Binance

What is Binance?

Binance exchange is a globally known cryptocurrency service platform, oriented to fulfill the most of client’s needs. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, mostly known as CZ, was a co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange established in 2017 in China. Due to Chinese cryptocurrency regulations, the company was forced to move out its offices and servers from the country. CZ was sticking to the idea of having offices in many countries without having and central one. 

However, Binance headquarters and parent company “Binance Holdings Limited” are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, George Town, having many trademarks registered on its name. Changpeng is hiding the information about where his main office is located and states he has come to the understanding that there has to be a central HQ for a centralized exchange, hinting at the public central office's registration in the future. 

At the time of writing, the Binance crypto exchange ranks 1st in the overall rating of exchanges on Coingeco, and 1st  in the cyber security rating. Assigned security level - AAA, the platform passes the Penetration Test, has Proof of Funds, and encourages the Bug Bounty program as the Coingecko says. The exchange funds are proven and publicly available on Coinmarketcap

BNB

Binance coin with the ticker BNB is the native token of the whole WEB 3 ecosystem of this crypto platform. BNB represents 3 digital assets in different networks and was originally implemented as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. With the development of the platform, the asset moved to Beacon Chain as a BEP-2 token, and then to Smart Chain as a BEP-20 token. The consensus algorithm of the BSC network is a balance between delegated Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Authority mechanisms. 

Wondering what is Smart Chain and how it differs from other networks? The Beacon chain is the blockchain powering a decentralized exchange, executing smart contracts, and paying fees in BEP-2 tokens, but it also can be used to run testnets. Smart Chain is a bigger network, being the heart of the whole ecosystem, powering numerous services and decentralized applications with a BEP-20 token.

Binance token is used for paying and reducing trading fees on CEX and DEX platforms, paying transaction fees on the Binance chain, participating in token sales, and paying for material, financial, or digital products. It is fuel for WEB 3 products such as an NFT platform or DApps built on its blockchain. With the integration into the partner systems, Binance crypto can be used for real-life payments with a branded card and payments service.

BNB ICO in 2017 offered the ERC-20 token in exchange for Bitcoin or Ethereum. With the initial supply of 200M tokens, half of them will be destroyed in the BNB coin burn process. After many years of development, the burning mechanism became a subject of a public mathematical formula that is controlled by the community with the BNB coin voting. Which makes it clear to understand the underlying math of the emission process. 

Metrics 

Trading volume - $5,700,000,000

Trust score - 10

Cybersecurity score - AAA

Financial reserves - $60,000,000,000

Monthly visits - 66 Million

Supported currencies - 359

Trading pairs - 1385

*Data from Coingecko and Coinmarketcap 

Binance rating 1st trading platform on Coingecko, achieving a TrustScore of 10. The platform has an AAA rating for cyber security, passing the Penetration test, providing Proof of Funds, and encouraging the Bug Bounty program. Proof-of-Reserves is displayed in real-time on rating platforms, being audited by Mazars till November 2022. Since then reserves are publicly tracked with a Merkle Tree confirming the 1:1 asset backing. 

66M monthly visitors provide Binance volume at an average of $3,300,000,000 daily. 

There are 359 coins, which creates 1385 trading pairs. The crypto list of tokens and fiat pairs available for trading is exceptional, making it a leader in trading volume between centralized exchanges. You can trade all those supported coins to the following stablecoins: USDT, TUSD, BUSD, DAI, and USDC. And also to fiat currencies such as IDR, BRL, EUR, GBP, NGN, RUB, UAH, ZAR, PLN, and RON. 

Deposit and withdrawal

Except for crypto deposit and withdrawal, there are Binance payment methods to buy and sell crypto to fiat currencies like Apple Pay, and Google Pay, SEPA payments, Wire and ACH bank transfers. Binance deposit and withdrawal fees vary by the fiat currency and the payment method available for that currency. You can choose between buying with a Visa card or using a direct bank transfer to withdraw money from Binance to bank account.  

You can also make a fiat withdrawal and deposit with the Peer to Peer market via the P2P providers and Third Party Payment Channels like ZEN, Advcash, Inswitch, Truelayer, Simplex, GEO pay, and Bifinity. Binance bank transfer is available for the following fiat currencies: EUR, UAH, BHD, NGN, KZT, GBP, BRL, and ZAR. Overall, you can use more than 30 fiat currencies to deposit cash and make a Binance withdrawal to bank.

Deposit

Binance deposit fees for fiat payments depend on the payment method and vary from 0% to 2%. In contrast, crypto deposits are free of charge. There is no daily deposit limit for crypto transactions, but the daily deposit limit for fiat transfers depends on the payment method and the account level. You can deposit as minimum as 0.00000001 BTC and buy crypto for 1$, but the maximum amount is tied up to account verification and VIP level. 

Withdrawal

Binance withdrawal fee for fiat currencies depends on the payment method and varies from $1 to $15. Binance transaction fee for crypto withdrawal is constant and set for each network of the cryptocurrency, which can be found on the exchange fees page. The Binance withdrawal limit for Basic Verified users is set to 0.06 BTC and 8,000,000 for customers with KYC verification per day. The daily withdrawal limit for fiat currencies is $50,000 for Level 1 KYC, $2,200,000 for Level 2 KYC, and unlimited withdrawings for Level 3 KYC accounts. In most cases, withdrawal time is about 10 minutes to complete the fiat transfer, and the crypto transaction time relies on the chain load.  

Trading opportunities

• Spot
• Margin
• Leveraged tokens
• Futures
• Options
• Trading Bots
• P2P
• OTC
• DEX

Binance spot market trading offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies and order types available.  You can trade mostly popular crypto to stablecoins and fiat with orders like “One Cancels the Other” and “Trailing stop” in advance to basic order types. The minimum trade on the spot market is $10, thus it will be easy for beginners to explore the platform trading opportunities. 

Binance margin trading offers Isolated and Cross margin modes with 3x and 10x margin leverage respectively. Leverage trading is also available on the futures market, but there is an option with less liquidation risk. Binance leveraged tokens allow you to invest in financial instruments based on the underlying cryptocurrency with auto-adjusted leveraged levels up to 4x.

Binance futures are available as perpetual and delivery contracts with USD equivalents (BUSD and USDT) or crypto settlements. Both perpetual futures and delivery contracts can be leveraged to 125x and can be traded in Cross and Isolated margin modes. USD margined futures have Quarterly and Perpetual expiration options, and the COIN margined are Perpetual, Quarterly, and Bi-Quarterly. With the Multi-Asset Mode, you can trade USD-M futures with collateral in cryptocurrency on the Cross margin account. 

Binance options are European-style derivative products that, unlike American options, can be bought and sold at market value. Options trading is available for BTC, ETH, BNB, and XRP in pair to USDT. There is an “Easy Options” where you trade this financial instrument simply by setting the direction of the price move and the oriented period of time. 

Binance trading bot service allows the implementation of automated trading strategies directly in the exchange interface. Auto trading Binance strategies are available for both spot and futures markets and can be copied from other traders. You can choose between many trading bots like Spot and Futures Grid, Rebalancing Bot, Auto Invest, and TWAP.

Binance P2P is the hub for merchants and buyers looking for crypto-to-crypto and fiat-to-crypto deals on the peer to peer basis. Binance OTC market connects investors to conduct big trades, starting from $200K, over the counter with the agreed price and no fees. Binance DEX is the decentralized exchange powered by the Binance Chain allowing the trading of various crypto assets in a decentralized manner with lower barriers.

Binance fee tiers

Binance trading fee has a complete structure for each type of trading, whether it will be futures or spot trading. The fee schedule takes into account whether you use BNB for paying trading fees and what’s your VIP level based on trading volume and BNB holdings. Let’s take a look at Binance fees for spot and futures trading with the BNB fee discount. 

Binance spot trading fees for regular users are 0,1% for maker and taker positions, and lowering with higher VIP levels. The minimum maker-taker fee you can get at VIP level 9, reaching ≥ 4 000 000 000 BUSD trading volume and holding ≥ 5 500 BNB at the same time, is 0,02% for the maker and 0,04% for the taker. For both account levels, there is a 25% fee discount if you pay with BNB tokens. 

Binance futures fees differ between USD and COIN margined contracts and depend on the VIP tiers. Let’s see an example of the USD-M futures trading fees as they are more popular and have a BNB discount system. The fee starts with 0,02%/0,04% on USDT contracts and 0,012%/0,03% on BUSD contracts for regular users. On the VIP level 9 with ≥ 25,000,000,000 BUSD trading volume and ≥ 5,500 BNB holdings, you will pay a 0,017% taker fee on USDT futures with free maker trades, and a 0,023% taker fee on BUSD futures, getting the liquidity-providing cashback of 0,01% for maker order. The BNB 10% will apply for USD margined futures, but it does not apply to COIN margined.

Is Binance safe

It is one of the top 10 safest cryptocurrency exchanges by the cybersecurity rating of Coingecko. Binance KYC is optional for trading anonymously, and it also has 3 verification levels to apply with money laundering compliance and give access to fiat transfers and full investment opportunities. Binance security relies on the many passcodes and 2-factor verifications you can set on your account. It also has an advanced monitoring system, that detects suspicious activity. Having publicly available proof of funds, most exchange assets are stored offline in cold wallets.  

Binance Hack 

The exchange itself has never been hacked, however, the Binance Smart Chain could lose $570 million due to a bridge exploit. In 2022 the hacker was able to hack the BNB network and was trying to withdraw 2 million BNB tokens. Thanks to the validation system, the network hasn’t validated those transactions and the hacker could get only $100 million in crypto. 

Terminal and mobile app

The terminal interface will be familiar to most users who previously have been using any other cryptocurrency exchanges. It will be easy for beginners, as there is a simplified version. It works quickly, the graph is displayed without friezes. Convenient filters by sector, for example, De-Fi; NFT; Metaverse tokens are very easy to track. The Binance app is available for IOS and Android saving all the features available on the exchange website. The Binance desktop app is available for downloading from the official website. 

Features

• Staking
• Liquidity Farming
• Launchpad
• Crypto loans
• NFT marketplace
• API 

Binance staking has two main options such as Simple Earn, and DeFi stacking. The first one is a financial product generating profits from the exchange reinvestments, and the second one is generating profits from the blockchain validators' rewards. Binance staking rewards depend on the terms and type of staking programs whether it will be flexible or locked staking, centralized or DeFi staking. 

Binance liquidity pool is an exchange instrument allowing you to gain profits from token swaps. It is called yield farming when you provide liquidity for the swapping pair and gain the part of swapping fee in both assets + Liquidity Provider tokens. With Binance yield farming you can lock for example BTC and USDT, gaining rewards in those assets with additional BNB as an LP tokens bonus. 

Binance Launchpad is a token launch platform allowing new projects to enter the market and investors to get new tokens before listing. It is divided into Lanchpad and Launchpool. The Launchpad system is built on the allocation principle, where your BNB holdings define how many tokens of the launching projects you can buy. With the Launchpool you can stake stablecoins or BNB to earn tokens of new projects, like in the staking. 

Binance loans allow you to borrow cryptocurrency at a flexible or stable rate on an hourly, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Binance NFT services are exceptional, offering IGO, minting, and NFT staking and loans. Binance API connections can guarantee you all the functionality of the exchange, including trading, staking and crypto loans. 

Binance review

Binance reviews on Trust Pilot have an overall rating of 2 out of 5 among 4.500 votes. Lots of negative comments about customer support. However, there is also many negative Binance exchange review regarding the problems of withdrawal and deposit transfers. The most complaints you can read about account restrictions which lead to fund freezes. For almost all of the 2023 year, there are negative thoughts about the exchange prevailing on the Trust Pilot

Binance customer support and contacts

Binance support is available with the ticket request to support bot or via live support chat on the website. Binance customer support phone number and support email are not mentioned on the website. The exchange offers Support Center where you should find most of the answers, but there are big chances you will need to use the Binance customer support chat.

Discord: https://discord.gg/jE4wt8g2H2 

Telegram: https://www.binance.com/en/community 

Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@binance?lang=en 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/binance 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/binance 

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/binance 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Binance/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/binanceyoutube 

Binance supported countries

The exchange officially supports more than 100 countries and you can use the exchange without KYC with certain restrictions, such as the inability to trade fiat, in any country. However, citizens of some jurisdictions are not allowed full KYC verification. Binance restricted countries are the United States, Canada, Japan, and China. This list also includes the OFAC countries - Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Yemen, Syria, and Cuba. 

Can you use Binance in the US 

Binance is restricted in US because of a lack of registration for certain types of trading activities. You can use the exchange through the VPN services, however, you are not able to complete KYC, which restricts the fiat payments and investment opportunities such as futures and margin trading and decreases withdrawal limits. For US customers, there is a separate exchange Binance US. What is the difference between Binance US and Binance? The first one is the crypto exchange registered in the USA legal for US users, and the second one is the global cryptocurrency exchange banned in the USA. Trading and investment opportunities of the US exchange are lower than the global has, as the US regulatory compliance restricts many trading activities.