Binance exchange is one of the market’s best cryptocurrency exchange platforms. If you’re looking for a fun and exciting place to speculate on rare and high-potential coins, you’ve found it. Read our full Binance review and make your informed choice. But a lot has changed since it opened its doors, and it hides a few dark secrets.
- Features
- About Binance Exchange
- How Does a Bitcoin Exchange Work?
- What is Binance?
- Is Binance Safe?
- Binance Review: Scam or a Good Crypto Exchange?
- What Are Binance’s Fees For Trades/Withdrawals?
- What is the BNB Coin?
- How Do Binance’s Trading Fees Compare to Competitors?
- What Are Binance’s Limits For Verified/Unverified Users?
- What Are Binance Verification Requirements for Level 2?
- How is the Binance Customer Support?
- How to Trade Bitcoin on Binance
- Binance Reviews | Is Binance Legit?
- Top 3 Beginner-Friendly Binance Alternatives for Fiat Currency
- Binance vs. Bittrex
- Binance FAQ
- What Cryptopositive Likes/Dislikes
- Final Verdict of Our Binance Review
Our updated review of the Binance Bitcoin exchange will cover everything you need to know. Don’t trade before reading.
Binance has taken the world by storm to become the leading exchange. Rare and high-potential altcoins, unique Maserati giveaways, and bargain-basement fees have driven its rise from 0 to market leader in just 6 months. It even signed up 240,000 new users in just one hour. But what truly makes it unique is its innovative matching engine. It claims to be the most advanced exchange on the market, capable of matching 1.4 million trades per second.
It all adds up to a highly trusted, respected, and desired exchange.
But it isn’t perfect. There’s a lot you need to know about trading Bitcoin on Binance (especially in regards to fees).
The amount of bad information out there makes forming an opinion difficult.
That’s why I created this guide.
Pros:
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Cons:
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Features
Security
Despite being cryptic about how it protects funds, community trust is high. Aside from standard 2FA, there are few other details. The site constantly reminds you of safety precautions throughout your journey.
Privacy
Binance doesn’t require verification for Level 1 accounts. This allows you to withdraw up to 2BTC per day. Level 2 allows you to withdraw 50 BTC per day and requires only a photo ID.
Beginner-Friendly
All of Binance’s features make it difficult for beginners, especially its trading interface. Even the Basic view is a difficult to understand. It’s also crypto-only, so you can’t use cash to credit to get coins. You’ve got to already have some.
Fees
Despite very low fees for trading, withdrawal fees for some coins are astronomical. If you want rare coins, it’ll cost a king’s ransom to take them off of the site.
Support
Binance is a truly international operation. It has reputable multilingual customer support. They are active on Reddit and usually reachable. The downside is the support area is lacking and has articles with poor English.
Performance
Binance’s trade engine is second to none.
Reputation
Unlike most other exchanges, I found few posts badmouthing Binance. The community loves it.
Overall
Low fees, high performance, and liquid books full of altcoins? What’s not to like? Binance rocks.
Read this article to learn how to safely store your Bitcoins.
About Binance Exchange
Binance is a Asian digital asset exchange that combines technology and finance. It facilitates the exchange of digital currency pairs with the world’s most advanced engine (capable of processing 1.4 million orders per second) Originally funded via an initial coin offering (ICO)**, it has now gained backing from venture capitalists and quickly risen to the top of the market.
It’s major perks are its range of rare altcoins, liquid order books (BTC isn’t even the most traded asset as of 1/26/18), and comically low trading fees. But I also loved its community involvement and giveaways. It is one of the rare exchanges that actually allows users to participate in the addition of new trading pairs, which is a fairly common event.
Binance is as unique and fun as it is liquid and profitable.
Binance has the world of crypto buzzing. It opened its doors in the middle of 2017 and has already skyrocketed to top. It is currently the leading exchange in terms of 24-hour volume ($2.2 billion dollars as of January 26th, 2018).
Another unique feature that is drawing attention from traders is the platform’s native coin, the Binance Coin. Not only is it a great investment opportunity (learn why later), but it allows you to cut the trading fee in half.
It isn’t beginner-friendly, but it makes up for that in a myriad of ways.
**ICO – An initial coin offering is a means of crowdfunding centered around cryptocurrency. Basically, the startup offers “tokens” that can be redeemed for currency, Bitcoin, or other coins once the project launches. Read the full explanation on Wikipedia.
Binance Features:
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How Does a Bitcoin Exchange Work?
When you make a trade, you do not buy or sell from the platform. In order to trade on Binance, you must already have crypto in a wallet you trust (or offline in a hardware wallet. VERY SECURE).
What is Binance?
Binance is a digital asset exchange that matches buyers and sellers. Crypto-to-crypto trades are made between users and the exchange takes a fee for its troubles. Unlike many exchanges, you cannot buy crypto from Binance.
If you have your crypto already, head over to the exchange, deposit, and choose your trading pair**.
Binance is not a Bitcoin broker (a platform that exchanges fiat currency for BTC).
**Trading Pair – A term for the pairing of two currencies for trading. For example, BTC/ETH. In this case, you are agreeing to trade your BTC for ETH or vice versa.
The most popular BTC pairs are in the top right along with the search function. You can now buy or sell ADA for BTC.
Is Binance Safe?
I was certain that Binance’s somewhat shady operations and base in Asia would put some users off. The fact that it is so new to the market is another factor that weighs heavily on people’s minds. Needless to say that many approached with caution.
Binance – Safety risk notice.
Binance Review: Scam or a Good Crypto Exchange?
Binance claims to be dedicated to your security. They were the only exchange I’ve used that reminded me of safety procedures regularly. However, they aren’t too open about their security protocols. Their About page claims “multi-tiered & multi-clustered” system architecture—whatever that means.
However, despite fears, Binance has won the hearts of the community. Aside from standard 2FA procedures, there are a number of good signs for Binance:
Verdict: Security checks out.
What Are Binance’s Fees For Trades/Withdrawals?
Binance charges a flat .1% fee on all trades made.
Unlike rivals who charge maker/taker fees or inflate their coin prices for profit, Binance is transparent, straightforward, and easy to understand.
But there’s a catch…
Binance has some very high withdrawal fees for altcoins. Withdrawing Bitcoin or Ethereum is more or less standard, but for some other coins, the fees can be borderline extortionary. As Reddit user “arbitrarical” aptly puts it:
“Cheating the user out in the open. It’s funny. CRYPTOCURRENCY WAS MEANT TO STOP THIS MIDDLEMAN *********, BINANCE.”
They’re overreacting, but this echoes the sentiment of many on the web.
Withdrawal Fees
Here are the fees for a selection of popular altcoins:
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The higher fees are to discourage large numbers of small transactions and encourage liquidity. The logic is that if users are discouraged from withdrawing, they’ll be more likely to keep trading.
This doesn’t make everyone happy, though.
Feel free to scope out the withdrawal fees thread on Reddit to see what users are saying as of January 2018.
Pro Tip:
When you trade rare coins, fees are going to be high. That’s just how it is. No exchange is going to satisfy all of your desires. If you’re interested in a particular coin, do some research to see which exchange offers the best fees for it. Go to Coinmarketcap.com and search for your currency. Click Markets and you’ll see all of the exchanges offering your coin. From there, Google that exchange + withdraw fee. Compare and take the best deal.
What is the BNB Coin?
Binance Coin (BNB) is Binance’s own cryptocurrency. It can be bought or sold on the exchange. Binance created 200 million of them initially and plans to use 20% of its profits every quarter to repurchase them….and destroy them!
Binance will repurchase its token and destroy half of them, thereby restricting the supply and increasing the value.
BNB can be used to pay for trading and withdrawal fees on the site. When you use BNB to pay trading fees, the fee is .05%. The discount will decrease yearly.
How Do Binance’s Trading Fees Compare to Competitors?
Compared to competitors, the fees still aren’t that bad. Considering what you save on trading fees, it probably evens out in the end if you don’t make too many withdrawals.
If you do a lot of trading and don’t make many withdrawals, it’s an extremely cheap platform.
Here’s how it stacks up to the competition:
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What Are Binance’s Limits For Verified/Unverified Users?
Another one of my favorite perks of Binance is the fact that you can deposit, trade, and withdraw currency without verification. However, if you want to unlock higher limits, you need to get a little more personal with the company.
Here are Binance’s current limits for different levels:
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For higher amounts, you can go up to Level 3 (gasp!). You must contact the company to do so.
What Are Binance Verification Requirements for Level 2?
If you want to break the chains of a paltry 2BTC per day withdrawal limit, levelling up will get you 50BTC a day to play with. Unlike many other exchanges, Binance’s verification is not all that difficult or invasive. Just a government ID will do.
First click on the little head in the top right corner and then submit your documents by clicking one of the two links on the page.
Click on the little head in the top right corner and then submit your documents
Now just fill out the details and upload photos of the front and back of the document.
Fill out the details and upload photos.
Compared to other, more invasive exchanges (***cough**** Bitstamp ***cough***), this is relatively pain free. You’ve just to wait for support to verify you. Speaking of support…
How is the Binance Customer Support?
Customer support is just like the referees in a sport: an easy target for taking out your anger. Nearly every exchange I’ve researched had horrible customer support reviews even if support was good in reality. Disgruntled customers are for more likely to complain than happy ones are to praise.
But Binance was a bit different.
Positive reviews? That’s something new.
Support is offered in several languages, including English, French, and Chinese.
They are active on social media, especially their Reddit and Twitter. You may also submit a request on their support page. Note: Binance no longer offers support via Telegram (January, 2018).
January 2018: Support claims that their backlog is bogging them down. Typical response times are 3 days. Support.Binance.com.
Not everyone is happy, though. Many claim that deposits or verification take too long, or that support is unresponsive. However, my best guess is that they are just overloaded at times.
Had to share this from their Twitter page about a video competition:
Dead.
How to Trade Bitcoin on Binance
Binance is one of the better exchanges on the market, but it is not one of the most beginner friendly. The tradeview comes in either Basic or Advanced, but even Basic is not easy to grasp. Still, it’s not that hard. Since there was no verification necessary to make a trade, you can make your first one nearly instantly.
Step #1: Create Your Account
Go to Binance.com and click Register in the top right corner.
Enter a few key details.
Click the link in the verification email that Binance sends to you.
Step #2: Enable 2FA
Binance gives you multiple security warnings when you create your account. First, you’ll be asked to review some safety tips.
Click each box to the right to let Binance know you’ve reviewed them. Next, Binance is going to strongly recommend 2FA to you. Set it up!
If you choose Google Authentication, you’ll be prompted to download the app. Here is a guide on how to enable 2FA on Binance using the Google Authenticator.
If you choose SMS, you’ll be prompted to enter your phone number and then enter the passcode sent to it.
Step #3: Deposit Funds
Like I said before, you cannot purchase any crypto from Binance. You’ve got to deposit from a wallet.
How to Deposit Crypto on Binance
Depositing is straightforward. Go to Funds in the top right and choose Deposits from the drop down menu. From there, just choose the currency you want, copy paste the address, and send that currency from your wallet to Binance.
Step #4: Start Trading!
Now the fun begins! It’s time for you to grab a partner and start doing the Do-Si-Do. Go the Exchange tab in the top left and choose which view you prefer. For now, just stick with Basic.
Now you’re in the trade area. Things are starting to get to get dodgy. There are 10 different sections to look at. And this is only the Basic view. Here’s a descriptive picture on the Binance support section:
This is not paint by numbers; this is Basic View.
It might look intimidating at first, but for right now you really only need to know which pair you want to trade and how to buy it. Section 9 above is where the trading pairs are as well as the search box. You can find your pair and then use section 7 to buy or 8 to sell. Enter the amount you want and voila.
Binance Reviews | Is Binance Legit?
Even with its rise from startup to crypto exchange superstar, many people still ask if Binance is legit.
It is.
Reviews around the web are generally positive. Customer support does a good job of keeping up with demand, trades go through easily, deposits are fast, and the trading experience is excellent.
No major issues have been reported yet and no hacks either. I found a lot of people worrying about whether or not the company would last, but they’ve outperformed expectations. They keep growing and the world is taking notice. The CEO has even been featured on Bloomberg.
“The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange keeps getting bigger.”
– Bloomberg
Positive Binance Reviews
Negative Binance Reviews
Examples of Positive Reviews
In the next shot, a user has trust issues (TooMeInRealLife) with Binance, but support shows up quickly to fix them.
What Negative Binance Reviews Say
Negative reviews focused almost solely on withdrawal fees and dust. Dust is the leftover fractions of a coin that accumulate in your account because they are untradeable. Binance does not yet allow fractional trading, you can only trade whole coins (1 IOTA, not .693 IOTA). The issue is further compounded by the trading fee. If you buy 1 IOTA, Binance takes .1% as its fee, leaving you with .9 IOTA. Meaning you cannot trade the IOTA you just bought! The solution is using the Binance Token for trading fees.
Binance claims to be working on a solution to this. It will automatically “sweep” your dust and convert it to Binance Coin
Visit the company’s updates and suggestions thread on Reddit to get a feel for how much the community hates dust and withdrawal fees.
Top 3 Beginner-Friendly Binance Alternatives for Fiat Currency
If you’ve got a wandering eye, there are plenty of competitor’s on the market that give you easy access to crypto with fiat (and don’t extort you to withdraw it).
1# Coinbase
Coinbase is the world’s largest Bitcoin broker. It sells Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin in exchange for fiat currency (USD, EUR). If you’re looking for a trusted, regulated, and secure way of purchasing Bitcoin with a credit card, it is by far the most convenient method. You can also use their exchange, GDAX, to make trades with other users. It’s the most beginner-friendly experience on the web. Read our full review of Coinbase to learn how to buy your first Bitcoin safely.
2# LocalBitcoins
LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer network where users trade Bitcoin directly with each other. Since you trade directly with another user, security is low and risk is high. Still, the vast majority of transfers happen without issue. If you’re looking for an easy way to buy Bitcoin with USD (or anything else) 100% anonymously, this is it. It is only Bitcoin, though. Don’t trade on LocalBitcoins without reading our complete review first.
3# Kraken
If the lack of fiat currency is getting you down, maybe it’s time you unleashed the Kraken. Kraken isn’t the most beginner-friendly platform, but it offers bank deposits in a number of currencies. You can then get busy using its innovative platform to trade for a range of cool coins and even margin trade. It supports USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, and JPY.
Interesting: Best Alternatives to Binance Exchange
Binance vs. Bittrex
Binance vs. Bittrex is like the Yankees vs. Red Sox or cats vs. dogs: the debate is neverending. Both are digital asset exchanges with forward-thinking leadership that have earned their dominant position. In the red corner, Bittrex prides itself on secure trading through a simple interface. In the blue corner, Binance is changing the game by offering unverified trading of the some of the rarest coins (and trying to give you a Porsche while doing it).
The winner of this title bout comes down to what you need personally. Let’s see which is the best Bitcoin exchange, Bittrex or Binance.
Bittrex Vitals
Bittrex vs Binance
Bittrex is one of the most cutting-edge trading experiences on the web. It was founded by a group of online security professionals that have dedicated the company to providing a secure and fast Bitcoin trading experience. It is a favorite among serious traders for its stability, security, and liquidity. It is the main competitor for Binance in the crypto-only sector.
It is highly regulated, meaning there is more verification. However, this extra verification provides greater stability and security.
Winner – Binance
Binance comes out ahead in more categories. But in my opinion, it really depends on what you want. For a more regulated and secure trading experience, Bittrex. If you want access to more altcoins with less verification, choose Binance.
Binance FAQ
Q: Where is Binance Located?
A: I wish I could answer you concretely but I can’t. One moderator on the Reddit sub said “HQ is considered to be Japan at this point (Dec 2017)”. The good news is that Japan is one of the most progressive markets for crypto exchanges.
Q: Is Binance 100% Safe?
A: Binance is rather quiet about its security. Its protocols aren’t well known, but it is viewed as secure. There haven’t been any issues yet. The transparency of its CEO and financial backers is enough for people to trust them.
Q: Does Binance Accept USD Deposits?
A: No. It is crypto-only.
Q: Does Binance Tolerate Trading Bots?
A: This is the Wild West, man. Of course you can use a trading bot. Just don’t abuse it or you’ll get banned temporarily. If you want to make a lot of money trading Bitcoin, check out these 12 tools for serious crypto traders.
Q: Does Binance Support US Customers?
A: Yes, US customers can use Binance.
Q: Does Binance Require Verification?
A: For Level 1, no. For Level 2, you must provide a photo ID.
Q: What is Binance Coin (BNB)?
A: Binance has a native token called BNB. It can be used to pay for trading fees on the site. Its supply is being artificially limited by the company so its value continually increases.
Q: I Withdrew Money But It Did Not Arrive. What Should I do?
A: If you have a withdrawal issue, check the status of the withdrawal in your history. If it shows it hasn’t been confirmed, just be patient. If it has been confirmed and you have not received it, you must speak with support at the destination.
What Cryptopositive Likes/Dislikes
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Dislikes
Hey, nothing is perfect…
Final Verdict of Our Binance Review
Binance is the world’s busiest exchange and has taken the world by storm. They are at the forefront of the entire crypto world. Porsche giveaways, innovative trade engines, and incubator labs where they support blockchain startups—Binance does it all.
They don’t just make trading easy, they make it fun and cheap, too. It isn’t the most beginner friendly, and they are a bit shady about their location, but security and stability have withstood the test of time (a short time at least). The community loves the low fees, large range of coins, and great support. They also love the detailed trading interface.
As long as you don’t withdraw your coins too often, you won’t experience any major issues.
Verdict:
Binance is a low-fee platform that’s great for trading every coin imaginable. But it is not suited for beginners.
