In the world of crypto, there are a few exchanges that stand out among the numerous names. One of them is Binance.
Binance is considered one of the top choices for crypto investors because of its history, crypto selection, and ease of use, and there’s very little reason not to believe it when you factor in that it’s the most widely used exchange beating out Coinbase and Kraken for the top spot.
Before I spill the details on why Binance is so loved, we’ll get into the real details you want to hear. After all, this is a review so I can’t spoil the ending just yet.
We’ll discuss how it stacks up to the competition, the crypto selection, user interface, list of features, and plenty more so you’ll get a good idea of what makes Binance the #1 crypto exchange choice for so many.
About Binance
Binance was founded in 2017 in China by Changpeng Zhao but has since spread out globally for users in the U.S., Europe, Africa, South America, etc.
It was originally started as a computer program to facilitate high-speed trading but has since grown into a multi-national crypto trading exchange that we know today.
Fees and Accounts
What everyone wants to know about a potential exchange for their trading needs is how much it’s going to cost them to either open an account or trade.
It’s a valid question, hidden fees are annoying and account minimums are too. Fortunately, Binance is pretty good when it comes to their fees.
The minimum trade is $10, and there are no account minimums/costs.
Crypto Selection
Crypto selection can make or break an exchange. Too many and you feel overwhelmed and the exchange is simply bloated, but too little and you don’t have much freedom of choice.
Now, of course that’s my opinion on too many, but one knock on Binance is that it doesn’t have a lot.
Binance Global has over 300+ cryptocurrencies available for trade, while Binance.US, the American sub-company, has 60.
Among the coins you can find on Binance there are:
Although the US version of Binance doesn’t have as many crypto offerings as the global version, it’s still a pretty healthy list for most of the serious altcoins that you’re looking for.
Features
Features and amenities of a crypto exchange can also make or break how well it performs and Binance does a good job of providing the useful features that keep us coming back for more.
Loans
Binance is not the first exchange to offer loans that are backed by crypto, but it’s nice to be able to do it regardless.
Crypto services like Nexo Wallet, Celsius Network, and BlockFi focus on the ability to use your crypto as collateral, but they are not exchanges in the same way that Binance is so it’s a good option for one-stop-shop features.
Crypto Credit Card
Binance offers a VISA credit card where you can spend your crypto, or earn crypto as cashback.
They offer up to 8% cashback on all eligible purchases with your crypto VISA card.
Many exchanges and crypto interest services like Nexo Wallet, Celsius Network, Coinbase, and more, are starting to offer cards.
NFT Marketplace
In a move that shocked no one, Binance entered into the NFT space by offering their own in-house NFT marketplace.
This is in a big to compete with existing NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible, but also with Coinbase has its own NFT marketplace as well.
You can buy NFTs, mint them and sell them, or invest in IGOs (initial game offerings) which makes it a legitimate competitor to many of the existing marketplaces out there.
Trading Options
If you’re looking to do more than simply buy and hodl, Binance gives you some good trading options as well.
Among them are spot trading, margin trading, and crypto futures trading. These are pretty standard fair but their layout is easy to navigate for those with more experience reading the charts and made me feel like I was plenty in control but still useful for beginners.
Liquidity Farming/Pools
Liquidity farming and pools (and swapping) simply means that you can trade, hold, etc. coins that earn rewards.
The setup for their liquidity pools is very straight forward and they include a tutorial video for beginners, but it’s nice to have this feature as the major exchanges should at this point have farming or staking options available.
Binance Launchpad
Even those looking to get into new tokens from the get-go can find them on Binance Launchpad. Plenty of projects are launched through them and you can take advantage of this by getting in early.
You can even use Launchpad to launch your own token which provides a useful ecosystem to use to make the process simpler.
Interface and Experience
One of the crucial things that Binance succeeds at is making a very simple user interface, which leads to a good user experience.
All of the relevant menus are found at the top of the desktop site and on a drop-down menu for mobile site/app use.
It’s important that the UI and UX of a crypto exchange are easy to navigate and I rarely found myself fumbling around.
Similarly, they provide plenty of explanation for terms and features with hover/pop-up dialogue text.
Overall, clean and efficient, just the way it should be.
Competition Comparison
Binance is considered one of the heavy-hitters among the top exchanges, so there is competition for the top spot. I’ve included some of the most common competition and a little about why they’re competitors.
Coinbase
It’s impossible to talk about crypto exchanges without discussing Coinbase.
Being more accessible for U.S. and Canadian users, Coinbase offers more utility for a more general population, which means it’s often neck and neck with Binance for the best.
Coinbase also offers plenty of coins to trade and a very streamlined but sleek experience.
Kraken
Kraken is very similar to both Binance and Coinbase, except that it has a bit more of a learning curve.
Expect to see plenty of charts, numbers, menus, and features. They’re great offerings, and very intuitive, but certainly geared towards more advanced crypto enthusiasts.
Crypto.com
Another commercial crypto exchange that is easily accessible for beginners is Crypto.com.
It doesn’t blow me away with what they have, but the fact they also have NFT access and even DeFi access makes it useful for investors looking to branch out a bit.
Crypto.com feels like a less dominant competitor to Coinbase than Binance, but still, a major service, and their mobile app is excellent.
Gemini
Gemini is on a lesser level than the other competitors, but it does sport plenty of security which is something that I wish Binance was better with.
Overall, Gemini has over 70 cryptocurrencies available to trade and it’s an easy app/site/service to get the hang of and it’s worth mentioning regardless.
Bottom Line
Finding the right crypto exchange isn’t easy considering how are out there now, but one that should always be on your mind is Binance.
Considered one of the leaders of the pack given the enormous amounts of cryptocurrencies available, the bevy of trading options, the low fees, and the great user experience overshadows some of the doubts on security and access in certain regions.
It isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly an exchange worth having your crypto invested in.
