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Review: Binance cryptocurrency exchange

Andrew Munro
Andrew Munro
Last updated:  

Trade a wide range of cryptocurrencies with the world's highest-volume exchange.

  • Great for its popularity and good reputation
  • Not so great for widely-varying fiat purchase fees

34

Fiat currencies

304

Cryptocurrencies

Details

Product Name Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange
Fiat Currencies USD, AUD, GBP, EUR, RUB, TRY, NGN, UAH, PHP, CZK & 20+ more
Cryptocurrencies BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, BCH, EOS, XMR, TRX, XLM, NEO & 290+ more
Deposit Methods Bank transfer (ACH)
Trading Fee 0-0.1%
Deposit Fees None
Withdrawal Fees Fees vary

Pros

  • Popular, high-volume and highly liquid
  • Verification optional
  • Low fees
  • Offers trading or direct purchases with fiat currency
  • Advanced trading features, leverage and futures trading available

Cons

  • Can be overwhelming for beginners
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.

What's in this guide?

What fiat and cryptocurrencies are supported?

  • Supported fiat currencies: USD, AUD, GBP, EUR, RUB, TRY, NGN, UAH, PHP, CZK & 20+ more
  • Supported cryptocurrencies: Approximately 304 cryptocurrencies

Which payments methods are accepted?

  • Bank transfer (ACH)
  • Credit card
  • A wide range of third party payment providers
Go to Binance's website

How to buy and sell crypto with fiat currency on Binance

You can buy cryptocurrency with fiat currencies directly through Binance, as well as sell cryptocurrencies for fiat currency.

Binance’s supported fiat currencies as of 15 July 2020 include:

  • AED
  • AUD
  • ARS
  • BGN
  • CHF
  • COP
  • CZK
  • DKK
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • HKD
  • HRK
  • HUF
  • IDR
  • ILS
  • INR
  • KES
  • KRW
  • KZT
  • MXN
  • NGN
  • NOK
  • NZD
  • PHP
  • PEN
  • PLN
  • RON
  • RUB
  • SAR
  • SGD
  • SEK
  • THB
  • TRY
  • UAH
  • USD
  • VND
  • ZAR

Although CNY is not formally supported, you can trade CNY for Bitcoin through the Binance P2P market.

To buy or sell with fiat currency on Binance:

  1. Go to the Binance website
  2. Login or create an account
  3. Click “Buy Crypto” from the navigation bar at the top of the screen
  4. Select your payment method out of: “Credit/Debit card” (usually fastest), “Third-party payment” (usually cheapest) or “P2P crypto exchange” (good for CNY purchases).
  5. Choose whether you want to buy or sell, select your currencies, and enter the amount you want to trade.

You will now be able to enter the amount you want to buy or sell and proceed with your purchase.

Go to Binance's website

Binance fees and limits

The following fees are current as of 15 July 2020

Platform trading fees

Standard Binance cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency trading fees are 0.1%, but there are ways to get considerable discounts by using the Binance cryptocurrency (BNB) and unlocking higher trading tiers.

TypeFee
Standard trading fee0.1%
Fiat currency purchasesVaries
Trading fee discounts
The discountWhat it isHow much it is
BNB discountA discount when paying trading fees with the BNB coin.25% discount
Tiered trading fee discountsA discount for holding different amounts of BNB in your account while meeting trade volume requirements.Reduces base trading fees to as low as a 0.02% maker fee and a 0.04% taker fee.

These trading fee discounts can be used cumulatively for fees as low as 0.015% maker and 0.03% taker.

Deposit and withdrawal fees

Deposit fees

Binance does not charge any deposit fees. You will still need to pay the small network fees involved with moving your cryptocurrency onto the exchange though.

There are no deposit fees for fiat purchases, as all associated costs are simply built into the transaction fee.

Withdrawal fees

Withdrawal fees are dynamically adjusted based on the current state of the relevant blockchain network.

They vary depending on the cryptocurrency, but are generally equivalent to less than a dollar.

Limits

Your limits will vary depending on your purchase method, verification level and the markets you’re trading. With full identity verification, most traders are unlikely to encounter any limits, but the main limits to consider include:

Transaction typeLimits
Fiat purchasesVaries by payment method and currency. Lower limits are often around US$5,000 equivalent maximum per 24 hour period.
Non-verified user crypto withdrawal limits2 BTC equivalent maximum per 24 hours
Market order limitsVaries by market liquidity. Maximum market orders in less liquid markets may be as low as ~US$50,000 equivalent

How fast will my funds be available?

Deposits

Clock icon for transfer speed

Usually within minutes

Deposits are usually completed within minutes. But in some cases, how long it takes might also depend on how you set the transfer fees in the sending wallet and on what the cryptocurrency is.

Withdrawals

Clock icon for transfer speed

Within an hour

Withdrawals are typically posted to the blockchain within half an hour to an hour, at which point it will generally arrive in your wallet within a few minutes. Again, this may vary depending on the cryptocurrency you’re withdrawing.

The Binance markets

Binance offers many different ways to trade, and you can choose whether you want to keep things simple with only basic market order trading, or show more advanced trade types such as limit orders and OCO (one cancels the other) orders. Available markets include:

  • Spot markets. Trade a range of fiat to crypto markets, as well as BTC to alt and other crypto-to-crypto markets.
  • Margin trading. Access up to 125x leverage, but we aware of the risks involved.
  • Leveraged tokens. Easily take long or short positions by buying derivative tokens that automatically track with or against prices.
  • Futures. Trade perpetual or quarterly futures.

Binance savings, loans and spending

Binance also lets you earn returns on your deposits in several ways, and access additional features. These extras include:

  • Savings. Earn returns on flexible deposits that can be withdrawn at any time, or commit your crypto to a lockup period for higher returns.
  • Loans. Use your crypto as collateral to get stablecoin loans.
  • Staking. Easily earn returns on stakable cryptocurrencies from within your Binance wallet.

What’s it like to use Binance?

1. Getting started

Explore the current promotions and see what's happening at Binance, or start browsing its markets.

2. The markets

Explore the BNB, BTC, ALTS and USDⓈ markets, or set your own favourites, and find the trading information that's most relevant to you.

3. Trading data

Find a detailed range of trading information at your fingertips when you dive into a trading pair.

4. Advanced market view

You can also set up advanced trade types and find more information in the advanced view.

5. Log in

Get started by creating an account and logging in. Note the reminder to make sure you're at the real thing and not a phishing site.

‹ ›

Is Binance safe to use?

  • Regulation. Binance is based in Malta, and is only lightly regulated under the still-developing Maltese Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) act. It could be argued that although Binance takes steps to comply with all the regulations it needs to, it has historically taken steps to minimize the number of regulations it needs to comply with.
  • Verification process. Binance does not require verification for users who only want to trade crypto for crypto, but identity verification is necessary for accessing fiat purchases, higher withdrawal limits or some extra features. The verification process is typical for most cryptocurrency exchanges.
  • Security features. Binance offers 2-factor authentication and follows industry cybersecurity best practices, including the use of multisignature wallets and cold storage for customer funds. Binance has only fallen victim to one hack, in May 2019, when it lost US$40 million of cryptocurrency to a theft. It replaced all missing user funds with its own reserves.

Binance’s reputation

Despite its regulatory distance and relaxed verification processes, Binance is widely regarded as one of the world’s more trusted cryptocurrency exchanges due to its presence on social media, .

This view of Binance as a trustworthy exchange is shared by entities such as the Blockchain Transparency Institute, which has assessed Binance trade volumes as being 100% real and without any of the wash trading that tends to permeate the cryptocurrency industry.

It’s also widely regarded as having earned its trust the hard way. As the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange, it holds a large fortune in cryptocurrency at any given time and is constantly being probed by sophisticated attackers.

To date, it has only succumbed to one attack, losing US$40 million worth of cyptocurrency to a hacker in May 2019. Following the attack, it replaced all lost user funds with its own reserves.

Overall, Binance has a reputation for being a very communicative cryptocurrency exchange compared to other similar-sized platforms.

How do I create an account at Binance?

Go to Binance's website

What else do I need to know about Binance?

Binance was a relative latecomer to the cryptocurrency scene compared to other exchanges. It was founded in China in 2017, just in time for the Chinese government to ban cryptocurrency trading domestically.

This proved to be a blessing in disguise though. It retained a number of its Chinese users but was also forced by circumstances to rapidly expand overseas. This gave it a global footprint and made it a well-known option in time for the cryptocurrency boom of late 2017.

While 2017 saw Binance find its feet and pick up a dedicated user base, every year from 2018 onwards has seen Binance expand its service range and introduce more features, many of which integrate the native Binance BNB cryptocurrency.

In a nutshell

Pros

  • Very well known. Binance is the world’s most popular and highest-volume cryptocurrency exchange by most measures.
  • Competitive fee options. The standard crypto trading fees of 0.1% are similar to some other exchanges, but the Binance fee tiers, liquidity and BNB discounts can make it more competitive.
  • Fiat options. Direct fiat currency purchases with a wide range of currencies are available.
  • Additional features. In addition to direct purchases, Binance also offers advanced trading choices, staking services and more.

Cons

  • Loosely regulated. Binance does not offer users the protections associated with tight regulations.

Ready to sign up?

Go to Binance's website
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Frequently asked questions

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.

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