Any digital or virtual currency, also known as cryptocurrency, can be abbreviated to crypto. Cryptography is used to ensure transactions are secure.
Cryptocurrencies don’t have a central issuing or regulating power. Instead, they rely on a decentralized system for recording transactions and issuing new units. It doesn’t depend on banks to conduct transactions.
What is it used for? It relies on a peer to peer system that allows anyone to send and receive money from anywhere. The currency is digitally stored on an online database which records specific transactions.
Every transaction made with cryptocurrency funds will be recorded in the public ledger. Every owner of cryptocurrency keeps their funds in a digital wallet.
Cryptocurrency’s name is derived from its use of encryption to verify and keep transactions. This is why cryptocurrency can only exist in the digital and virtual space, as it uses encryption methods that only computers can understand.
This advanced coding is used to store and transmit cryptocurrency data. It provides security and safety while transactions between wallets and public ledgers take place.
The first ever Cryptocurrency was called Bitcoin and was founded in 2009. It remains the best known today. It is not the only cryptocurrency. Other cryptocurrency options include DogeCoin and Ethereum, BNB (Binance Coin), Tether and Solana.
Meanwhile, to have these currencies exchanged or traded, one would need the services of a cryptocurrency exchange or a digital currency exchange (DCE).
A Cryptocurrency exchange is a business that allows customers to trade cryptocurrencies and digital currencies for other assets like other digital currencies or fiat money.
Crypto exchanges have functions that are similar to online brokerage platforms. They provide you with the tools to buy and sell digital currencies and tokens for different kinds of cryptocurrencies.
Crypto Exchanges accept wire transfers and credit card payments in exchange for digital currencies.
Binance is one such dedicated cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance and Overview Binance In Africa
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Beau Troxclair on his YouTube channel 0xBeau. You can still read our article for a complete overview of Binance.
When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance continues to be one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It has the highest trading volume of any crypto exchange by offering users the most cryptocurrency trading pairs.
Binance got its start in 2017 through Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. Although it was originally based in China, it was quickly relocated to the United States due to increasing crypto restrictions. Since then, it has moved from Japan and Malta but did not have a permanent place to call home.
However, news has come out that the company signed a memorandum with Bermuda and Malta to finally establish its home base. Binance In Africa
Binance’s popularity was due to its user base who liked the low fees, availability of cryptocurrencies and innovative products. The platform currently offers many crypto-based products.
You can access services such as exchange, earn and staking, derivatives loans, payments credit cards, NFTs and more from Binance.
Binance has its own unique tokens, cryptocurrencies and coins. One of which is BUSD, a stablecoin, and the other is BNB which is known as a strong performer due to its low fees.
That said, Binance is not without its issues and dark side.
The United States Department of Justice (Internal Revenue Service) investigated the company in 2021 for money laundering and tax crimes.
The Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom ordered that the platform stop all regulated activities in June 2021. That said, the scope of this ban was limited, and that non-registered firms can still interact with UK consumers.
It was originally set up in the spring of that year to launch a digital asset marketplace in Britain. However, it withdrew its application because it did not meet anti-money laundering requirements.
In the same year, Binance was also reported to have shared client information, including addresses and names, with the Russian government. The Russian government justified this as a way to help them fight crime.
Binance Perks
Large Crypto Selection
The company is one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms on the market. Hence, it is no surprise that many cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies are available. You can get decentralized finance tokens (DeFi), stable coins, alt currencies, and other popular cryptos.
Here are some examples:
- Binance Coins (BNB)
- VeChain, (VET).
- Harmony (ONE)
- VeThor (VTHO).
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Matic Network (MATIC).
Binance offers support for popular cryptocurrencies like:
- Dash (DASH)
- Compound (COMP)
- Bitcoin (BTC).
- Ethereum (ETH).
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Cosmos (ATOM)
Low Fees
Trading currencies and tokens are not offered free on any platform. Binance is a trading platform that offers deals that are often as good as free. Comparable to other cryptocurrency exchanges, which charge commissions and fees, this is quite a difference. So far, the highest spot trading fee is 0.1%.
The platform employs a maker/taker fee structure, and fees will vary depending on trading volume and Binance Coin (BNB) balance. As a rule of thumb, the higher the volume of your trade, the lower the fees your trades are subjected to. Binance In Africa
What’s more, is that users can also get fee discounts for some services. These include:
- Using Binance (BNB) coins in trades
- If you achieve Very Important Person (VIP status) by trading a certain amount of assets.
However, Binance users still have to pay additional fees. There will be different fees depending on the type of withdrawal and payment type. As a sample, you refer to the chart below
Payment Type | Fees |
|
|
In a later section, we will discuss fees.
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Passive Income on Crypto Assets
Binance lets you earn crypto assets. Of course, these come with varying degrees of risk. You have two options: earning a higher rate of interest (or more) on cryptos through its staking program, or placing assets in flexible savings accounts to get lower but more consistent rates.
There are more available staking options available on the platform. They also pay higher rates than other exchanges.
For riskier opportunities, you can try to earn income by adding liquidity on pairs of tokens. It is up to you to decide if these risks are worth taking. Before you jump into these opportunities, you need to be aware of what is at stake.
Advanced Trading Tools
Binance’s advanced trading features make it easy to tailor your trading options. It is simple to set a limit on the price at which you can buy or sell crypto. With its “convert” function, it even caters to beginners.
For veteran traders, the charting tools in the advanced trading interface are something to behold. A Bitcoin futures section allows people to speculate on the price of Bitcoin.
You can sell leveraged tokens to earn income opportunities that have inherent risk. This is an opportunity for customers to multiply their positions in a particular currency. As stated, this is a risky strategy because it can multiply losses and may even cause traders to lose their entire position.
Binance Shortcomings
Not for Newbies
Binance is not for beginners. Binance is complex platform designed for experienced traders. This platform’s goal is to maximize the profits of these traders.
We have already discussed the risks Binance offers its users in order to make passive income from their crypto holdings. The thing is, most of these features will only be useful when you know what those things mean and what you are doing.
The most risky opportunities are where novice traders and beginners lose their money. To understand the hidden and inherent risks that trades can carry, it takes years of experience.
It can be difficult to navigate the vast market selection and in-depth dashboards offered by the platform, especially for those just starting out in crypto investing.
Once you get the hang of the platform, you will find it very easy to manage your assets. Binance also has a simple interface that is suitable for beginners. You also have a lot of educational resources.
Binance isn’t very beginner-friendly, but it has many resources that can help those who are interested. Binance is not the place where you can just buy Bitcoin and then relax. Binance In Africa
Pay attention to regulatory matters
As we have already mentioned, Binance has faced many problems. Major countries that have it in for Binance include Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, and Thailand.
The United States authorities are investigating the platform for potential money laundering, tax evasion, and even insider trading. Binance has not been charged and no criminal charges have been filed. Only time will tell if anything comes out of this.
Binance took steps to improve its compliance team, and keep regulators in line. This could be difficult as many of the products that Binance customers love are also those that attract regulatory attention.
It is not available in the U.S.
In response to regulations targeting Binance’s business in the United States, they had to build a separate platform for U.S. customers called Binance.US. This U.S. version of Binance has fewer features and cryptocurrencies offered.
Binance.US trades more than 120 cryptocurrencies, but does not offer futures trading. Also, it lacks availability as it is not available to the whole country. It is not available in Hawaii, New York or Texas.
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How it All Works
We’ve seen the positive and negative aspects of Binance. Now we can talk about how it all works.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange, as we all know. It offers a wide range of services. These include:
- Trade, buy, and sell cryptocurrency
- Establish recurring purchases
- Earn passive income
- Advanced features like crypto derivative products, limits orders and peer-to-peer trading are available.
- Trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Participate in Binance’s Launchpad and Launchpool to get exposure to new cryptos
- Get portfolio insights and live tracking, as well as alerts
- Its tax reporting tool will help you keep track of all your tax obligations
That said, it still bears repeating that the platform’s broad range of products is what landed them on the crosshairs of many regulatory bodies around the world. Binance warns users about the potential risks of investing on the platform.
The system also features an anti-addiction feature in case traders get too involved with trading. The system warns traders about the risks involved in trading derivatives if they suffer heavy losses or a losing streak. It encourages them to rest and hold back on their trading activities.
The platform believes that responsible traders must be critical and maintain control to avoid compulsive trading and gambling.
These are just reminders. Retail investors will ultimately decide how to manage risk and where they should invest their money.
Sign up for your Binance account
Creating and registering your very own Binance account is simple and can be done within a few minutes. There are two types of accounts available: unverified and verified.
For unverified users
- Register on the Binance homepage
- Enter your email address
- Set up a password
- Accept Binance’s Terms of Use
- Click “Create Account”
- Confirm registration through email
For Verified Accounts
- Register for an unverified account.
- Log in to your account
- Go to User Center and click Identity Verification
- Choose Personal
- Please fill in your details
- Choose an ID type for document verification, such as a Passport or Driver’s license
- Upload a file or take a picture of the document
- Take a photo of yourself
- Click confirm after you have uploaded the document and image.
- Binance will then review it as soon as possible. Binance In Africa
From then on, you will have to wait for an email from Binance to ensure that your account has been verified.
Trading Experience
As we’ve mentioned, Binance offers a variety of trading tools. These tools include real-time charting with moving averages or exponential moving averages. Trades can also be made easy and accessible through the Binance mobile app, Binance website or Binance desktop application.
The platform allows traders to view their trade history and portfolios. They can view the order book and price charts. The platform also gives users a selection of order types. You can place stop orders, limit orders and stop-limit orders.
Also, users can choose different trading views to easily comprehend data or view them in a way they prefer. There are many views to choose from, including classic, margin and OTC views.
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Trust Wallet
Binance offers a custodial wallet on its platform. It also recommends Trust Wallet, which supports thousands of cryptocurrencies on most major blockchains. It’s easy to transfer funds from Binance to a Trust Wallet, or another external crypto wallet.
Withdrawals are usually completed in 10 minutes and the fees are very low. To verify your account, you will need to enter some personal information. You can use Binance on a variety of platforms, including mobile and desktop.
Fees
Binance is known for its low fees. However, this does not mean that users are free from all charges. Users of Binance are still required to pay fees for using the platform.
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
The currency used to pay and the method of payment will determine how much deposit fees are charged. Although bank transfers are usually free, debit card payments will often incur fees.
Depending on your country, Binance might allow credit or debit card payments, bank transfers, and peer-to-peer payments.
As for withdrawing money, you can do so as a fiat currency to a bank account. You can also withdraw cryptocurrency to a wallet, or another exchange. Fees for these withdrawals and minimum amounts will be based on your method and currency. Binance In Africa
Trading Fees
Your trading fee percentage will depend on your trading history in the past 30 days and the volume in the past 30 days. It will also impact the amount of BNB that you have.
Maker orders, which add liquidity to the market, will get lower fees than taker or remover orders.
The platform also encourages the use of its own native currency, the Binance Coin (BNB). Anybody who does so will receive a 25% discount on their trading fees. Binance offers 0% trading for selected Bitcoin and Binance USD pairs (BUSD).
The chart below shows how VIP status, the 30-day trade volume, and maker/taker are related.
VIP | 30-Day Trade Volume (BUSD) | Maker/Taker |
0 | Below 1,000,000 | 0.10%/0.10% |
1 | 1,000,000 to 4,999,999 and at least 25 BNB | 0.09%/0.10% |
2 | 5,000,000 to 19,999,999 and at least 100 BNB | 0.08% / 0.10% |
3 | Between 20,000,000 and 119,999.999, with at least 250 BNB | 0.07% / 0.10% |
4 | 120,000,000 to 199.999.999 with at least 500 BNB | 0.07% / 0.09% |
5 | 200,000,000 to 499,999,999 and at least 1,000 BNB | 0.06% / 0.08% |
6 | 500,000,000 to 99,999,999999 and at most 1,750 BNB | 0.05% / 0.07% |
7 | 1,000,000,000 to 2,499,999,999 and at least 3,000 BNB | 0.04% / 0.06% |
8 | 2,500,000,000 to 4,999,999,999 and at least 4,500 BNB | 0.03% / 0.05% |
9 | More than 5,000,000,000 and at least 5,500 BNB | 0.02% / 0.04% |
Security
Binance is a platform that handles sensitive and high-stakes data. It should be expected that it has strong security measures to protect their assets and clients.
Binance includes two-factor authentication (2FA) via the Google Authenticator app or short message service for the customer side. It uses address whitelisting, device administration, and the ability restrict device access.
Binance claims that it has its own insurance fund. Binance stores 10% of trading fees in a safe fund. This insurance fund is supposed to protect against hacking losses, which Binance is well-versed in (more later).
Although this insurance does not provide the same protection as third-party insurance, it can give some protection.
Binance also keeps its most important security feature, its funds, offline, in cold storage. This is done to prevent hackers from getting in touch.
Customers should be cautious about Binance, however, as it has a poor track record in security. In early 2019, the platform was hacked for $40 million in BTC. Another major hack occurred in October 2022. This time, it cost them $570 million in BNB.
However, there is a bright side to this; sometimes, it would be better to have exchanges experience these incidents so they know which part of their security they should focus on and fix. As for the customer side, at least they can see how the platform handles themselves and their customer base whenever these cases happen.
Binance quickly responded to the hack and reimbursed all those affected through their Secure Asset Fund for Users. This cold storage wallet keeps enough capital to cover users’ losses.
Customer Service
Binance provides three options for customer support. You can submit a ticket, ask a basic question through chat, and reach out via Twitter.
To obtain tickets, you simply need to complete a form on Binance’s website. You will be able to get email assistance by submitting a ticket.
If you are approaching them through Twitter, you only need to tag or mention Binance on their Twitter account (@BinanceHelpDesk) for support. Binance has been known to encourage users to tweet their issues through this channel as it has more visibility.
Lastly, Binance has a chat box on the bottom right corner of the support screen if you want a more direct approach. This can be accessed on the Binance website.
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Binance Pros and Cons
Pros
- Low Fees
Low fees are one of the main reasons Binance is a top choice for crypto exchanges. It is a no-brainer. After all, if a platform asks for lower fees, crypto traders and investors get to keep more of their investments and earnings to themselves.
- Ability to earn passive income in many ways.
Whoever does not want to earn passive income. It is like getting paid while doing nothing, and Binance has a lot of opportunities for doing so. That said, these opportunities also carry inherent risks in them. These opportunities are not for the weak-hearted. Binance In Africa
- Wide selection of Cryptocurrencies: From Bitcoin to Dogecoin and Etherium, there is no shortage of cryptocurrency you can buy from Binance. And that number is growing, with newly added cryptos like Fish(FISH) and Fanverse (FT).
The platform even has its crypto in the form of BNB. These multiple selections allow crypto traders and investors flexibility in their choices.
- Advanced Trading Tools
The tools that a trading platform provides to its users will determine how good it is. In the case of Binance, it gives users enough tools for a more flexible trading experience. As such, traders and investors will not have a hard time doing trade on the platform.
- Multiple ways of Depositing Money
If you don’t have any money to invest, trading is impossible. That is why, Binance allows for easier access and start to crypto trading through its multitude of ways to deposit funds
- Flexible trading Options and Order Types
Trading is like gambling. The assets and stock own may be valuable now, but you will never know when their values will drop. As such excellent trading platforms like Binance should provide users the flexibility to do their trades in a matter, they see fit. Binance In Africa
Cons
- Platform can seem overwhelming to beginners.
Multiple options and advanced tools can be a bad thing. Seeing a multitude of selections can easily overwhelm beginner users and might paralyze them from the sheer number of options given. Some experienced traders even claim they are intimidated by Binance’s many available options.
- Issues with Regulation in many countries
Binance has been faced with numerous legal and regulatory issues. This is a major issue that many investors are considering switching to other exchanges.
Despite this, the platform is working hard to resolve these regulatory issues.
- It is not available in the United States
Binance was temporarily banned in the United States due to problems with US regulatory bodies. Binance U.S. was created by the parent company to provide a U.S-exclusive version.
Binance U.S. has a smaller selection than the original Binance. Furthermore, it is also not available in some U.S. states like New York and Vermont.
- There is no built-in digital wallet
Many popular cryptocurrency exchange platforms include their digital wallets as part of the platform. Binance doesn’t have one. Instead, it recommends Trust Wallet, a third-party service. Although it is a well-respected service, they may not be able to offer sufficient support. Binance In Africa
Binance Last Thoughts
Let me begin by saying that I’m a complete beginner when it comes crypto. My knowledge is based on a few YouTube videos, articles here and there, as well as some Reddit threads.
Binance was the best platform for me because it charges very low fees. I entered cryptocurrency because I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. This is not something I intend to take seriously.
Creating my account from scratch and verifying it took no time. In a matter of minutes I was able to view the UI and all the features offered by the platform. Let me tell you…..
With confidence, I can say that Binance is not for beginners. I can tell you that the myriad of choices presented to me by Binance was pretty intimidating and overwhelming. I had to get a friend to teach me what all the stuff was all about.
With his assistance, and some tutorials from Binance Support, it was easy to get my bearings and start trading. Though it still gets confusing, I’m getting the hang of it.
As of right now, I want to bet on the right horse and not the wrong one.
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Common Questions about Binance Binance In Africa
Binance is safe?
Yes, it is safe, but it does not have a good track record.
While Binance has its own set of key security features, it still is a blight on its record that it was hacked twice. The company did beef up its security, but in the end, time will judge if these security measures can survive attacks.
How do you decide if Binance is right for you?
It is hard to determine which platform is right for your needs until you have read the reviews and tried the services for yourself.
You may find Binance a good fit for you, if you:
- You are not a newbie in crypto trading, and you have intermediate to the advanced crypto trading experience.
- You need a service that is affordable and can accept many currencies.
- You are looking for a service with many advanced features.
- You are an institutional trader carrying a high or ultra-high net worth.
- You are not a citizen of the United States.
Bianance offers FOREX trading
Binance doesn’t offer Forex trading (Foreign Exchange Trading) traditional Forex.
It lacks the currency pairing required to join FOREX. To enter FOREX-only exchanges, a company needs access to thousands. This is quite a distance from Binance which has only 50 currency pairs.
CFD trading is offered by Binance
Binance offers CFD (Contracts For Difference) trading.
These are still controversial in the crypto industry, as many prefer to own native assets. These assets, unlike CFD’s can be easily withdrawn to a personal account. However, CFDs have their advantages. For one, they can be very liquid.