If you have a Binance account, these three years have been a rollercoaster: lawsuits in the United States, a record penalty, its founder in prison and later pardoned, a partial shutdown in Spain for lacking a European licence and, ten days ago, the largest crypto theft in history. It is natural to wonder what is happening with Binance and whether your money is safe there.
The short answer: Binance is still running and says it has replaced almost everything that was stolen, but in Spain it has been in exit mode since 1 July 2026: you can sell and withdraw, but not buy or deposit. And there is now a closure date: Binance has confirmed that the affected accounts in Spain will be closed with effect from 31 December 2026. At CryptoImpuestos we have gone through the facts from 2023 to today, 9 November 2026, so you know what has happened, what to expect and what you should do now with your account and with the Spanish tax agency.
What is happening with Binance? The blows, one after another
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume. That has not kept it out of trouble. Since 2023 it has piled up open fronts, first with the US justice system and then with European regulators.
These are the eight milestones that explain where it stands today:
- March 2023: the CFTC sues Binance and its founder.
- June 2023: the SEC sues Binance and its founder.
- November 2023: settlement with the US authorities for 4.3 billion dollars.
- April 2024: its founder is sentenced to 4 months in prison.
- May 2025: the SEC drops its lawsuit.
- October 2025: its founder is pardoned.
- July 2026: without a MiCA licence, Binance goes into exit mode in Spain.
- October 2026: a hack of about 6.3 billion dollars.
Let us take it step by step, because not everything weighs the same for a user in Spain.
2023: the year the United States went after Binance
On 27 March 2023, the CFTC, the US derivatives regulator, sued Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ). It accused the exchange of offering futures and other derivatives to US customers without being registered.
On 5 June 2023 came the second lawsuit, from the SEC, the securities regulator. There were 13 charges, including operating unregistered as an exchange and as a broker, and mixing customer funds with those of companies linked to CZ.
The big blow came on 21 November 2023. Binance reached a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other agencies for about 4.3 billion dollars, pleaded guilty to breaching anti-money laundering and sanctions rules, and accepted an independent monitor. CZ pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme and stepped down as chief executive. He was replaced by Richard Teng, who until then had run the company’s regional markets.
2024 and 2025: prison, a pardon and the end of the SEC case
On 30 April 2024, Judge Richard Jones, in Seattle, sentenced CZ to 4 months in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 36.
In 2025 the wind changed in the United States. On 29 May 2025, the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Binance and CZ with prejudice, which means it cannot bring it again over the same facts. The SEC said it was doing so in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter.
On 23 October 2025, the White House announced that President Trump had pardoned CZ. The pardon is personal: it wipes out Zhao’s conviction, not that of Binance as a company, which pleaded guilty and paid on its own account in 2023.
None of this changes Binance’s situation in Europe, which is what affects you if you live in Spain.
The fronts outside the United States
While the US cases were being resolved, Binance had problems in other countries:
- Nigeria. In February 2024, the Nigerian authorities detained two Binance executives, among them Tigran Gambaryan, its head of financial crime compliance, in the middle of an investigation into money flows in the country. Gambaryan spent about eight months in detention and was freed on 23 October 2024, when the charges against him were dropped.
- Netherlands. In June 2023, Binance announced it was leaving the country after failing to obtain registration from the Dutch central bank.
- Belgium. On 23 June 2023, the Belgian regulator (FSMA) ordered it to stop offering crypto services. It started accepting customers there again in September that year.
- France. In June 2023, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation. On 28 January 2025, the specialist organised crime section (JUNALCO) opened a judicial investigation into alleged money laundering and tax fraud between 2019 and 2024. It is an investigation, not a conviction.
2026: no MiCA licence and exit mode in Spain
MiCA is the European regulation that requires exchanges to hold a licence to serve customers in the European Union. Each country could grant a transitional period, which in Spain ended on 1 July 2026.
In January 2026, Binance applied for that licence in Greece, to the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC). On 16 June, Reuters reported that the Greek regulator was leaning towards rejecting it. Binance denied this, but on 24 June 2026 it withdrew the application before any decision was made.
On 23 June, the European securities authority (ESMA) made clear how the exit had to work: from 1 July, unlicensed exchanges must limit themselves to what is needed for the customer to sell or transfer their crypto or close positions. On 26 June, the chairman of the CNMV (Spain’s securities regulator), Carlos San Basilio, summed it up for Spain: no exceptions or extensions.
Since 1 July 2026, according to what Binance itself announced to its customers in Spain, accounts work like this:
- Yes: see your balance, sell and withdraw to another platform or to your wallet.
- No: buy, deposit crypto or euros, or open new positions.
If you are looking for alternatives, we cover them in what to do now that Binance does not work in Spain.
October 2026: the largest hack in history
On the night of 29 October 2026, attackers emptied Binance’s hot wallets. The analytics firm TRM Labs puts the theft at about 6.3 billion dollars and the FBI attributes it to TraderTraitor, a North Korean group.
Binance says it is absorbing the hit, not its customers. According to the report it published on 3 November, it has replaced 98% of what was stolen with its emergency fund, SAFU, part of its insurance funds and its own treasury, and it is still buying back the rest. It reopened withdrawals in phases from 1 November. On 6 November it set itself the target of reopening withdrawals of six tokens before the end of the following week: HYPE, INJ, APT, PLASMA, NEAR and LTC. On 8 November it reopened HYPE and APT; as at 9 November, the rest are still pending.
We explain it in detail, along with what it means for your tax return, in Binance hack: what happens to your money and your taxes.
What can you expect from Binance in Spain?
There are no forecasts here, only what is known today.
In June, Binance said it would apply for a MiCA licence in another European Union country and that it expects to obtain it in the coming months. As of today it has not said which country, nor has it made a new application public. A MiCA licence, once granted in one country, allows a company to operate throughout the EU, including Spain.
For you, that means three things:
- Until it has a licence, exit mode continues. Selling and withdrawing, yes. Buying and depositing, no.
- Your account has a closure date. Binance has confirmed that the affected accounts in Spain will be closed with effect from 31 December 2026. According to the emails it has sent to its customers, reported by CoinDesk, from 29 November it will charge a monthly fee of 0.025% of the remaining balance, with a minimum of 10 USDC.
- Without a licence, you do not have MiCA protection. The CNMV points out that anyone dealing with an unauthorised entity does not have those safeguards, and its complaints channel is designed for authorised platforms.
That is why it is not a good idea to wait and see with money sitting idle there.
What to do now if you have money on Binance
Four steps, in this order:
- Download your full history. It is your proof of what you bought, at what price and what you moved. Without it, the calculation of your gains does not add up. You have the steps in how to download your Binance history.
- Withdraw to your own wallet if you want to keep your crypto. Moving your coins to a wallet of your own is not a sale and is not taxed: you still have the same coins with the same purchase cost.
- Or move them to an exchange with a MiCA licence. If you want to keep buying and selling, choose a platform authorised in the EU. You have the list in exchanges with a MiCA licence in Spain. Note: if you sell on Binance to move euros, that sale is taxed. If you swap one crypto for another, so is that.
- Check the Modelo 721. If on 31 December the value of your crypto held by foreign custodians exceeds €50,000, you have to file it. Binance counts if the entity that holds your coins there is foreign: check your terms of use to see which entity your account is with. If you already filed it in a previous year, you only file again if that value has risen by more than €20,000 or if you no longer hold coins you had already declared. We explain it in the complete Modelo 721 guide.
And if you are worried that the Spanish tax agency already has data on your account, we cover it in the tax agency has detected my Binance transactions.
Summary: what is happening with Binance and what you need to do
| Event | When | How it affects you in Spain |
|---|---|---|
| CFTC and SEC lawsuits | March and June 2023 | Nothing directly |
| $4.3bn settlement and CZ steps down | November 2023 | Nothing directly |
| CZ convicted and pardoned | April 2024 and October 2025 | Nothing directly |
| Withdraws its MiCA application in Greece | 24 June 2026 | No licence in the EU |
| Exit mode in Spain | Since 1 July 2026 | Sell or withdraw only |
| Hack of about $6.3bn | 29 October 2026 | Binance says it has replaced 98% |
| Closure of accounts in Spain | 31 December 2026 | Monthly fee from 29/11, according to the emails to customers |
| New MiCA application | No country or date | Better not to wait: history, withdrawal and 721 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Binance going to close in Spain?
It has not closed today: it works in exit mode, so you can sell and withdraw. What you cannot do is buy or deposit. But Binance has confirmed that the affected accounts in Spain will be closed with effect from 31 December 2026 and, according to the emails to customers, it will charge a monthly fee from 29 November. Withdraw whatever you want to keep before then.
Is my money safe on Binance after the hack?
Binance says it has replaced 98% of what was stolen and that customer balances have not been affected. Check your balance in the official app and compare it with your history. If it does not match, complain in writing.
If I withdraw my crypto from Binance to a wallet, do I have to pay tax?
No. Moving your coins to a wallet of your own is not a sale. It is only taxed if you sell or swap one crypto for another.
Does CZ’s pardon change anything for me?
No. The pardon affects Changpeng Zhao as an individual, in the United States. Binance’s situation in Europe depends on the MiCA licence, not on what happens to its founder.
Do I have to file the Modelo 721 for what I hold on Binance?
Only if on 31 December the value of your crypto held by foreign custodians exceeds €50,000. Binance counts if the entity that holds your coins there is foreign: check your terms of use to see which entity your account is with. What you hold in a wallet where you control the keys does not count. Note: if you already declared Binance on the 721 in a previous year and this year you have withdrawn everything, you still have to file it to report that exit.
Do not let Binance complicate your tax return
With Binance in exit mode, you will most likely end the year with movements across several platforms and wallets. Send us your history and we will generate the document with all your exchanges and wallets using the global FIFO method required by the Spanish tax agency.
Sources: ESMA: public statement on the end of the MiCA transitional period (23/06/2026) · The Block: Spain says «no exceptions or extensions» (26/06/2026) · SEC: dismissal of the lawsuit against Binance and Zhao (29/05/2025) · CoinDesk: Binance to close accounts in Spain, France, Italy and Poland (07/11/2026)
Víctor Lázaro
Marketing Director, Cryptoimpuestos.es
