Binance Review: A Cryptocurrency Trader’s Complete Guide

The cryptocurrency industry has improved a lot since 2017. The Binance Review that the industry is more stabilized and solid than it has ever been in the past, bringing with it an increase in tools and resources for everyone.

Fortunately for traders, Binance has been providing customers great service for years and continually improving its product offerings. Binance might have less name recognition in the US compared to crypto exchanges like Coinbase, and there are plenty of alternative exchanges for traders to consider.

A Brief Look at Binance: Binance Review

Binance is the brainchild of Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, one of the most influential figureheads in the crypto industry. Zhao started Binance after developing high-frequency trading software and working in an executive-level position at another cryptocurrency exchange, OKCoin.

Binance launched in 2017 and quickly became the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world. Until February 2020, the company was considered to be based in Malta. Still, after the tiny European nation declared that Binance was not within its jurisdiction, the company declined to declare other headquarters, noting that Bitcoin doesn’t have a central headquarters.

One of Binance’s calling cards is the massive amount of liquidity available. The exchange currently has over 250 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Binance Coin (BNB), on an crypto exchange and 874 trading pairs. This makes it one of the most comprehensive exchanges on the market for trading almost any digital asset imaginable, especially you can make a payment with your credit cards and debit cards.

Binance offers a lot of valuable features such as spot trading, margin, futures trading, savings accounts, crypto wallet or other advanced trading to buy and sell Binance Coin (BNB), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins.

However, one thing you won’t find on Binance is the ability to buy, sell, deposit, trade, or withdraw US dollars. Instead, the exchange utilizes USDT, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar. While using USDT is a practical way to keep capital in the cryptocurrency market using a stable asset, without being able to trade in USD, Binance users are stuck finding another exchange to onboard or fund their account via a privately owned wallet.

Security

Through the Binance Academy, it’s users get a comprehensive education on how to combat security threats. The platform also has enhanced security features like Address Management, which limits the number of wallet addresses used to withdraw funds. It requires email confirmation for new addresses to be added to the withdrawal whitelist.

Overall, Binance has displayed resilience against hackers. The one major misstep by the exchange was when 7,000 Bitcoin (worth about $40 million at the time) was stolen in 2019. The company offered to cover user losses from the incident, showing its commitment to keeping users happy.

Trading Fees

Binance utilizes a fairly standard tiered trading fee structure. Yet, it does provide one of the better fee ranges on the market for traders to buy crypto. At the lowest volume level, fees are 0.1% for both makers and takers and can be reduced to 0.02%/0.04% for makers and takers, respectively, at the highest trade volume level.

Also, Binance offers its users different ways to reduce their trading fees. By paying fees in the exchange’s native BNB token (Binance Coin), Binance cuts trading fees by 25% (NOTE: this reduction in fee changes fairly often, so be sure to check the exchange website before placing a trade).

Additionally, users who refer their friends to the exchange can earn another 20% fee reduction. If both functions are utilized, traders pay 0.06% fees at the lowest trading level, well below all other exchanges.

There are no deposit or withdrawal fees for fiat withdrawals using ACH transfers and a $15 fee for domestic wire transfers. Cryptocurrency withdrawals come with a fee dependent on the cryptocurrency. For instance, Bitcoin withdrawals will cost 0.005 BTC, while Ethereum withdrawals cost 0.013 ETH.

Source: https://www.binance.com/en/fee/schedule

Liquidity

Binance currently has a daily trading volume of about $20 billion, making it the largest exchange in the industry. However, with such a wide array of trading pairs, this liquidity is spread across a wide market, and therefore the liquidity in each trading pair might not always be as high as one expects.

Tether (USDT) is one of the most widely used tokens on the exchange, likely because the exchange doesn’t allow for US dollar deposits and trading. If we directly compare BTC-USD on Coinbase vs. BTC-USDT on Binance, we see that the Binance pair has roughly 2-3x the volume.

User Experience

Binance is much more comprehensive than your traditional cryptocurrency exchange. There are a lot of different functions of the platform that provide users value.

These features might not apply to all traders, but it’s always good to see additional tools that some users might find helpful. It provides users with an entire spectrum of crypto-related products, making it a one-stop shop for trading. Binance users can download the Binance mobile trading app but are directed to utilize Trust Wallet for mobile cryptocurrency storage.

Customer Service

Binance doesn’t offer a customer support telephone line, which is unfortunate for those who see this as a necessary piece of customer service. The exchange does claim that its representatives are available 24/7 via email or online messaging, which could prove useful for traders who are up at all hours of the day and night.

What Else Is There to Consider

While United States-based users could utilize the standard Binance.com trading platform, the exchange is phasing out such usage and moving toward nation-based platforms. Binance.us is the new US-based platform that residents can utilize.

Although, there are currently certain state-level restrictions that limit who can use the new platform, which is constantly changing. Eventually, Binance.com will no longer be available for US traders, who will be forced to utilize Binance.us, which is unfortunate as the current US platform has significantly less exchange liquidity than the original exchange.

Some hypothesize that Binance is also acting nefarious ways by reportedly creating a complex business structure to evade American regulators. However, these claims are unsubstantiated at this time. If you want to know about the exchange, you can learn from its policy terms.

Conclusion

Binance is one of the most well-regarded cryptocurrency exchanges, compatible with a wide range of credit cards, debit cards, and has the the full rights reserved on the planet. While it dominates in Asia and other jurisdictions, its presence in the US is still growing. Binance is quickly eating into its market share and bringing a robust global exchange as Binance offers many outstanding feaures with tons of trading liquidity and volume.

Binance has significantly higher trading volume and liquidity in term of buy/sell crypto than US exchanges like Coinbase — albeit only for crypto-to-crypto trading — making it a great choice for traders looking to access a wide variety of trading pairs.

For many traders, utilizing the benefits of both Binance and US-based exchanges could be of value. In the case of using both exchanges to buy crypto, it’s a great idea to have real-time insight and analysis across exchanges to ensure the best possible price trades in real-time.

Working with Cove Markets will allow you to trade with precision across multiple exchanges on an easy—to—use platform, including Binance, Coinbase, and several others. Cove Markets is the go-to tool for cross-platform trading for traders of all levels.