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. This currency exists purely as digital entries and is recorded on an online database that describes 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 used to store and transmit crypto data provides security and safety as transactions between wallets, and public ledgers are happening.
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.
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 trade digital currencies and cryptocurrencies for other assets, such as fiat money or other digital currencies.
The functions of crypto exchanges are very similar to those offered by 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 Options Calculator
Beau Troxclair’s YouTube channel 0xBeau has a video review of Binance. For those who like a visual experience, this is the video. To get a comprehensive overview of Binance, you may still want to check out our article below.
When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance continues to be one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Binance has the largest trading volume of any cryptocurrency exchange and offers users the most trading pairs in cryptocurrency.
Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (“CZ” Zhao). It was initially based in China but was quickly moved out of the country due to crypto restrictions getting stricter and stricter. It has been moved around from Japan and Malta, but it did not have a permanent 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 Options Calculator
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.
In the same year, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority ordered the platform to stop all regulated activity in the country 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. This was a Russian government way of helping them combat crime.
Binance Perks
Large Selection of Cryptos
Given that the company is among the biggest cryptocurrency platforms in the market. Hence, it is no surprise that many cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies are 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).
For those who want them, Binance also offers and support for the more popular cryptocurrencies such as:
- 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. However, choosing Binance as your trading platform will give you deals that may as well be free. This is compared to other crypto exchanges that also charge fees and commissions. The highest spot trading fee so far 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. Binance Options Calculator
What’s more, is that users can also get fee discounts for some services. These include:
- Trades using Binance (BNB), coins
- You can become a Very Important Person (VIP) by trading certain assets.
That said, Binance users are still subject to other fees. Different fees will apply depending on which type of withdrawal you make and what payment method you use. The chart below is an example.
| Payment Type | 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. Of course, these come with varying degrees 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. As such, it is important to understand what is involved and what is at stake before jumping into these opportunities.
Advanced Trading Tools
Binance’s advanced trading tools provide an easy way to customize your trading options. It is simple to set a limit on the price at which you can buy or sell crypto. It even accommodates beginner users with its “convert” function.
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. Customers can multiply their currency positions by selling leveraged tokens. As stated, this is a risky strategy because it can multiply losses and may even cause traders to lose their entire position.
The Binance Shortcomings
This is 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. 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. It takes years of experience and honed gut feeling to understand the inherent and hidden risks some trades carry with them.
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. Binance Options Calculator
Regulatory Attention
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. Should anything come out of this, only time will tell.
In response, Binance has taken steps to strengthen its compliance team and keep regulators onside. This could be difficult as many of the products that Binance customers love are also those that attract regulatory attention.
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 also trades over 120 cryptocurrencies and does not offer futures trading or leveraged token. It is also not available in all countries. It’s unavailable in Hawaii, New York, Texas, or Vermont.
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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
- Set up recurring buys
- 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
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.
It also has an anti-addiction setting just in case users become 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 that responsible traders must be critical and maintain control to avoid compulsive trading and gambling.
These are all just reminders; ultimately, it is up to the retail investors how they manage the risk and how they should keep 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. 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”
- Confirm registration through email
For Verified Accounts
- Register now for an unverified Account
- Log in to your account
- Go to User Center and click Identity Verification
- Select Personal
- Please fill in your details
- Select an ID type to verify document authenticity, such as a Passport and Driver’s licence
- Upload a file or take a picture of the document
- Take a picture of yourself
- Click confirm after you have uploaded the document and image.
- Binance will then review it as soon as possible. Binance Options Calculator
To verify your account, you will need to wait for Binance to send an email.
Trading Experience
Binance provides a wide range of trading tools, as we have already mentioned. Some of these tools include their real-time charting tools with moving averages and 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. The platform allows them to view their 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 your wallet
Binance provides a custodial wallet through 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.
Usually, withdrawals are complete within 10 minutes, and even the costs are minimal. 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. 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 crypto to a wallet or another exchange. Fees for these withdrawals and minimum amounts will be based on your method and currency. Binance Options Calculator
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.
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).
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 4999,999 with 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 | 20,000,000 to 119,999,999 and 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 | Between 1,000,000,000 and 2,499,999.999999 and at most 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
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 also claims to have its own insurance fund made by storing 10% of all trading fees in a secure fund. This is meant to cover any losses from hacking, an incident that Binance is familiar with (more on that 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.
That said, customers should still be wary of Binance since its security needs a better track record. The platform was hacked in early 2019 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 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.
You simply need to fill out a form on the Binance website for tickets. You will be able to get email assistance by submitting a ticket.
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 & 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. It is like getting paid while doing nothing, and Binance has a lot of opportunities for doing so. These opportunities come with inherent risks. As such, these are not for the faint-hearted. Binance Options Calculator
- Wide selection of Cryptocurrencies: From Bitcoin to Dogecoin and Etherium, there is no shortage of cryptocurrency you can buy from Binance. With the addition of cryptos such as Fish (FISH) or Fanverse (FT), that number is increasing.
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. Binance provides enough tools to allow users to trade more easily. 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
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 Options Calculator
Cons
- Platform can seem overwhelming to beginners.
Of course, multiple options and advanced tools are not always a good thing. A multitude of choices can overwhelm beginners and make it difficult to choose from. 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.
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.
- It is 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
Most popular cryptocurrency exchange platforms have their digital wallets built-in and included in. 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 Options Calculator
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.
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.
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.
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.
Right now, I hope I bet on the right horse, not the wrong one.
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Binance Frequently Asked Questions Binance Options Calculator
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. The company did beef up its security, but in the end, time will judge if these security measures can survive attacks.
How Would You Decide if Binance is Right for You?
To be honest, it is difficult to pinpoint which platform is right for you until you read their reviews and try the services 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 want a service that charges low fees and carries many currencies.
- You’re looking for advanced features in your service.
- An institutional trader is one with a high net worth.
- You live outside the U.S.
Does Bianance Offer 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. To enter FOREX-only exchanges, a company needs access to thousands. It is a far cry from Binance, which only has over 50 currency pairings.
Does Binance Offer CFD Trading?
Binance offers CFD (Contracts For Difference) trading.
They are still controversial in crypto, and many prefer 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.