eToro has issued a detailed report related to Binance Coin (BNB) and whether to consider it a security or a utility token. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been working in order to understand how to better consider virtual currencies. According to the report, it is not easy for BNB to be classified as a utility token or as a security. Update, October 2026: in June 2023, the US SEC sued Binance and said BNB had been offered and sold as an unregistered security. The SEC and Binance agreed to dismiss the case on May 29, 2025, so no court ruled on whether BNB is a security.
Binance Coin, a Security or a Utility Token?
When this article was written in late 2018, Binance Coin was the 16th largest crypto in the market. With a market capitalization of $708 million dollars, this virtual currency attracted the attention of many investors. On October 18, 2026, CoinGecko ranked BNB fourth by market value. However, it might not be easy to consider this virtual currency a security or a utility.
According to the recent report released by eToro, the BNB token can be used as a medium fo exchange, even when this was not the main use intended at the moment of its creation. Although the currency does not provide an exclusive access to the Binance platform, it gives several benefits for traders.
Nonetheless, the value of the BNB coin is clearly tied to how the cryptocurrency exchange Binance would behave.
The report reads as follows:
“It is not always easy to classify a coin into one or several of the categories above. In the case of BNB, it can indeed be used as a medium of exchange, but that is arguably not the main use that was intended for the currency upon its creation.”
It is important to mention that in November 2018, BitTorrent started accepting Binance Coin as a means of payment for its Pro and Ads Free products. This shows that there is a real use case as a means of payment by BNB, but it can also be classified as a security. Although this is a very important decision taken by BitTorrent that improves BNB’s market presence, it still depends on Binance and how it will evolve.
Binance is one of the largest and most important cryptocurrency exchanges in the market. In the 24 hours before this article was written, the platform handled $1.25 billion dollars in trading volume. At the time, it planned a decentralized exchange (DEX) focused on user-friendliness, with Binance Coin as its base coin. Binance launched it, Binance DEX, on its own Binance Chain in April 2019. That chain, later called BNB Beacon Chain, was shut down on November 19, 2024, and its functions moved to BNB Smart Chain.
Additionally, Changpeng Zhao, Binance founder, has also been doing everything as possible for the trading platform and virtual currency to grow. Update, October 2026: Changpeng Zhao stepped down as Binance CEO in November 2023, when he and Binance pleaded guilty to US anti-money laundering violations as part of a $4.3 billion settlement. US President Donald Trump pardoned him in October 2025.
When this article was written in late 2018, each BNB coin could be bought for $5.4.
Learn More
Check out the BNB Price Prediction and Technical Analysis article. Interested readers should also check out our coverage of Binance Coin in articles exploring its ‘gas’ use for Binance’s decentralized exchange, or how BNB price rose in relation to the exchange’s expansion.
