Cryptocurrency, shortened as crypto, is any digital or virtual currency. To ensure that transactions are secure, cryptocurrency uses cryptography as a means of security.
Cryptocurrencies do not have a regulating or central issuing power; rather, they depend on a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new units. As such, it doesn’t rely on banks to do transactions.
So what does it use? It depends on a peer-to-peer system that allows anybody to send and receive payment anywhere. The currency is digitally stored on an online database which records specific transactions.
Each time a transaction is done with cryptocurrency funds, it will be recorded in a public ledger. Each owner of a cryptocurrency has their funds stored in a digital wallet.
Cryptocurrency is so named because of its use of encryption to keep and verify 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.
Bitcoin was the first Cryptocurrency and was established 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 can accept credit card payments, wire transfers, or other forms of payment in exchange for digital currencies or cryptocurrencies.
Binance is one such dedicated cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance and Overview Binance Verification Center
Beau Troxclair’s YouTube channel 0xBeau has a video review of Binance. For those who like a visual experience, this is the video. You can still read our article for a complete overview of Binance.
Binance is still the best cryptocurrency exchange in the world when it comes to cryptocurrency trading. It has the highest trading volume of any crypto exchange by offering users the most cryptocurrency trading pairs.
Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (“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.
That said, there has been news about the company signing a memorandum of understanding with Bermuda and Malta, where it could finally find its home base. Binance Verification Center
Binance’s popularity came from a user base that preferred its low fees, many available 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 also has its set of unique tokens and cryptocurrencies. BUSD is a stablecoin. BNB is a strong performer because of 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. However, this ban had a limited scope and non-registered companies can still interact with UK customers.
Earlier that year, it was set up to launch its own digital asset marketplace in Britain, but it withdrew this application due to not meeting 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
Given that the company is among the biggest cryptocurrency platforms in the market. It is not surprising that there are many cryptocurrencies and digital currencies available. Some of them include decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens, stable coins, alt coins, and 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. This is compared to other crypto exchanges that also charge fees and commissions. 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. The fees for trades that involve high volumes are generally lower. Binance Verification Center
What’s more, is that users can also get fee discounts for some services. Such as:
- Trades using Binance (BNB), coins
- If you achieve Very Important Person (VIP status) by trading a certain amount of assets.
That said, Binance users are still subject to other fees. There will be different fees depending on the type of withdrawal and payment type. As a sample, you refer to the chart below
Type of payment | Fees |
|
|
In a later section, we will discuss fees.
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Passive income from crypto assets
Binance allows you to earn from your crypto assets. These come with different levels of risk. A few options include earning 50% APR or more on certain cryptos in its staking program or putting assets into flexible savings accounts for lower but more consistent rates.
The platform offers more staking options. They also pay higher rates than other exchanges.
You can also earn income by adding liquidity to pairs of tokens, but this is a riskier option. 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 tools provide an easy way to customize your trading options. Setting a limit to buying or selling crypto at a specific price is easy. With its “convert” function, it even caters to beginners.
The advanced trading interface has a lot of charting options that are a delight for veteran traders. There is also a Bitcoin futures section that can let people speculate on whether the price of Bitcoin will go up or down.
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 definitely not for beginners. It is a complicated platform created with experienced and veteran traders in mind. This platform’s goal is to maximize the profits of these traders.
We previously discussed the advanced trading tools and the risky opportunities Binance provides its users to earn passive income on their crypto holdings. You need to understand what these things mean and how you’re using them.
As for the risky opportunities, more often than not, this is where beginner traders and newbies 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 are comfortable with the platform, it will be very simple to manage your assets. Also, for what it’s worth, Binance has a simpler interface designed for first-timers. It also provides a sizable educational resource.
While Binance is not that beginner friendly, it still has a lot of resources to help those who want to learn. Binance is not the place where you can just buy Bitcoin and then relax. Binance Verification Center
Pay attention to regulatory matters
As we have already mentioned, Binance has faced many problems. It is currently in the crosshairs of several countries, including Japan, Canada, Singapore and Thailand.
The United States authorities are currently investigating the platform in regard to possible money laundering, tax fraud, and insider trading. Binance has not been charged and no criminal charges have been filed. Only time will tell if anything comes out of this.
In response, Binance has taken steps to strengthen its compliance team and keep regulators onside. However, this could prove to be a difficult endeavor as most of the products that make Binance attractive to customers are also the ones attracting 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 also trades over 120 cryptocurrencies and does not offer futures trading or leveraged token. It is also not available in all countries. It is not available in Hawaii, New York or Texas.
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How it all Works
Now that we’ve seen some of the good and the bad of Binance, we can finally talk about how it works.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange, as we all know. It offers a wide range of services. Some of 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)
- To get exposure to new cryptos, you can join Binance’s Launchpad or Launchpool
- Access portfolio insights, plus live tracking and alerts
- Its tax reporting tool will help you keep track of all your tax obligations
It is important to remember that many regulatory agencies around the globe have been focusing on Binance’s wide range of products. On their side, Binance does warn users of the risks involved with investing in the platform.
The system also features an anti-addiction feature in case traders get too involved with trading. When a trader suffers heavy losses or a continuous losing streak, the system reminds the user of the risk involved in derivatives trading. They are encouraged to take a break from trading and rest.
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
It takes just minutes to create and register your Binance account. There are two types of accounts available: unverified and verified.
For Unverified users:
- Click the register button on the Binance homepage
- Enter Email address
- Create a password
- Accept Binance’s Terms of Use
- Click “Create an Account”
- Register by email to confirm your registration
For Verified Accounts
- Register now for an unverified Account
- Log in to your account
- Go to User Center and click Identity Verification
- Choose Personal
- 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
- After uploading the required document and photo, click confirm.
- Binance will then review it as soon as possible. Binance Verification Center
From then on, you will have to wait for an email from Binance to ensure that your account has been verified.
Trading Experience
Binance provides a wide range of trading tools, as we have already mentioned. 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.
Traders can also use the platform to look at their portfolios and trade history. They can view the order book and price charts. The platform also gives users a selection of order types. They can stop orders, limit orders, stop-limit orders, stop-market orders, and trailing stop orders.
Users can also choose from different trading views to better understand data and view it in the way that they prefer. Views range from classic to margin and OTC views.
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Trust Wallet
Binance provides a custodial wallet through its platform. Trust Wallet is also recommended by Binance, which supports thousands upon thousands of cryptocurrencies across all major blockchains. It is easy to withdraw from Binance to a Trust Wallet or other external crypto wallet.
Withdrawals are usually completed in 10 minutes and the fees are very low. Since you can use Binance via a multitude of platforms such as desktop, mobile, or through a web-based app, users will need to provide some personal information to verify their account to get started.
Fees
Binance is known for its low fees. However, this does not mean that users are free from all charges. Binance users are still subjected to some fees needed for 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.
You can withdraw money as a fiat currency from a bank account. You can also withdraw crypto to a wallet or another exchange. These withdrawal fees and minimum amounts are determined by your currency and method. Binance Verification Center
Trade Fees
The trading volume and trading history over the last 30 days will determine the percentage of your trading fees. The amount of BNB you hold will also matter.
Maker orders, which add liquidity to the market, will get lower fees than taker or remover orders.
It also encourages users to use their native currency, 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 | Less than 1,000,000 | 0.10%/0.10% |
1 | 1,000,000 to 4999,999 with at least 25 BNB | 0.09%/0.10% |
2 | Between 5,000,000 and 19,999,999 with 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 | Between 2,500,000,000 and 4,999,999.999999999 with 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
Since Binance handles multiple sensitive and high stakes data, and it should be expected that the platform has good and robust security measures to protect its assets as well as their client base.
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 also claims to have its own insurance fund made by storing 10% of all trading fees in a secure fund. This insurance fund is supposed to protect against hacking losses, which Binance is well-versed in (more later).
This insurance is not the same as having a third party doing it, but it does give users some protection.
Lastly, as its main security feature, Binance keeps most of 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. It also suffered another major hack in October 2022, this time costing them $570 million in BNB.
There is a silver lining to this. Sometimes, it would be more beneficial for exchanges to experience these incidents so that they can determine which part of their security to fix. As for the customer side, at least they can see how the platform handles themselves and their customer base whenever these cases happen.
In Binance’s case, they quickly responded and immediately reimbursed anyone affected by the hack through their Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU). This cold storage wallet keeps enough capital to cover users’ losses.
Customer Service
Binance provides three options for customer support. You have three options for customer support: submit a ticket, chat with a representative, or reach out via Twitter.
To obtain tickets, you simply need to complete a form on Binance’s website. Submitting a ticket entitles you to receive email assistance.
For support, all you need to do is tag or mention Binance (@BinanceHelpDesk). 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
One of the reasons why Binance is among the top choices for crypto exchanges is its low fees. This is no surprise. It is a no-brainer. Crypto traders and investors can keep more of their earnings and investments if the platform charges lower fees.
- Ability to earn passive income in many ways.
It is impossible to not desire passive income. Binance offers many opportunities to make passive income. It’s like being paid for nothing. These opportunities come with inherent risks. These opportunities are not for the weak-hearted. Binance Verification Center
- There are many Cryptocurrencies to choose from: You can purchase everything from Bitcoin to Dogecoin, Etherium and more at 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. This allows crypto investors and traders flexibility in making their selections.
- Advanced Trading Tools
A trading platform will only be as good as the tools it provides its users. 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.
- There are many ways to deposit money
You cannot start trading if you have no money at stake. Binance makes it easier to start crypto trading by making it easy to deposit funds through its many ways.
- Flexible Order Types and Trading Options
Bear in mind, trading is like a gamble. While assets and stocks may be worth a lot right now, you never know when they will lose value. As such excellent trading platforms like Binance should provide users the flexibility to do their trades in a matter, they see fit. Binance Verification Center
Cons
- Platform can be overwhelming for beginner users.
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.
- Regulation issues in many countries
Binance has faced several regulatory and legal issues. In fact, this is a glaring issue that has multiple investors considering other exchanges.
That said, the platform has been trying hard to remedy these regulatory issues and doing its best to meet the requirements to comply with and solve these issues.
- Not available in the United States
Binance was temporarily banned in the United States due to problems with US regulatory bodies. That is why the parent company created Binance U.S., a U.S.-exclusive version of the platform.
However, Binance U.S. is more limited than the original Binance. It is not available in certain states, such as New York and Vermont.
- No built-in digital wallet available
Many popular cryptocurrency exchange platforms include their digital wallets as part of the platform. For some reason, Binance does not. 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 Verification Center
Binance Last Thoughts
Let me begin by saying that I’m a complete beginner when it comes crypto. All my knowledge comes from a few youtube videos, an article here and there, and 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. I am not planning to take this seriously (yet).
It took me no time to create my account and verify it. In a matter of minutes I was able to view the UI and all the features offered by the platform. And here is what I have to say…..
So with confidence, I can honestly back the opinion that Binance is not beginner friendly. Binance presented me with a lot of options that were overwhelming and intimidating. I needed a friend to help me understand the complexities of all this stuff.
So with his help, along with some tutorials found in Binance Support, I was able to get some of my bearings and begin trading. Though it still gets confusing, I’m getting the hang of it.
Right now, I hope I bet on the right horse, not the wrong one.
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Binance Frequently Asked Questions Binance Verification Center
Binance is safe?
It is safe but not with a great track record.
Binance does have its own security measures, but it has been hacked twice. Although the company increased its security, it will be determined if they can withstand 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’re looking for advanced features in your service.
- You are an institutional trader carrying a high or ultra-high net worth.
- You are not a citizen of the United States.
Does Bianance Offer FOREX Trading?
No, Binance does not offer traditional Forex (Foreign Exchange Trading).
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.
Does Binance Offer CFD Trading?
Binance offers CFD (Contracts For Difference) trading.
These are still controversial in the crypto industry, as many prefer to own native assets. Unlike CFD’s, these assets can easily be withdrawn to a personal wallet. However, CFDs have their advantages. For one, they can be very liquid.