Summary review of Binance, the largest by volume

Binance was founded in China but moved its servers and headquarters out of China and into Japan in advance of the Chinese government ban on cryptocurrency trading in September 2017. By March 2018 the company had established offices in Taiwan. As of January 2018 it was the largest exchange with a BNB market capitalization of $1.3 billion. Binance is also the largest exchange, based on average daily volume processed.

Review Summarization – Items selected from various Internet reviews:

Other Distinguishing Factors: Binance focuses on crypto-to-crypto trades. It does not deal in fiat currencies. Whether you’re a professional trader or just starting out with cryptocurrencies, Binance offers a wide variety of tools for engaging with digital asset markets. It’s straightforward to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through the Binance exchange, while additional features make the platform capable of handling complex trading operations, as well.

What cryptocurrencies can be bought: Binance offers high liquidity, crypto-to-crypto trades in over 100 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, XRP, USDT, ETH, NEB, XVG, TRX, NEBL, ETH, NEO, FUN, ETC, BCC, POE, DASH, ELF, ICX, BNB, ZRX, APPC and 80+ more.

Exchange Fees: Downloading the Binance mobile app or creating an account online is free. Making deposits to Binance in any supported currency is also free. You may incur a fee when withdrawing funds from Binance, although fees vary depending on the currency. When trading on Binance, you will be charged a 0.1% fee on each trade. Binance has issued its own token, BNB, which can be used to pay any kind of fees incurred on the exchange. Using the BNB token reduces transaction fees on trades by a specified amount: 50% during the first year, 25% during the second year, and so forth. Because the BNB token is tradable on the exchange, its value fluctuates.

Security Precautions: The Binance platform architecture includes ISO/ICO_27001:2013 and CCSS security protocols. For account security, Binance offers SMS two-factor authentication and Google Authenticator to verify withdrawals and security modifications. In order to verify an account, users must activate one of these features. While there have been rumors of hacks, management denies that any have taken place, and most reviewers note that security precautions are at a very high level.

KYC and AML Information: Binance has very little in the way of regulatory controls. Email verification appears to be all that is needed to register.

Customer Service: Telephone, email, and chat room are available in multiple languages.

Pros:

• Basic and Advanced exchange views
• Support for close to 100 cryptocurrencies
• Multi-language support
• Offers the Binance in-house BNB token for reduced trading fees
• High liquidity
• Capable of processing 1.4 million transactions per second
• Backed by an established team with a proven track record in crypto and finance
• Low fees on transactions and withdrawals
• Bounty and reward programs for the community

Cons:

• Some users have reported difficulty with the Android version of the mobile app.
• Some users have reported delays when withdrawing certain coins from Binance.
• Withdrawal fees vary between coins and can be high compared to other exchanges.
• Because it’s a new platform, it’s hard to assess its long-term viability.
• Binance does collect and store some user data, such as logging IP addresses.

Concluding Remarks

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, is an outspoken crypto optimist and is confident that its future will be bright. His firm has already announced that plans to roll out as many as ten new exchanges across the globe, with a vision of supporting spot trading, margin trading, futures, anonymous instant exchange, and a new decentralized (on-chain) exchange (DEX).