Binance

Table of Contents

• 1. What is Binance?
• 2. Trading
• 3. Staking
• 4. Fees Banking Payment Networks Services
• 5. Getting started with binance
• 6. Is Binance Safe?
• 7. Summary

What is Binance?

Binance is a leading crypto asset exchange and trading platform that supports over 600 cryptocurrencies operating in around 200 countries. The platform boasts some of the best liquidity, staking and trading services accessible for its users and frequently leads as the one of the largest exchanges for daily trading volume.

The company was started by Changpeng Zhao (aka CV) in 2017 after a successful ICO raising $15 million. Investors in the initial offering also received Binance Coin BNB in return Binances native cryptocurrency. The initial value of BNB was around $0.10 at its inception and with the continued growth of Binance and the BNB network and ecosystem it has greatly appreciated since launching.

CZ and other Binance founders have an impressive track record within the crypto industry including several high-profile positions at prestigious technology companies and financial institutions. This has allowed them to develop and launch cutting edgy blockchain and trading technology which is now integrated and used by many other major platforms.

The exchange has benefited from astonishing attention and growth since its launch and quickly overtook competitors in several key areas including often leading 24-hour exchange volume.

Binance Trading Services

Convert

Binance convert is a simple to use tool that allows you to exchange one asset for another in only a few clicks. The order is processed instantly once the quote has been accepted by the user, who doesn’t need to worry about trading the markets themselves. Most crypto assets listed on Binance can be converted including against Stablecoins and Fiat Currencies.

Spot Trading

One of Binance’s most popular services is its Spot Trading markets which have the most abundant features and listed assets. Spot trading crypto assets allows users to buy and sell immediately at the prices stated in the order book and has good liquidity and helpful trading features.

Margin Trading

Binance supports Margin trading for selected crypto assets and trading pairs, allowing users to leverage their positions by up to 10x under certain trade conditions. There are 2 different types of margin trading supported, cross margin which risks the entire balance of funds within your margin account and isolated margin which is limited to the potential loss of a single trade. It is also worth nothing that margin trading is unfortunately not available for retail users based in the US using Binance US unless they have a corporate account.

Futures & Derivatives

Binance Futures also allows professional traders to make use of leverage and capital efficient markets to maximise exposure to the underlying asset. Funds used to trade Binance futures markets are held in a separate account to the regular trading balances and can only be funded and all profits/losses realised in USDT.

P2P Trading

Binance also supports Peer to Peer trading between users and provides some of the underlying infrastructure to make it a safer and more trusted experience. Users can post their own adds, prices and payment methods for Buy and Sell orders which can be accepted by other users who trade directly with one another. Though this couldn’t be considered to be riskier than depositing and trading with Binance directly but may have other benefits on a case-by-case basis.

Binance Staking Services

Savings

Binance Savings allows users to make use of assets held with binance that are not currently in use. Flexible savings provides a variable yield interest rate based on the assets and are not locked and instantly redeemable.

Binance Staking

This staking service allows users to earn returns on coins that have proof-of-stake and decentralized finance DeFi features. The difficulty of access is removed for the user without any technical knowledge required. It is possible to sign up for 30, 60, 90 or 120 day contracts for staking after which the balance of coins and the interest generated is credited to your accounts balances. There is also useful Auto-Subscribe features to ensure a continued subrsription and making the most of your assets. Below are some of the most noteable and highest interest returns available however these can change depening on market conditions and demand.

Binance Smart Pool

This service allows users to use their mining power and hash rate within a large mining pool group with shared rewards. The pools combined hash power is automatically directed to the most profitable cryptocurrency providing for seamless optimisation.

ETH 2.0

Binance supports Ethereum Staking and allows you to exchange ETH for BETH at a 1:1 basis. Holding BETH allows you to receive daily rewards distributed to participants staking Ethereum with Binance. You can also exchange BETH back to ETH on the secondary trading market on Binance BETH/ETH.

Crypto Loans

Binance Loans allows users to borrow funds for Spot, Margin, Futures Trading or staking activities. A wide selection of coins and tokens are supported and can be collateralized for loans on Stablecoins USDT or BUSD. Making use of this service can allow traders to maintain their cryptocurrency exposure and avoid taxable event of selling crypto.

Binance Liquid Swap

Binance Liquid Swap is an automated market-maker (AMM) platform. Two tokens are required for each pool as an example BNB-BUSD. The allocation is determined by the price between assets with minimum contributions and estimated returns. Providing liquidity on Binance Liquid Swap returns a share of the fees charged for providing liquidity services back to the user.

Fees Banking and Payments

Trading

Binance operates on a Maker/Taker fee model based on the 30-day trading volume of the account starting at their standard fee of 0.1%. This fee schedule applies across binance trading services however the fees and tiers may vary when using leveraged products, a comprehensive breakdown of all fees per service can be found here. There is a VIP program that consists of 9 tiers of discounted fees and extra incentives for frequent and high-volume traders. Binance also supports cheaper trading fees when paid in their native cryptocurrency BNB users receive a 25% discount and can also benefit from other competitions, rebates, and incentives. There is also a referral program that enables users to refer new accounts to binance and receive a percentage of the trading fees charged for the lifetime of the referral.

Withdrawal/Deposit

Binance has a clear policy that it does not charge fees for depositing any of the listed supported assets. Withdrawals and outgoing transactions do incur a withdrawal fee charged in the coin being sent. The withdrawal fee itself varies from coin to coin depends on the network being used when several networks are available. Binance state that withdrawal fees automatically adjust to reflect fair market conditions for the transaction to be successful on the chosen network.

Fiat and Banking

Binance supports a wide selection of Fiat currencies and is integrated with major payment methods across the globe. Major currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP can be sent and withdrawn from Binance using SEPA, UK Faster Payments and many more. It is also possible to top up your account purchase crypto directly from your card using Visa or Mastercard, but this has higher fees. For a full list of supported Fiat currencies and payment networks available with a verified binance account.

Credit/Debit card instant Purchases

Binance allows users to purchase crypto assets at a quoted price directly with a credit or debit card with a verified account. The service is quick and easy to use crediting the users account with the purchased asset shortly after completion of the payment. The fees for this service are greater than other methods of purchase such as depositing funds via bank transfer and trading directly via Spot markets.

Binance Visa Card

The Binance Crypto Card allows users to pay for good and services with crypto funds. Simply register for the card and top up with the balance to begin using exchanged crypto to settle payments. There is also a cashback in BNB of up to 8% on certain purchases depending on the spending tier you are in. The card is also issued virtually and is compatible with Google and Samsung pay.

Supported Assets and Networks

Binance has over 600 popular and established crypto assets listed on its platform and supports many other altcoins and up and coming projects. There is a comprehensive onboarding process that Binance enforces to ensure legitimate and quality projects that have been vetted and can be trusted by the community make it onto the platform. When a new crypto asset is listed it is often promoted on Binance’s official twitter account and emailed to existing customers. Binance also has a voting system that invites community input as to which coins should be listed next on the platform.

Networks

As leading figure and promoter of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology Binance supports a wide selection of networks that you can send and receive coins and tokens on. These include native blockchains for many coins like ADA, SOL and many others and supports token standards ERC20. BEP20, BEP2. Binance also has recently developed infrastructure to support NFT use cases and distribution and

Getting started with Binance

Verification

As with many exchanges user verification and compliance is an important part of Binance’s onboarding process. You will need to submit some personal information such as name, date of birth etc and provide a government issued ID for review. It is possible to further enhance the limits on your account by providing Proof of Address information and a supporting document and you get access to additional services and features once completed.

Limits

Binance enforces withdrawals limit on crypto assets and fiat balances over a 24-hour period. This resets automatically and your remaining withdrawal limit clearly displayed each time you want to send a transaction. If your account has completed Basic or Advanced verification, then higher limits of 100 BTC daily become available for regular users and generally cover enough withdrawals for a 24-hour period. The different VIP Tiers mentioned earlier apply even further higher limits to your account enabling the depositing, withdrawing, and trading of a large volume of funds or assets without issue.

Supported Countries

Binance is available in over 180 countries worldwide with a few exceptions and restrictions for certain jurisdictions. Users from all over the world can use the regular binance platform but those based in the US are limited to Binance US a subsidiary of the main company. This is to comply with federal and state laws across the US and certain features and services are also restricted on this same basis. Binance does not explicitly state which regions are not supported, there are many reports online and it is common practice to not service accounts in high-risk jurisdiction such as Iran, Serbia, and North Korea to name a few.

Is Binance Safe?

Regulation

Binance’s company is now registered in the Cayman Islands having originally been based in China. It also has a network of subsidiaries in key regulatory jurisdictions which allows it to operate across 180 regions. Binance US provides services to the US exclusively and currently has spanning all states it operates within. It also worth mentioning that Binance operates its servers across multiple crypto friendly jurisdictions, a strategy that allows them to remain flexible and remain compatible while servicing its global market.

Security

Binance takes security of its platform and users account very seriously. It has a wide range of advanced automated protection systems in place to analyse and investigate suspicious activity and prevent bad actors from using its platform. There are also several security measures available to users for further control and protection of their account such as IP whitelisting, wallet address whitelisting, anti-phishing codes. It goes without saying as well that 2-factor authentication is strongly encouraged by Binance and is a required step when logging in.

Binance did suffer from a major hack of 7,000 Bitcoins being stolen from the exchange back in 2019. This was widely publicised once exposed and Binance announced its emergency insurance fund SAFU would be used to cover any losses at no expense to its users and partners. This further reinforces Binances reputation as a leading platform of the crypto industry able withstand significant challenges and it’s committed to protecting user funds.

Reviews & Reputation

There is a Binance Trustpilot profile that has been verified by the company and details reviews posted by users experience of using the companies’ services. The general impression is that Binance is providing a good experience and value to its users however feedback related to locked accounts, failed transactions and trade liquidation can be frequent as well. Binance also has a reputation of being one of the most transparent companies when it comes to platform and blockchain upgrades and downtime coverage posted prominently across their social media accounts.

Summary

Once you consider everything Binance has to offer its user and the experience and access to crypto it provides objectively the benefits do seem to outweigh the negatives. The exchanges great reputation, safeguards and push for crypto adoption and developing technology has a positive impact on all companies in the industry. Binances low fees and support for a wide range of services and Cryptoassets makes it great one stop shop when trading, staking, or engaging with cryptocurrencies.