Binance Review: What makes it the largest cryptocurrency exchange?

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Welcome to my Binance review. In this post, I have prepared for you everything you need to know about the world’s largest and arguably the best cryptocurrency exchange.

Whether you’re an experienced or totally new cryptocurrency investor, one important decision you will have to make now or soon enough is “what cryptocurrency exchange(s) should I use.

And where else is better and safest to put your money than the best and biggest platform.

So without much ado, let’s find out if Binance lives up to its name.

And in what ways it is the best or largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance review table of content

Yes! it’s a long list.

And you can click on any of the topics below to jump to the section that’s most relevant to you right now.

What is Binance?

Binance is a crypto exchange for buying and selling over 280 different cryptocurrencies for one another or with fiat (cash).

The exchange is suitable for both advanced and beginner cryptocurrency traders or investors.

However, in reality, Binance is more than just a cryptocurrency exchange.

It is one huge, conglomeratic (ok! now that’s a big word. Go Google it) blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem.

As it provides a wide range of products and services which we’re going to briefly discuss in the various sections of this post.

But first a brief historical background of Binance.

Binance background

In 2017, a Chinese national and developer named Changpeng Zhao (CZ) founded Binance. 

It may interest you to know that, before this time, 2005 to be precise, CZ was the founder of Fusion Systems.

A company which was best known for building high-frequency trading systems for brokers. 

Subsequently and in 2013, he’s said to have worked with Blockchain. Info. 

And at some point, he was the CTO (chief technology officer) at OkCoin —another top cryptocurrency exchange.

Obviously, his background as a software developer and experience working with the aforementioned blockchain and cryptocurrency companies added with some luck, helped him build the edifice of an ecosystem now known as Binance. 

Binance on the run

Originally, Binance headquarters and operations were based out of China.

However, ahead of the Chinese government’s clampdown of cryptocurrency exchanges and trading in September of 2017, Binance moved from China and into Japan which seemed to be more friendly.

But that was not to last, as soon, Japan was behaving somewhat like China in its regulations of cryptocurrency exchanges and trading activities.

Therefore, Binance once again had to find a greener pasture at Malta, where it’s now headquartered. 

Currently, the exchange is said to be headquartered in Ta’ Xbiex, Malta and has 12 office locations across 12 countries ~source.

But aren’t we forgetting the ICO that gave birth to Binance?

The Binance ICO

Probably none of the stories in this post would have been possible if Binance didn’t conduct an ICO (initial coin offering) in 2017.

Where it offered investors its native token —the Binance Coin (BNB) and collected their Ethereum. 

The money raised via that ICO was used to build the platform.

And the token which was worth $0.1 in July 2017 is now trading well over $70 as at today (February 8, 2021). 

Feel free to do the maths of the percentage increase if you like.

We don’t have much space to tell the whole history but you can continue reading some more here.

So, now let’s dig deep into what Binance has to offer you.

So that you can decide whether this is an exchange for you, or you want to consider another.

Binance overview and features

Let’s start by taking a tour of the various products and services Binance has to offer.

First, you need to visit their website.

So you will land on the above home page from where you can navigate around to the various sections and pages of the platform.

Projects menu

Starting from the top left-hand side of the page, just after the Binance logo you have the website menu.

By clicking on that you will be welcome with a comprehensive list of all projects in the Binance ecosystem.

These are distinct and independent projects that all contribute to making Binance a centre of attraction in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Buy crypto

Next after that is the Buy crypto page which shows you all the various ways you can buy crypto with fiat (your national currency) on Binance.

As you can see, there’re various ways you can buy crypto on Binance with cash.

You can either choose to:

  1. Make a bank deposit
  2. Buy crypto using credit card
  3. Via the peer-to-peer trading market
  4. Using your existing cash balance on the exchange
  5. Or use a third-party payment processor such as SImplex.

Whichever is more convenient for you, Binance seems to have you covered with multiple options.

1. Buying crypto through bank deposits on Binance

Clicking on the Bank deposit options will present you with a list of bank deposit options depending on the currency you selected.

Note that the deposit options you get depend on the currency you selected to deposit.

As at today (February 8, 2021), Binance supports deposits in 18 different national currencies.

These are:

  1. AUD (Australian Dollar)
  2. BRL (Brazilian Real)
  3. EUR (Euro)
  4. GBP (Pound Sterling)
  5. GHS (Ghanaian cedi)
  6. HKD (Hong Kong Dollar)
  7. KES (Kenya Shilling)
  8. KZT (Kazakhstani Tenge)
  9. MXN (Mexican Peso)
  10. NGN (Nigerian Naira)
  11. NOK (Norwegian Kroner)
  12. PEN (Peruvian sol)
  13. RUB (Russian Ruble)
  14. TRY (Turkish Lira)
  15. UAH (Ukraine Hryvnia)
  16. UGX (Uganda Shilling)
  17. VND (Vietnamese Dong
  18. ZAR (South African Rand)

2. Buying crypto with bank cards on Binance

Binance also makes it easy to buy crypto on its platform with your Visa and MasterCard powered credit/debit cards.

Once you click on Credit/Debit Card option under the buy crypto tab, you will have the option to select the currency your card is based on.

Then the amount of cash you want to spend and the cryptocurrency you want to buy.

Please note that you will need to complete identity verification to buy crypto with your bank card on Binance.

There’s a section on identity verification in this post if you don’t know how to verify your identity on Binance.

Just keep reading or click here jump to that part of the page now.

3. Buying crypto through the peer-to-peer marketplace on Binance

You can also buy crypto directly from other users like you and using your local currency on the Binance peer-to-peer (P2P) local crypto marketplace.

You can choose the currency you want to deal in, the payment system you want to use, the coin you want to buy, etc.

The page will refresh to show you all users and orders that match your selection.

And if you like their rates, you can click the green buy button by the right-hand side of the screen as above and follow through to complete the transaction.

Again you need to have a verified Binance account to buy and sell crypto in the P2P marketplace.

4. Buying crypto with your cash balance on Binance

If you had previously deposited cash into your Binance account, and you still got some balance left you can also use it to buy any crypto you want on the platform.

Click on cash balance under the buy crypto tab.

Select your currency, the amount you want to spend, and the coin you want to buy.

And hit the big yellow buy button to execute your transaction.

The cash will be deducted from your account and the coin you bought will be deposited in your Binance account accordingly.

5. Buying crypto using third -party payment channels

Last on the buy crypto with cash option on Binance is the third-party payment channels.

Binance supports buying crypto on its platform through third-party payment channels such as Simplex, iDeal, SEPA transfer, and BANXA.

Select the amount you want to spend, the currency you want to use and the coin you want to buy.

And the system will refresh to give you the third-party payment channels that are available to you based on your jurisdiction.

Select your preferred payment channel, accept the terms of service, and click continue to proceed with payment on the third-party payment channel’s website.

Markets

Next after the buy crypto tab is the Markets page.

Clicking on that takes you to the Binance cryptocurrency markets.

There you will find charts of selected top cryptocurrencies and a huge (yuge) list of cryptocurrency trading pairs below it.

According to CoinGecko, there exactly 280 different cryptocurrencies listed and 930 trading pairs available on Binance.

Now that is some “yuge” list.

By the right-hand side of each trading, pair is the trade button.

Clicking on any of them will take you the appropriate trading interface for the selected cryptocurrency pair.

In my case, I clicked the first one. The BNB/BTC pair.

If you want to sell BNB to BTC or vice versa, that is the one to click.

You may be presented with an option to choose between an advanced or classic view.

I go with the advanced interface as I find the classic one to be boring.

If the above screen looks foreign to you, don’t panic.

In the next section, we will be looking at the Binance classic and advanced trading interface among other things.

Also, there’s a section on how to trade on Binance below.

Just continue reading or click here to jump to that section now.

Trade

Next, after markets is the Trade tab.

Here you will find the types of trading you can carry out on Binance.

There you have: convert, margin, and peer-to-peer trading options.

The “classic” and “advanced” you see there are the trading user interface options. The classic layout is mostly for beginners.

And the advanced, you guessed it right, is for advanced or experienced users.

1. Convert

This is an automated coin conversion and OTC portal with an instant settlement, directly into your Binance spot wallet.

Easily convert any cryptocurrency to another without having to worry about complicated matters such as the order book and trading fees.

This is a simple conversion and OTC trading portal for both small and large transactions with zero fees.

If you’re a whale and you don’t want your trading activity to pump or dump the market price, then this tool is for you.

And if you’re a small fish who doesn’t want to bother with complex trading interface and charts and all that jazz, this is also for you.

2. Spot trading (classic & advanced interface)

Binance offers classic (basic) and advanced spot trading tools to cater to all types of users.

The spot trading market involves live buying and selling cryptocurrency transactions among millions of users with automated order matching, trade execution, and instant settlements.

As already mentioned, over 280 different cryptocurrencies and 930 trading pairs are available on Binance.

So, most likely you will find your favourite altcoin there along with the major cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, BCH, BNB, etc.

Binance classic spot trading interface

By your top right-hand side are the trading pairs.

Noticeable from the above screenshot are 1INCH/BTC, AAVE/BTC, ADA/BTC, etc and below that section, under market trades is the live trades happening as we speak.

Coming to your left-hand side is the order book that contains the list of buying and selling orders placed by users on the exchange.

The huge list of orders in red is the SELL orders while the green ones below it are the BUY orders.

And then you have your chart in the centre of the page.

Where you can see the price movement of the selected pair over different time scales.

Binance advanced spot trading interface

The advanced trading interface has identical functionalities but with very different page layout.

As you can see from the above screenshot, your chart is at the centre left-hand side.

Followed by the order book earlier discussed and your buy and sell section.

But wait, where are the trading pairs, where you select the coins to trade?

Look towards the top left-hand side of the above screenshot. You will notice the BTC/USDT with 10x and a small arrow.

Clicking that small arrow will display a list of available pairs and search box to search for the specific coins you want to trade.

Don’t worry if you’re still not clear as we will be discussing how to trade on Binance very soon.

Follow me.

3. Margin trading

Margin trading offers you the ability to buy more coins than your money is worth by using leverage.

By using leverage, you’re borrowing money from the exchange to run your trading activities and using your original funds as collateral.

Giving you the opportunity to make more profit than you would ordinarily make if you trade with only your own funds.

However, it opens you up to greater risks.

Watch the video below to learn how to margin trade on Binance.

4. Peer-to-peer trading

If you prefer to buy and sell crypto directly with other humans within your jurisdiction, then the Binance peer-to-peer marketplace is for you.

Watch the video tutorial below by CoinSutra on how to sell crypto on Binance p2p marketplace.

How to create a Binance account

Ok!

Enough looking around and getting familiar with the Binance exchange and trading environment.

It’s time to take some action steps and get yourself an account in less than 5 minutes.

  • Step one:

Click here to Register

Step two:

Fill the simple form that opens up.

The form only requires you to enter your email address.

And a good password you want to use for accessing your Binance account.

Once you have entered your email address and a good password, hit the Create Account button below the form to proceed.

Are you bot?

I know you’re not, but the system doesn’t.

So it requires you to prove you’re human by solving that simple puzzle above.

Once you solve that puzzle successfully, a code will be sent to your email to confirm that it was you who’s creating this account.

So login to your email, copy the 6 digit verification that was sent to you and enter it into the screen.

If you entered the correct code, you will get a success message and be taken to the welcome page as below.

So what’re you gonna do from here?

Do you want to deposit cash, crypto, or simply buy your first crypto with a credit or debit card?

If you don’t want to do any of the above, but just want to wander around the exchange first, then click the Go to dashboard link by the far top right-hand side of the screen.

Congratulations!

You have successfully created your Binance account.

There’s a lot you can do with this account which and you will soon begin discovering them one after the other.

How to deposit crypto on Binance

It’s time to fund your Binance account with some crypto and start buying and selling like a smart crypto investor.

In this section, I will walk you through the process of depositing any cryptocurrency that’s listed on Binance.

First, you need to be logged into your Binance account.

Then click on the Wallet tab and select Fiat and Spot from the dropdown list.

This will open your fiat and spot wallet where you will see your balances and a list of all cryptocurrencies on the platform with buy, deposit, withdraw and trade options.

Search for the coin you want to deposit and click the deposit link by the right-hand side.

For example, I want to deposit BCH.

I will search for BCH and click the deposit button.

Some coins are available on different blockchains.

Thus you can select the blockchain network you want to send the coin to and the appropriate wallet address will be generated for you.

Copy the address and send your coin there and it is will appear in your Binance account after getting sufficient blockchain network confirmation.

The process is the same for every other cryptocurrency you want to deposit on Binance.

How to trade crypto on Binance

In order not to make this post unnecessarily long, watch this video by  Binance Academy on how to trade the spot market on Binance.

It’s short, simple, straightforward, and contains all the information you need to get started.

Advantages of Binance

  • Biggest liquidity. Liquidity is the amount of money being traded on an exchange and Binance has the most liquidity among all exchanges according to CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.
  • A large list of coins and trading pairs. There are 280 different cryptocurrencies listed and 930 trading pairs (and counting) available on the exchange.
  • Sophisticated trading tools and API. Whether you’re a small fish or a big whale or institutional cryptocurrency investor, Binance has all the tools you need to be successful in your trading business.
  • Fast. Binance has one of the fastest trading engines among crypto exchanges. Capable of processing over 1, 400, 000 orders per second.
  • Supports fiat deposit and withdrawals. Making it easy to move between crypto and fiat for users.
  • Lowest trading fees. Binance has the lowest trading fees among all top cryptocurrency exchanges.
  • 24/7 dedicated support team and a management focus on the user.
  • Insurance fund. Binance maintains a secure asset fund for users (SAFU). Which is used to “protect the future interests of all users”. The exchange allocates 10% of all trading fees received into SAFU to offer protection to their users and their funds in extreme cases, such as hacks. This fund is stored in a separate cold wallet. So you can rest assured that your fund is SAFU on Binance.
  • Wide range of cryptocurrency trading and investment solutions. Binance has the largest blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in the space. From wallets to blockchain academy, to launchpad, to savings, yield farming, DEX, white-label exchange solutions, Funds, etc.
  • Excellent team and open communication. You will think such a large corporation will be distant from ordinary users. Not Binance. And their communication system is second to none. And their team is solid and verifiable people.
  • Fastest growing blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem. And its native cryptocurrency, the Binance Coin is among the best-performing and top 10 cryptocurrencies.
  • Available and accessible via the web, mobile apps, desktop apps, and API.
  • Binance uses a part of its profit to burn BNB every quarter until 50% of the 200,000,000 total supply is destroyed forever. Thus effectively supporting the upward movement of the coin.
  • Binance is accessible from all countries except the United States, which is being served by Binance US.

Disadvantages of Binance

  • Sophisticated user interface. Mostly suitable for advanced cryptocurrency traders and investors. Newbies will find it a little intimidating.
  • Frequent downtimes especially during extreme market volatility. However, this is usually recovered within a few minutes. But it keeps happening during heavy traffic and market volatility.
  • Their support is not the best in the world. The live chat seems to be only accessible by luck (if ever), there’s no phone support. Which leaves you with just emails. If your problem can be solved, they will solve it via email support. And sometimes the email may be too slow for the kind of support you want.

Is Binance legit and safe?

Yes! Binance is both very legit and safe cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain ecosystem.

The exchange has a long history of transparency, integrity, and open communication.

What’s more, it has proven over the years to have the best interest of the users and the safety of your funds at heart.

Also, it has an established SAFU fund to cover for an eventuality which has come handy to settle users who lost money in two previous hacks and security breaches.

And on several occasions, it has prevented project developers from stealing users funds on its Binance Smart Chain.

Furthermore, Binance has refunded users who lost money on its exchange due to technical errors and system failures.

And users who lost money due to verifiable and provable mistakes such as sending BNB to the burn address has been refunded in the past.

The exchange itself uses strong security architecture and enables users to further secure their accounts with:

  • Secure passwords
  • 2FA
  • Withdrawal wallet address whitelisting
  • Authorised devices

And performing due diligence in handling their accounts and login credentials.

If you take all the necessary security p[recautions on your account, even in the event of security breaches, you will be relatively safe.

It may also interest you to know that Binance never or hardly negotiates with governments when it comes to users’ privacy.

That’s how important they value and protect your privacy. In most cases, they will rather withdraw their services from the intrusive government’s jurisdiction.

Or better still, create a separate entity to serve that market, as it did with Binance US.

I have been using Binance since late 2017, and have never had a single problem.

Never had to contact support, and never lost a single dollar on the platform that’s not my own doing.

Binance fees structure

Binance has some of the lowest trading and withdrawing fees among all cryptocurrency exchanges.

The exchange trading fees range from as high as 0.1000% to as low as 0.0120% depending on the amount of BB you hold in your account and the VIP level of your account.

If you have less than 50 BNB in your Binance account, you will be paying about 0.0750% trading fees.

Which is low, compared to other exchanges.

Click here for complete detail of the Binance fee schedule.

Identity verification on Binance and limits

Identity verification is not compulsory on Binance.

But there are certain limits if you have unverified accounts.

For example, you cannot deposit or withdraw fiat without identity verification.

And you cannot withdraw more than 2 BTC within 24 hours without identity verification.

You can increase your daily limit to 100 BTC by providing your basic information such as:

  • First and last name,
  • Date of birth
  • Residential address

And then further identity and facial verification by:

  • Uploading a photo of your government ID
  • Taking a picture of yourself.

To start your ID verification, click on your profile image and select Identification.

The identity verification page will open as below.

Click the yellow Verify button to begin the verification process and provide all the required information.

Once successful, you will be able to withdraw up to 100 BTC every 24 hours.

If you do a lot of fiat deposit, you can also verify your residential address to further increase deposit limits for some fiat channels that may be available to you.

Conclusion

Binance is the fastest growing cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem in the space.

Its cryptocurrency exchange arm process on the average $2 billion worth of trading volume every day.

And does significantly far more than that during heavy market activities like today.

Today, February 8, 2021, Binance trading volume according to CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap data is over $27 billion.

The closest competitors which are Huobi and Coinbase Pro processed $8 billion and $5 billion respectively.

There is a reason why most large volume trades are happening on Binance.

And that’s because of its high-quality exchange services, lowest fees, fastest trading engine, superior team, security and competent support.

Are you trading or investing on Binance, what’s been your experience so far? Share with us in the comments section below.