Cryptocurrency, shortened as crypto, is any digital or virtual currency. Cryptography is used to ensure transactions are secure.
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.
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 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.
The first ever Cryptocurrency was called Bitcoin and was founded in 2009. It remains the best known today. However, it is not the only cryptocurrency that exists. Some others include: DogeCoin, Ethereum, BNB (Binance Coin), Tether, Solana, and Polkadot.
To trade or exchange these currencies, one would need to use the services of a crypto exchange or digital currency exchange (DCE).
A Cryptocurrency Exchange is a business that allows customers trade digital currencies and cryptocurrencies for other assets, such as fiat money or other digital currencies.
Crypto exchanges have functions that are similar to online brokerage platforms. You can use them to purchase and sell digital currencies or tokens for various 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 Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
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.
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. It was initially based in China but was quickly moved out of the country due to crypto restrictions getting stricter and stricter. 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. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
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 also has its set of unique tokens and cryptocurrencies. One of which is BUSD, a stablecoin, and the other is BNB which is known as a strong performer due to its low fees.
However, Binance has its problems and dark sides.
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.
Also, in the same year, Binance was said to have shared client data, including names and addresses, with the Russian government. This was a Russian government way of helping them combat 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. 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 uses a maker/taker fee structure. Fees will vary depending on trading volume or Binance Coin (BNB). balance. The fees for trades that involve high volumes are generally lower. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
Users can get discounts on certain services, and this is not all. These include:
- Trades using Binance (BNB), coins
- You can become a Very Important Person (VIP) by trading certain 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
| Type of payment | Fees |
|
|
In a later section, we will discuss fees.
> > Click Here to Sign Up and Get 100 USDT Trading Fee Rebate < <
Passive income from 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 even pay higher rates than most other exchanges.
You can also earn income by adding liquidity to pairs of tokens, but this is a riskier option. Of course, it is really up to you when taking on these risks. 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. 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.
The platform allows you to sell leveraged tokens in connection to earning opportunities with inherent risk. Customers can multiply their currency positions by selling leveraged tokens. This strategy is risky because it can increase losses and even cause traders to lose their whole position.
The Binance Shortcomings
Not for Newbies
Binance is not for beginners. Binance is complex platform designed for experienced traders. The general aim of the platform is to have these earners maximize their profits.
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 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.
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. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
Regulatory Attention
As covered in the overview, one of Binance’s main drawbacks is that it has been in the crosshairs of some countries. 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. The U.S. version Binance offers fewer features and less cryptocurrencies.
Binance.US trades more than 120 cryptocurrencies, but does not offer futures trading. It is also not available in all countries. It’s unavailable in Hawaii, New York, Texas, or Vermont.
> > Click Here to Sign Up and Get 100 USDT Trading Fee Rebate < <
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. 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
- Access portfolio insights, plus live tracking and alerts
- Keep track of your tax obligations with its tax reporting tool
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. 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. The system warns traders about the risks involved in trading derivatives if they suffer heavy losses or a losing streak. They are encouraged to take a break from trading and rest.
The platform believes responsible traders should be critical and keep themselves in check to avoid harmful excesses like compulsive trading or gambling.
These are just reminders. Retail investors will ultimately decide how to manage risk and where they should invest their money.
Signing Up to Your Binance Account
Creating and registering your very own Binance account is simple and can be done within a few minutes. You are also given the choice of two types of accounts: Verified and unverified accounts.
For unverified users
- Register on the Binance homepage
- Enter your email address
- Set up a password
- Accept Binance’s Terms and Conditions of Use
- Click “Create Account”
- Register by email to confirm your registration
For Verified Accounts
- Register for an unverified account.
- Login to your account
- Go to User Center and click Identity Verification
- Select Personal
- Fill in your Details
- Choose an ID type for document verification, such as a Passport or Driver’s license
- Take a photo or upload a file of your document
- Take a picture of yourself
- After uploading the required document and photo, click confirm.
- Binance will then review your submission as soon as they can. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
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. Some of these tools include their real-time charting tools with moving averages and exponential moving averages. Trading is also convenient and accessible, as users can place trades through the Binance app, Binance website, or Binance desktop app.
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. You can place stop orders, limit orders and stop-limit orders.
Users can also choose from different trading views to better understand data and view it in the way that they prefer. There are many views to choose from, including classic, margin and OTC views.
> > Click Here to Sign Up and Get 100 USDT Trading Fee Rebate < <
Trust Wallet
Binance provides a custodial wallet through its platform. It also recommends Trust Wallet, which supports thousands of cryptocurrencies on most major blockchains. It is easy to withdraw from Binance to a Trust Wallet or other external crypto wallet.
Usually, withdrawals are complete within 10 minutes, and even the costs are minimal. 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
We all know that one of Binance’s selling points is 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
Deposit fees depend on the currency and method of payment. Although bank transfers are usually free, debit card payments will often incur fees.
Binance may allow you to make credit card or debit card payments, bank transfer, and peer-to-peer payments depending on where you live.
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. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
Trade Fees
Your trading fee percentage will depend on your trading history in the past 30 days and the volume in the past 30 days. The amount of BNB you hold will also matter.
Some people, like Maker orders (those that add liquidity to the market), will also get lower fees than taker orders (those that remove liquidity orders from the market).
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 | Below 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 offers two-factor authentication via the Google Authenticator app, or a short message service for customers. It also uses address whitelisting, device management, and the ability to 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 to avoid any contact with hackers.
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.
Binance quickly responded to the hack and reimbursed all those affected through their Secure Asset Fund for Users. This cold storage wallet has enough capital to cover losses.
Customer Service
In terms of customer support, Binance offers three basic options. 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. Submitting a ticket entitles you to receive email assistance.
If you are approaching them through Twitter, you only need to tag or mention Binance on their Twitter account (@BinanceHelpDesk) for support. Because it is more visible, Binance encourages users to tweet about their problems through this channel.
If you need to get in touch with Binance directly, there is a chat box at the bottom right corner. You can access this on the Binance website.
> > Click Here to Sign Up and Get 100 USDT Trading Fee Rebate < <
Binance Pros & 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. Binance offers many opportunities to make passive income. It’s like being paid for nothing. These opportunities come with inherent risks. As such, these are not for the faint-hearted. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
- 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).
BNB is the platform’s crypto. These multiple selections allow crypto traders and investors flexibility in their choices.
- 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. 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. Binance, one of the best trading platforms, should allow users to trade in any way they like. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
Cons
- Platform can seem overwhelming to beginners.
Of course, multiple options and advanced tools are not always a good thing. Seeing a multitude of selections can easily overwhelm beginner users and might paralyze them from the sheer number of options given. Binance’s numerous options can even be intimidating to some traders who are more experienced.
- Issues with Regulation in many countries
Binance has faced several regulatory and legal 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.
- 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.
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. Binance doesn’t have one. Rather it recommends a third-party service called Trust Wallet. Although it is a well-respected service, they may not be able to offer sufficient support. Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
Binance Last Thoughts
Let me start this final thought by saying that I am a noob when it comes to crypto. My knowledge is based on a few YouTube videos, articles here and there, as well as some Reddit threads.
I chose Binance for the main reason that many choose the platform, and that is because of its 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. Within just a few minutes, I could look at the UI and everything the platform offers. Let me tell you…..
So with confidence, I can honestly back the opinion that Binance is not beginner friendly. I can tell you that the myriad of choices presented to me by Binance was pretty intimidating and overwhelming. 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. Although it is still confusing at times, I am slowly getting the hang of trading.
As of right now, I want to bet on the right horse and not the wrong one.
> > Click Here to Sign Up and Get 100 USDT Trading Fee Rebate < <
Binance Frequently Asked Questions Youtube Binance vs Coinbase
Is Binance 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 Would 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.
However, for the sake of having an answer, you may deem Binance is a right fit for you if:
- You’re not new to crypto trading and have intermediate-level experience in trading.
- 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 live outside the U.S.
Bianance offers FOREX trading
No, Binance does not offer traditional Forex (Foreign Exchange Trading).
The main reason is that it lacks the amount of currency pairing needed to join the FOREX exchange. A company must have access to thousands of currency pairings in order to be able enter FOREX-only markets. This is quite a distance from Binance which has only 50 currency pairs.
CFD trading is offered by Binance
Unlike FOREX trading, Binance does offer 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. That said, CFDs do have their advantage. For one, they can be very liquid.