A deep look and review of Binance

What is Binance?

Offering over 200 crypto pairs for trading with extremely competitive rates, Binance is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges since July of 2017.

Investors who were able to snag the BNB token during the ICO phase were able to pick up the BNB token for around $.10.  Today, the token is over $250. 

There is incentive to hold BNB coin if you trade as you get further reduction on fees.  The ability to profit with the BNB token along with being able to seamlessly have frictionless trading from a simple to use mobile app makes them an appealing exchange for many but there are a few setbacks and things you need to know based on your location which we cover in more detail below. 

Why Binance?

Its popularity comes in part because of the large number of currencies it exchanges — more than 200. Seventeen of these can be bought with a credit card.

They were also one of the first companies to really streamline the trading process and attract a large swath of new users due to the simplicity of the trading interface and integrated mobile app. 

We seem them continue to innovate and expand with new in-demand services and products that drive more usage and increases volume, adding more value to the entire industry overall. 

Binance – Key Features

Although the exchange is relatively fresh; still, it has successfully established itself as a go-to exchange for a large number of crypto-traders in recent times. All this is because of its innovative features that help you to do everything in one place, such as cryptocurrency trading, investing, or savings. Below is a brief overview of its few essential features:

• Easy-to-Navigate User Interface. The exchange has created a powerful and user-friendly interface that enables both newbies and experienced traders to register and get started with their tradings in no time. They also offers multiple trading platforms to assist all kinds of crypto-traders coming to the forum.
• Binance facilitates the trading of more than 200 cryptocurrencies. Not that the platform provides a comprehensive list of altcoins for trading. There are also around 1000 pairs available on the exchange for traders’ selection.
• Low trading fees. The platform charges minimal for trading as compared to many other exchanges in the arena.
• Fiat-Gateway. The platform also allows its client to buy over 15 digital currencies against over 40 fiat currencies. For this, the clients can easily purchase cryptos via bank cards, cash balance, or other payment methods. Moreover, you can also sell your digital assets against some of the supported centralized currencies, such as USD, Euros, British Pounds, and many others.
• Multi-platform support. Users can access the platform through multiple channels. It is available on both OS for smartphone users, i.e., Android, iOS, and macOS, and Windows OS clients can also access it quite easily. Additionally, Binance’s API is available for its customers as well.
• Vibrant Customer Support. Unlike various other cryptocurrency exchanges whose clients complain about their customer support services, there is a devoted team to provide its community with all kinds of support and guidance their customer requires round the clock. The exchange also offers a bunch of tutorials to help its clientele to get accustomed to the platform’s functions.
• Launchpad. The platform also facilitates its community to take part in its IEOs (initial exchange offerings). The facility was developed for its clientele as an alternative to the ICO model venue. It is worth noting that Binance’s IEOs have gained a lot of interest in the crypto community over time for profiting.
• Finance. Binance also facilitates its user-base with various opportunities to earn passive rewards against their digital assets, i.e., via staking, crypto lending, and many other methods.
• Interactive Charts. The clientele is also able to access TradingView powered charts, which give them a wide range of drawing tools and indicators to assist them during technical analysis.

Fees Structure

In a competitive cryptocurrency arena, the fee structure is relatively lower than most of its competitors. 

Trading Fees

The platform charges zero when you deposit funds on your account. For trading, however, Binance deducts 0.1% on each trade you make through its trading platform. Moreover, the platform also charges the same percentage (0.1%) when you perform spot trading or margin trading. 

However, If you want to pay the platform via its token, you can get a 50% discount as well. Looking at its competitors’ pricing structure, indeed, Binance is the one with the lowest fees, also considering the powerful armory it provides to the trading community.

Withdrawal Fees

If we talk about the withdrawal fees a user pays to Binance, they are reasonably fair and minimal. Still, they tend to vary depending on each cryptocurrency.

For example, the platform charges 0.0005, 0.00014 for every Bitcoin and Ethereum withdrawal, respectively. The withdrawal fee gets updated on its official page regularly. 

Usability and Design

To meet all the trader’s needs, fundamental to advanced, Binance offers multiple trading platforms to its community. The platform provides various trading interfaces depending on the experience level of the traders. Following is the brief detail of each interface that Binance provides:

Basic:

Binance’s Basic interface is basically for novice traders who want to trade their cryptocurrency without much hassle. This is the most more straightforward and quick way to trade on the exchange. The Basic interface enables traders to exchange their Bitcoin, ETH, BNB, and many other hundreds of cryptocurrencies in few minutes.

Classic:

The Classic trading interface is a more traditional interface with all the necessary trading tools available on many other exchanges in the arena. It facilitates traders with charts and more advanced trading features such as trade with stop loss, either spot or margin trading, and market or limit order. Binance exchange also facilitates its clients with another exciting feature dubbed “One Cancels the Other.” Through this feature, traders can place both limit order and stop-limit order simultaneously. Once either of the limit-order is reached, the other order will revoke itself.  

Advanced

The advanced interface of the Binance exchange includes all of the trading tools present in the Classic interface. In addition to that, it also facilitates their community with more helpful tools within charts for technical analysis. This interface is somewhat the latest addition and indeed adds a more modern feel to it.

Margin:

Binance’s Margin interface allows its users to enhance their earning by trading with margin.

OTC:

Binance’s OTC(over-the-counter) portal facilitates crypto whales, large-volume traders, or institutional investors fair pricing and quick settlements for larger purchases or sell trades. The lowest trade size that can take place through this portal is $10,000. Moreover, the traders must pass the KYC checks to become eligible for such trades.

P2P:

Through the P2P interface, traders are able to exchange their digital assets with fellow Binance users directly.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Considerably low fees
• High Liquidity
• User-Friendly interface with plenty of tutorials to assist in operating the platform
• Extensive range(over 200) of cryptocurrencies
• Users can purchase or sell their cryptos against fiat.
• High volume trading
• Highly secure Exchange
• Strong team

Cons

• No telephone support.
• Demo account only available for the Binance Futures platform.
• Suffered security hacks in the past
• No privacy-preserving measures

Is Binance Safe?

Let’s talk about the safety of using Binanace for a second. 

Although Binance is relatively new in the market, roughly four years of age, it has done remarkably well in making its platform’s security top-notch over time. 

As of writing this piece, the platform uses state-of-the-art security and risk control tools and solutions to harden its security. It employs both identity and facial recognition tools as well as performs extensive cyber forensics investigations and data analytics to oversee each transaction going through the platform. All of which establishes their mantra of reducing any irregular or dubious activity taking place on the forum.

It will not be very reasonable to think that Binance security protocols were the same since its launch. To talk about its security relapse, Binance also has its fair share of breaches in the past. Having said that, the exchange has been hack-proof for the past 18 months. 

One other exciting facility Binance pledges to its community is reimbursement of funds if any unfortunate event happens. In July 2018, Binance created a Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to cover any losses in theft attempts and pledged 10% of every future trade taking place on the platform to this fund. 

Given all of its past experiences, the exchange has learned a lot in the process as well. Seeing all the security measures the platform has ensured ever since; it is safe to say that Binance is now one of the secure crypto exchanges in the cryptocurrency sphere.

How To Join Binance?

Binance is one of the simpler exchanges to get started with. An email address and password are all it takes to open an account. At this level, called unverified, you can buy and exchange coins, but are limited to only small withdrawals — 2BTC per 24 hours. To increase your withdrawal limit, go through the verification process by using your mobile app which makes the process easier than verifying with your desktop.

1. Go to the official homepage of Binance and tap on the “Register” button showing on the top-right corner.
2. You will then have to enter your email address along with setting up your password.
3. Lastly, you will need to verify your email address by going on to the email and clicking on the verification link sent by Binance.
4. Once you log in to your account for the very first time, a notification will pop-up asking you to enable two-factor authentication. Provide your mobile number and finish the setup.

How to Deposit Funds

Once you are all done creating your account on the platform. You can now go ahead and deposit the funds into your account. Even though you can choose any of the digital coins listed on the forum, it is, however, our recommendation that you choose either Bitcoin or Ethereum.

1. 1. In order to deposit funds, you need to go to your Wallet overview page and click on the Deposit showing at the top-right corner.
   2. Tap on “Deposit Crypto”
   3. On next page, you will then have to choose the cryptocurrency you want to deposit. And press on the “Deposit” button given next to it. 
   4. Now you will be given a wallet address. You can send your funds to this wallet address.

Know Your Customer

Binance uses the Know Your Customer (KYC) protocol to prevent fraud and protect your identity. This involves you, the customer, submitting certain official identifying documents, such as a driver’s license. It might feel intrusive, but this is a common means of verifying identity in an increasingly cyber world where sock puppets and bots are easy to create.

After becoming verified, you can withdraw up to 100BTC per 24 hours. For “whales” — that is, very high-volume traders — there is an option to raise the limit even further by contacting them directly.

Can you buy Bitcoin on Binance?

Yes, along with many other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. With more than 200 cryptocurrencies available, the exchange can be considered a major cryptocurrency trading hub.

If you are in the US, Binance has created a platform designated for US residents at Binance.Us.  

As of the middle of 2020, there is now a platform that allows for credit card and fiat purchases in approved countries. 

Fiat to Crypto

It is, however, possible to go from fiat to crypto by using the platforms Binance offers for that purpose. One on the Isle of Jersey, for buying Bitcoin or Ethereum with pounds or euros. One in Uganda, to allow easy access by African traders who use mobile money. One in the USA; and most recently, one in Australia.

But, you ask, if it is crypto to crypto, how do I get my money out of Binance? By withdrawing it as cryptocurrency, up to the daily withdrawal limit, you can transfer it to platforms that do allow it to be converted.

You would need to move your coins to an exchange that deposits cash directly into your bank account.  Most popular in United States and many countries around the world is Coinbase.  <== Use this link for $10 in free Bitcoin.

One of the Top Exchanges

In their binance review, Cryptotips called Binance the world’s largest, most popular, and easiest to use cryptocurrency trading platform. Blockonomi lists it as one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges. 99bitcoins compared Binance to three other exchanges, Coinbase Pro, Bittrex, and Kraken, and found that Binance has lower fees than each of them, and comparable fees to a fourth exchange, Bitfinex. Bitfinex, however, does not have a trading interface as intuitive Binance.  

Things You Need to Know

Like banks and investment firms, cryptocurrency exchanges make their money by charging user fees. Binance has some of the lowest user fees in the industry — 0.1% for the lowest level accounts, that is, if you hold zero BNB tokens and have a zero trading volume in the past 30 days.

The more you hold, and the more you trade, the lower your per-trade fees, down to as low as 0.02% for the highest-volume traders.

Additionally, you get a 25% discount on the fees if you hold the Binance Coin. There are currently three views to choose from — Basic, Classic, and Advanced, differing mainly in the amount of information shown.

The Basic view is for beginning traders who would be confused by seeing too many charts and graphs.

The Classic view shows more charts and graphs, and the advanced view shows the most information of all, for traders who want to fine-tune their trades to that degree.

Binance Will Help You to Learn

Getting started with cryptocurrency can be confusing, so Binance offers what is known as Binance Academy. Offering tutorial videos and articles about topics ranging from blockchain technology to financial concepts, and of course personal security.

For the more advanced trader, there is Binance Research, which issues institutional-grade research reports on the cryptocurrency market and individual cryptocurrencies.

Is It Safe to Leave Crypto on Binance?

Like all cryptocurrency platforms, Binance uses blockchain technology to make a permanent record of every transaction. Changpeng Zhao, founder, and CEO of Binance, was previously a manager at Blockchain, and everyone at Binance is named in the whitepaper and website.

However, Binance is not a wallet. As a general rule, it is best to keep only the money you trade with in an exchange. Internet crime targets all such platforms nowadays, and it is impossible to predict which one will experience the next security breach.

Generally, a hardware digital wallet, or online wallet such as Trust Wallet, is the place to keep cryptocurrency that you are not actively using to trade.

An advantage of cryptocurrency is that all transactions occur electronically. There is no need to deal with a physical building like a bank or look for an ATM. Cryptocurrencies can be used wherever both parties have access to an internet connection.

For this reason, it is not necessary to leave your crypto in the exchange when not trading. Transfer it to your digital wallet.

The Binance Coin

Supply and demand affect cryptocurrencies the same as anything else in the open market. Binance has adopted a strategy of buying back Binance coins and destroying them until they have bought back and destroyed half of all the Binance coins ever issued. In this way, the remaining coins will become scarcer with each passing year, and hence more valuable. 

Takeaway

Binance was the leader in the crypto space for a while, exploding with growth and making massive profits but they are facing some legal headwinds around the globe. 

We have heard rumors of people losing access to their funds because of regulatory crackdowns forcing Binance to shut down accounts. 

We are at this time not recommending Binance as a safe crypto exchange. 

If you are looking for a reliable crypto exchange with reasonable fees, high liquidity with lots of cryptos to trade, we recommend you join Uphold.