In January 2024, Binance announced it was leaving the Canadian market. Canadian users had 90 days to withdraw their funds. Many users procrastinated — they assumed 90 days was plenty of time. By day 70, the withdrawal queue was so long that some users could not get their transactions processed before the deadline. By day 90, some users still had funds on the exchange and had to go through a lengthy claims process to recover them — a process that took months and resulted in losses for many. This scenario plays out every time an exchange closes or exits a market — and the users who act early get their funds out, while the users who wait do not.

In this article, I provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide to withdrawing your cryptocurrency from a closing exchange. Whether the exchange is shutting down entirely, leaving your jurisdiction, or freezing your specific account with a withdrawal deadline, the strategy is the same: act immediately, follow the right steps, and do not procrastinate. The difference between users who recover their funds and users who lose them is almost always timing — not the amount at stake, not the type of exchange, not the jurisdiction. The users who act in the first 48 hours after the closure announcement get their funds out. The users who wait until the last week often do not. This is the single most important lesson from every exchange closure I have handled in my career.

Step 1: Do not wait

The most important step. As soon as you learn that your exchange is closing or leaving your jurisdiction, begin the withdrawal process immediately. Do not wait for more information, do not wait for the exchange to clarify the timeline, and do not wait to see if the situation resolves. The withdrawal queue grows longer every day, and the exchange's systems may become overloaded as the deadline approaches.

Users who withdraw in the first 48 hours typically have no issues — the systems are functioning, the withdrawal queue is short, and gas fees are normal. Users who wait until the last month face withdrawal delays (the queue may be thousands of transactions long), high gas fees (network congestion from mass withdrawals), and system outages (the exchange's servers may be overwhelmed by the volume of withdrawal requests). Users who wait until the last week may find that withdrawals are suspended entirely — the exchange may freeze all withdrawals to prevent a bank run, leaving users with no way to recover their funds. This pattern has been observed in every major exchange closure: Binance Canada, FTX, Celsius, Mt. Gox. The users who acted early recovered their funds; the users who waited did not.

The psychological trap is procrastination. "I have 90 days, I will do it this weekend." But this weekend becomes next weekend, and next weekend becomes next month, and suddenly you are at day 85 with no withdrawal processed. Treat the closure announcement as an emergency — drop everything else and begin the withdrawal process now. The exchange's withdrawal queue grows longer every day, and by the last week, the queue may be so long that your withdrawal cannot be processed before the deadline. Some exchanges also suspend withdrawals entirely in the final days before closure, citing "system maintenance" or "security review" — leaving users who waited until the last minute with no way to access their funds. This is not a hypothetical risk — it happened during the FTX collapse, where the exchange suspended withdrawals entirely in the final days before filing for bankruptcy, leaving millions of users unable to access their funds. It also happened during the Mt. Gox collapse, where the exchange suspended withdrawals months before officially declaring bankruptcy. The lesson from these cases is clear: do not rely on having until the last day to withdraw. The last week, the last month, and sometimes even the last two months can be affected by withdrawal suspensions and system overloads.

Step 2: Prepare your destination wallet

Before initiating the withdrawal, prepare the destination where your funds will go:

Step 3: Convert illiquid assets

If you hold illiquid assets on the closing exchange (small altcoins, tokens with low trading volume, or tokens that are not listed on other exchanges), convert them to a liquid asset (BTC, ETH, USDT) before withdrawing. Illiquid assets may be impossible to withdraw — the destination exchange may not list them, and there may be no market for them on DEXs. They may also become worthless if the exchange shuts down before you can withdraw them.

Convert illiquid assets to USDT (Tether) or USDC — these stablecoins are listed on virtually every exchange and can be easily transferred. Do not convert to a volatile cryptocurrency (BTC, ETH) if you need the funds for living expenses — the price may drop between the conversion and the withdrawal. Stablecoins preserve value during the transition. Also, check the gas fees for the conversion — converting assets on a congested network (like Ethereum during peak hours) can be expensive. Consider converting during off-peak hours when gas fees are lower. Some exchanges also charge withdrawal fees that vary by cryptocurrency — check the fee schedule and choose the cryptocurrency with the lowest withdrawal fee for the final transfer. USDT on Tron (TRC-20) typically has the lowest withdrawal fees, while ETH on Ethereum (ERC-20) has the highest.

Step 4: Withdraw in batches

Do not withdraw all your funds in a single transaction. Withdraw in batches to reduce risk — if a single transaction fails, is delayed, or goes to the wrong address, you have not lost everything. The batching strategy also helps you manage gas fees (which may spike during periods of high network activity) and avoid hitting the exchange's daily withdrawal limits.

Step 5: Keep records

Keep detailed records of all withdrawal transactions:

These records are essential if there is a dispute about whether you withdrew your funds before the deadline or if the exchange claims you did not withdraw in time. In the FTX bankruptcy, for example, the trustee required users to provide transaction records proving that they had withdrawn before the bankruptcy filing — users who did not have these records had difficulty proving their claims. They are also essential for tax purposes — see our crypto tax article for the tax implications of withdrawing and converting cryptocurrency. In some jurisdictions, converting cryptocurrency to a different cryptocurrency (e.g., altcoins to USDT) is a taxable event, and you will need to report the conversion on your tax return. Having the transaction records makes this easier.

What to do if you cannot withdraw

If the exchange prevents you from withdrawing (due to a freeze, a system outage, or a withdrawal limit), take these steps immediately. Do not wait — the closure deadline is approaching, and every day of delay reduces your chances of recovering your funds.

Warning signs that an exchange may close

Sometimes, exchanges close without warning. But there are usually warning signs that precede the closure:

If you see these warning signs, do not wait for the exchange to announce a closure. Begin withdrawing your funds immediately. It is better to withdraw and have the exchange survive than to wait and have the exchange collapse with your funds inside. The FTX collapse in November 2022 is the most prominent example — users who noticed the warning signs (withdrawal delays, leadership departures, proof of reserves discrepancies) and withdrew early saved their funds. Users who waited for official confirmation of the collapse lost everything. The same pattern was observed with Celsius, BlockFi, and Voyager — all of which showed warning signs before their collapses. In each case, users who acted on the warning signs recovered their funds; users who waited for official announcements did not. The cost of acting prematurely (withdrawing from an exchange that survives) is minimal — a few transaction fees and the inconvenience of opening a new account elsewhere. The cost of waiting (losing everything when the exchange collapses) is catastrophic. The risk asymmetry overwhelmingly favors early withdrawal. See our bankruptcy article for what happens when an exchange collapses.

Case study: the Binance Canada exit

When Binance announced its exit from Canada in January 2024, Canadian users had 90 days to withdraw. The client contacted us on day 10 — she had significant holdings on Binance and was unsure how to proceed. We advised her to:

The client completed all withdrawals by day 18 — well before the deadline. She had no issues with withdrawals because she acted early, before the withdrawal queue grew long. Other users who waited until the last month faced withdrawal delays, high gas fees, and system outages. Some users who waited until the last week were unable to withdraw before the deadline and had to go through a claims process that took months. One user who contacted us on day 85 had $45,000 in cryptocurrency stuck on Binance — the withdrawal queue was so long that his transaction could not be processed before the deadline. He eventually recovered the funds through the claims process, but it took 4 months and involved significant legal fees. If he had acted on day 10 instead of day 85, he would have had his funds within a week.

The lesson: act early. The first 48 hours after a closure announcement are the best time to withdraw — the systems are functioning, the queue is short, and gas fees are normal. Every day you wait makes the withdrawal harder, and by the last week, it may be impossible. This lesson applies not just to Binance's Canada exit but to every exchange closure. The pattern is universal: early movers succeed, late movers lose. Do not be a late mover. If you are reading this article because your exchange has just announced a closure, stop reading and start withdrawing. Everything else in this article can wait — your funds cannot.

The bottom line

If your exchange is closing or leaving your jurisdiction, act immediately. Prepare your destination wallet, convert illiquid assets, withdraw in batches, and keep records. Do not wait — the first 48 hours are the best time to withdraw, and every day you wait makes it harder. If the exchange prevents you from withdrawing, contact the regulator and engage legal counsel immediately. The combination of early action, proper preparation, and professional help gives you the best chance of getting your funds out before it is too late. In every exchange closure I have dealt with — from Binance's exit from Canada to smaller exchanges shutting down entirely — the pattern is the same: users who act in the first 48 hours get their funds out without issues, users who wait until the last month face delays and high fees, and users who wait until the last week often lose their funds entirely.

If your exchange is closing and you need help withdrawing your funds, contact us. We can guide you through the withdrawal process, coordinate with the exchange if there are issues, and escalate to the regulator or court if necessary. We have helped clients withdraw from closing exchanges across multiple jurisdictions, and we understand the specific challenges and timelines of each major exchange's closure process. Whether the exchange is closing due to regulatory pressure, insolvency, or a strategic exit from your jurisdiction, the process is the same: act immediately, prepare your destination, withdraw in batches, and keep records. The users who follow this process get their funds out. The users who procrastinate often do not. Do not be one of them — contact us today and let us help you protect your assets before it is too late.

N. Silinevics
Nils Silinevics Crypto Compliance Counsel · Former FIU Investigator · Valken Legal AG