Binance allows you to easily buy and sell cryptocurrency. However, one day, you may no longer want to keep your Binance account open for a number of reasons. Perhaps cryptocurrency no longer interests you, or maybe someone used your account without your permission and you want to disable it. As part of your executor duties, you may need to close the Binance account of someone who recently passed away.
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This overview explains the process for how to close a Binance account — both your own account as well as a deceased individual’s.
Tip: The other aspects of handling a loved one's unfinished business can be overwhelming without a way to organize your process. We have a post-loss checklist that will help you ensure that your loved one's family, estate, and other affairs are taken care of.
How to Close Your Own Binance Account
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to close a Binance account. You’ll find it easy to disable your account in most cases.
That said, the following steps describe how to close your Binance account via a mobile device first. You’ll follow a different process to close your account on a computer. After explaining how to close a Binance account on mobile, this guide will explain how to do so via desktop.
Step 1: Open the app
Start by opening the Binance app. Make sure you’re signed in, then click “Account” on the main page.
Step 2: Choose ‘Security’
Under the “Account” heading, navigate down to “Security,” and click on it.
Step 3: Disable account
After clicking “Security,” you’ll see a range of options. Choose “Disable account.”
Step 4: Review reminders
Binance will provide you with a list of reminders before you permanently disable your account:
- Binance will cancel all pending withdrawals.
- Your account will no longer have any trading capacities.
- Disabling your account will delete all its API keys.
- Disabling your account will delete all devices for your account.
- If you wish to activate your account after disabling it, you’ll have to contact Binance directly.
Carefully review this list. After you do this, if you’re still sure you want to close your Binance account, click “Disable account.”
How to Close a Binance Account from Your Computer
You’ll follow a similar process for closing your Binance account via a desktop computer compared to the process on mobile. Head to the web page, make sure you log in and choose “Security” on the left side of the page. After that, the process stays the same as it does on a phone or tablet.
How to Close a Deceased Loved One’s Binance Account
If you include managing a deceased loved one’s digital afterlife on your list of responsibilities, you may have to close the Binance account of someone who recently died. You can choose two ways to tackle it.
However, as you’ll learn, you can close a deceased individual’s Binance account much more easily if your loved one prepared for this eventuality ahead of time. Keep this in mind if you have a Binance account of your own.
Option 1: Follow the steps above
Provide your loved ones with your login information so your loved ones can delete your online presence on platforms such as Binance after you die. If you have the login information of someone who passed away, you can close the Binance account by following the same steps you would follow when closing your own.
Tip: If a loved one’s end-of-life planning involves giving you access to online accounts so you can easily delete them later, consider using a password manager tool to keep track of login information.
Option 2: Contact Binance
Binance, like many other cryptocurrency trading platforms, prioritizes security. If you wish to close a deceased loved one’s Binance account but you don’t have direct access to it, Binance advises you to contact customer service directly.
Luckily, Binance will work with you in these circumstances if you have proper verification. Naturally, that means you’ll need to offer documentation proving that the individual whose account you plan to close has actually passed away. This may include an obituary or death certificate. You’ll also have to provide documentation showing you have the authority to close the account.
However, Binance’s team states that it’s also more inclined to help the loved ones of deceased users close their accounts if the user took certain steps before death. One of these steps involves completing Binance’s Level 2 Know Your Customer (L2 KYC) process.
Binance’s KYC process allows users to verify their accounts. The L2 KYC process allows for additional verification by showing Binance’s team what a user looks like. Completing the L2 KYC verification makes it easier for Binance to determine whether a request to close a deceased user’s account seems legitimate.
Having trouble convincing Binance to assist you in this matter? You can potentially take legal action. As of now, the legal status of cryptocurrency after someone passes away remains a topic of much debate. Fortunately, in the U.S., the IRS has classified cryptocurrency as a form of property.
That means you should inherit a deceased loved one’s cryptocurrency on Binance or any other such platform the same way you would inherit other assets. If Binance prevents you from collecting your inheritance, an attorney can help.
However, know that debates about inheritance rights and cryptocurrency continue simply because of cryptocurrency’s relative newness. If someone leaves instructions regarding how to access his or her cryptocurrency wallet in a will, an attorney or personal representative can do so. If not, the provider’s terms of use govern whether anyone can access the wallet.
You will likely find that Binance’s terms of use provide you with a means of closing a deceased loved one’s account. You simply need to expect the process to be lengthier than it would be if you had your loved one’s login info.
How to Close a Binance Account: A (Sometimes) Simple Process
Hopefully, you now understand how to close a Binance account, whether for yourself or for someone who dies. If you have any remaining questions, reach out to Binance directly for answers.
Sources:
- “How to Disable an Account.” Binance, 1 May 2018, www.binance.com/en/support/articles/115003800652-How-to-Disable-an-Account
- “Keep Your Crypto #SAFU (CZ's Tips).” Binance, 25 February 2020, www.binance.com/en/blog/421499824684900429/Keep-Your-Crypto-SAFU-CZs-Tips
- Vollers, Caroline. “Bitcoin After Death: your digital inheritance: Part 1 - Bitcoin, blockchain and the cryptowallet.” Farrer & Co, Farrer & Co LLP, 11 February 2019, www.farrer.co.uk/news-and-insights/bitcoin-after-death-your-digital-inheritance-part-1---bitcoin-blockchain-and-the-cryptowallet/