Review: Binance — The World’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange by Volume

Binance is a household name in the crypto space whenever exchanges are discussed. The crypto exchange sets itself apart from its competitors, offering excellent UI/UX on its web and mobile versions and a host of products and services that attract millions of users. Newbies in crypto will have come across either of these three names: Binance, Binance Smart Chain, or Binance Coin (BNB). Although the company offers a broad range of services, this review highlights how the platform works, the trading instruments and options available to users, fee structure, pros, cons, etc.

Binance Overview

Binance broke onto the scene in 2017, and in just over 180 days, became the largest crypto exchange by volume globally — a title it has since held on to. Founded in China by Chinese-American Changpeng Zhao, Binance has since moved base to the island nation of Malta and provides services to traders globally — although the exchange is facing regulatory scrutiny that has forced it to halt services in some regions.

The platform remains one of the best places to buy cryptocurrencies, with over 300 different coins available, plus crypto-crypto direct exchanges, fiat-crypto, and crypto-fiat transactions. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Tether USDT, Ethereum, and hundreds of digital assets are available for trading, plus derivatives and tokenized leveraged positions.

Binance is home to millions of traders, recording as much as thirty million visits daily, and trading volumes have topped $100 billion on some occasions. The exchange has come under scrutiny in recent times, with several financial regulators investigating it on issues bordering on money laundering, aiding tax evasion, and so on.

Binance’s edge over other exchanges lies primarily in its fee structure, user experience, and the number of coins available for trading. Liquidity is also high on Binance, so orders are filled quickly, and the market depth and trust score have generally remained healthy.

Platform Features

The Binance platform is compatible with web browsers, desktops, and mobile devices and the exchange boasts a robust suite of features including:

• Cryptocurrency trading: Binance users can trade over 300 different digital assets and 1000 currency pairs on the exchange.
• Trading instruments: Users can set price alerts, access order books, indicators, and candlestick charts, and use special trading orders like limit, market, and stop orders to execute trades.
• Robust trading options: Binance offers spot trading, futures contracts trading, Binance Leveraged Tokens, margin trading, and P2P trading all from one platform.
• Fiat to Crypto Gateway: Binance allows deposits and direct crypto purchases through debit/credit cards in selected countries.

How to Sign Up and Verify KYC on Binance

To use the Binance platform, you must have a registered account, complete the KYC requirements to remove limits on withdrawals and deposits, and access all the features on the exchange.

• Sign up on Binance with your phone number or email address, and verify your phone or email.
• If on your mobile, download the mobile app from Play Store or the Apple Store. The web version is sufficient for desktops. Also, set up your two-factor authentication as Binance requires the security measure to facilitate withdrawals.
• Login to your account and follow the guided tour to get familiar with the interface.
• Provide your identity documents (government-issued ID Cards, Passports, etc., and proof of residence documents) for KYC to be verified to access the platform’s full features. You can still make crypto deposits and withdrawals without KYC verification of up to 2 BTC daily.

Fee Structure on Binance

Binance is known for its favourable fee structure on all trades, liquid swaps, and crypto withdrawals. The exchange charges a 0.1% fee on all spot trades. Also, market makers enjoy fees as low as 0.02% when they trade up to a specific threshold in 30 days (150,000 BTC). For takers, they are charged as low as 0.04% in fees if the 150,000 BTC threshold is crossed.

For futures trading, fees are fixed at 0.02% for makers and 0.04% for takers. The significant part of Binance’s fee structure is that traders that hold the BNB coin will enjoy a 25% discount on all their trading fees. A further 25% discount applies to traders that refer their friends to the platform. Fulfilling these conditions will slash the fee rates to as low as 0.05% for spot trades. Compared to other top exchanges, Binance’s fee structure could pass as the most cost-friendly.

Funding rate and margin daily interest rates are not fixed on Binance Futures but are nonetheless favourable. Withdrawal fees for coins give good value for money, and the exchange regularly updates its withdrawal fee structure to provide fair value.

Trading Platform

Binance exchange features a variety of products, as earlier mentioned.

• Spot trading: You can buy or sell cryptocurrencies in the spot trading section on Binance. Coins are primarily paired against stablecoins, BTC, ETH, BNB, or traditional currencies.
• Futures trading: Traders on Binance have access to trade USDT-margined futures contracts with leverage of up to 125x (the exchange has revealed plans to reduce the leverage it allows traders to access significantly). Futures trading, and cryptocurrency trading in general, carries significant risks and should only be attempted by informed individuals.
• Binance OTC: A platform for large-volume traders and ‘whales’ to process trades easier and faster.
• Binance Leveraged Tokens: Traders can buy or sell tokenized leveraged positions on specific cryptocurrencies.

The advanced trading interface on Binance. (Image link: binance.com)

Binance DEX (decentralized exchange) and Binance JEX (trading platform strictly for futures and options trading) are also added options for traders seeking exclusive features. Binance also supports P2P trading and liquid swaps.

Binance API keys help users connect their Binance accounts to other applications. The exchange also owns CoinMarketCap and the Trust Wallet applications. Other Binance products and divisions include Binance Labs, Binance Cloud, Binance Learn and Earn, etc.

https://twitter.com/binance/status/1462896187321860112

Binance Earn

Binance offers a host of financial opportunities to users ranging from lending and borrowing to savings and staking.

• Binance Lend allows traders to access crypto loans by providing collateral in the form of crypto deposits.
• Binance allows users to deposit crypto into a savings plan and earn interests proportional to the deposit amount. The interest rates vary from one coin to the other.

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• Binance Pay: Users can pay for merchandise, goods, and services directly from the Binance app.
• Binance Staking allows users to lock up supported cryptocurrencies to earn up to 16% APY. You can access Locked Staking, DeFi staking, and Dual Investment offers.
• Binance Earn also offers the BNB Vault, where users can lock their BNB to earn rewards.

Binance Smart Chain

Binance extended its ecosystem in September 2020 launching the community-driven blockchain network compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The Binance Smart Chain is a fork of Ethereum and features lower transaction (gas) fees, plus faster transaction speeds and confirmation time. A Delegated Proof of Stake consensus secures BSC, and participants are incentivized to stake their BNB for rewards.

BSC plays host to millions of active accounts, daily transactions, and hundreds — if not thousands — of dApps. The ecosystem increased rapidly, with yet more and more developers launching projects on the BSC network, with famous names like MOBOX and Pancakeswap, etc.

Binance Coin

The Binance Coin, BNB, is the native token of the Binance exchange, Binance Chain, and the Binance Smart Chain networks. On the exchange platform, BNB is used to cover fees, giving holding traders a 25% discount. BNB also covers gas fees on the Binance Smart Chain network. In some quarters, rumors of Binance transitioning into a DAO have been mooted. If the words are anything to go by, BNB will serve as the governance token of the platform. BNB is currently trading around the $630 mark and has a total supply of 200 million coins, of which 100 million will be burnt.

Binance Coin Logo (Source)

Binance NFT

Users can buy, sell, and trade their non-fungible tokens on Binance. They can also buy listed collections and drops, store their NFTs within their accounts and/or send them to external wallets.

Binance Launchpad/Launchpool

Binance helps bring projects and communities together through its launchpad feature. New projects are introduced to benefit traders on Binance through the Launchpad/Launchpool feature. Traders can earn tokens by staking selected cryptocurrencies in the Launchpool or participate in IDO offerings if they commit BNB.

Support

You can access support on Binance mainly through their email channel. Binance also has an FAQ section, a self-service feature for users, and the Binance Academy, which is the educational blog arm of the company.

Pros

• Binance is a trusted exchange with high liquidity levels and a good reputation in the crypto space.
• There is a large number of cryptocurrencies available on Binance and over a thousand currency pairs.
• Binance fee structure is one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in the crypto exchange industry.
• The variety of products on Binance gives the platform a more wholesome feel.

Cons

• Binance has become the subject of countless regulatory sanctions and investigations and is banned in some countries.
• A lack of transparency has plagued Binance as the company does not have an official headquarters.
• New users encounter issues when trying to verify their identities.

What’s your view on Binance? Let us know in the comments below.