from an account freeze for verification, but it does give you a regulator to complain to.
Binance, MEXC: where to buy crypto in France since MiCA
Since 1 July 2026, a crypto platform that wants to serve customers in France must hold the European MiCA license. Binance didn't get it. It no longer accepts new French customers, and those who already had an account can only sell or withdraw their crypto. Funds aren't frozen: withdrawals are still open.
MEXC, a platform known for its low fees and its thousands of small tokens, doesn't have a license either. It has been on the blacklist of France's market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), since June 2024, and it has just closed its accounts in the Netherlands.
If you're looking for a platform, the AMF publishes the list of licensed ones. Kraken, OKX and Coinbase are on it, along with others. If you still have crypto on Binance, withdrawals remain possible, with no end date announced. On MEXC, however, a French customer has no recourse in France if the platform shuts down or blocks accounts, as it has just done in the Netherlands.
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Binance under ESMA scrutiny, MEXC blacklisted: where the non-MiCA exchanges stand
France's transitional regime expired on 30 June 2026. Binance, left without a CASP license after withdrawing its application to Greece's HCMC on 24 June, switched its French accounts to exit-only mode on 1 July: spot orders and bots canceled, fiat and crypto deposits cut off, Earn moved back to the Spot wallet, RWUSD converted into USDC. Remaining margin positions and loans were liquidated automatically on 1 October, and API keys were revoked. No end date has been given for withdrawals.
According to the FT on 1 October, ESMA, along with the AMF, BaFin and the HCMC, is taking a close look at how Binance uses reverse solicitation (Article 61 of MiCA). ESMA points out that any website, app or influencer campaign aimed at EU residents counts as solicitation and voids the exception. There has been no decision or penalty so far, and Reuters couldn't confirm the FT's report.
MEXC has no MiCA license. It has been on the AMF's crypto blacklist since 4 June 2024, and on ESMA's interim register of non-compliant entities since a decision by the Dutch regulator AFM on 16 September 2025. Its exit from the Netherlands happened in four waves between 23 August and 24 October, with a process that closes on 16 November and unwithdrawn balances handed over to a custodian. France isn't on its list of prohibited jurisdictions, but its terms of use provide for arbitration in Hong Kong, and the AMF can get access to the site blocked through emergency court proceedings.
On the AMF's register of CASPs (PSCA in French), Kraken (Payward Europe Solutions, Central Bank of Ireland), OKX (OKCoin Europe, MFSA) and Coinbase (Coinbase Luxembourg, CSSF) serve France through passporting, for custody, exchange against funds or other crypto, and transfers. For an active customer, the choice between them comes down to fees and the withdrawal networks on offer.
