Binance: The Complete Guide

What is Binance?

Binance (Binance is the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, offering spot, futures, margin, staking and savings (Earn), and a token-launch platform, plus the BNB token and BNB Chain ecosystem — it serves most of the world but not US persons, who use the separate Binance.US entity) is the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume — a custodial platform where you deposit funds, trade against a deep internal order book, and access a full suite of products: spot, futures, margin, staking and savings (Earn), and a token-launch platform (Launchpad). It also anchors the BNB token and the BNB Chain ecosystem. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

Launched in 2017, Binance grew quickly into the highest-volume exchange in crypto, consistently leading global centralized exchange spot market share — it held roughly 40% of global spot volume through 2025 (around 41% in mid-2025), more than any rival. Its appeal is the combination of the deepest liquidity in the industry, the widest selection of trading pairs, and some of the lowest fees in the category. But it is a custodial exchange — your balance is a claim on Binance, not coins you hold yourself — and it operates under a complex, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction regulatory picture shaped by a landmark 2023 US settlement.

This guide covers what Binance offers, how its fees work, the BNB token and BNB Chain, the SAFU insurance fund, the 2023 DOJ settlement and leadership change, regional restrictions (including Binance.US for US users), how to get started safely, and the risks to weigh. As with any CEX, the headline is simple: use it for liquidity and on-ramping, but self-custody what you intend to hold.

The Binance short answer

1. It's the biggest exchange by volume. Deepest liquidity, widest pair selection, lowest-tier fees in the category.
2. Full product suite. Spot, futures, margin, Earn (savings/staking), and Launchpad/Megadrop token launches.
3. BNB is the hub token. Fee discounts on Binance, gas on BNB Chain, and Launchpad/Earn participation.
4. Regulated and restructured. A ~$4.3B US DOJ settlement in November 2023; CZ stepped down, Richard Teng is CEO.
5. Not for US persons on .com. US users use the separate, more limited Binance.US; self-custody long-term holdings either way.

Fees and how to minimize them

Binance uses a maker/taker spot model with one of the lowest base tiers among major exchanges, an additional discount for paying fees in BNB, and progressively cheaper VIP tiers by 30-day volume — always confirm the live schedule before trading. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

Binance's pricing is among the most competitive in the CEX category. Spot trading starts at a 0.1% maker / 0.1% taker base tier, dropping to ~0.075% when you enable the standard 25% BNB fee discount, and lower still as you climb VIP tiers based on 30-day trading volume and BNB balance (VIP 1 begins around $250,000 in 30-day volume or holding 25 BNB, taking maker fees to ~0.09%). Futures fees are lower than spot, and withdrawal fees vary by asset and network. Confirm exact current rates on the official fee schedule before trading at size.

Practical ways to lower costs:

• Pay fees in BNB for the standard discount (toggle it on in account settings).
• Use limit (maker) orders where possible — maker fees are typically at or below taker fees.
• Climb VIP tiers if you trade at scale; high 30-day volume meaningfully cuts rates.
• Mind withdrawal networks — the same asset can cost very different fees depending on the chain you withdraw over.
• Avoid the simple "convert"/instant-buy flows for large trades; the spot order book is usually cheaper than one-click conversion.

Always confirm live numbers. Fee schedules, discounts, and VIP thresholds change. Treat any specific percentage here as illustrative and check binance.com/en/fee/schedule.

Products: spot, futures, margin, Earn, and Launchpad

Binance bundles a near-complete crypto product suite under one login: spot and convert, leveraged futures and margin, Earn (savings/staking/dual-investment), and Launchpad/Megadrop for new token launches. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

Spot trading. The core product — buy and sell hundreds of assets against a deep order book, with the widest pair selection in the industry. Beginners can use simple buy/convert flows; active traders use the full spot interface for better pricing.

Futures. Binance Futures offers perpetual and dated contracts with high aggregate open interest. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses and positions can be fully liquidated — funding rates, margin modes, and liquidation mechanics must be understood before use. Derivatives are not available to US persons.

Margin. Borrow against collateral to trade spot with leverage (cross or isolated). Like futures, this is a leveraged product with liquidation risk and borrowing costs.

Earn. A bundle of yield products — flexible and locked savings, staking (including proof-of-stake assets), dual-investment, and launchpool-style farming. Yields vary, are not guaranteed, and carry counterparty and (for some products) smart-contract risk; locked products restrict withdrawals.

Launchpad and Megadrop. Binance's token-launch platforms let users commit BNB (or complete tasks) to receive allocations of new projects before they list. These are promotional, allocation-limited, and carry the usual early-token volatility and risk — treat them as speculative, not guaranteed returns.

BNB token and ecosystem

BNB is Binance's native token: it began in 2017 as a fee-discount utility token and grew into the gas and staking token of BNB Chain, Binance's EVM-compatible smart-contract network. Binance has historically run periodic BNB burns to reduce supply. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

BNB (BNB, formerly Binance Coin, is Binance's native token used for trading-fee discounts on the exchange, gas on BNB Chain, and participation in Launchpad and Earn products) started as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum during Binance's 2017 launch, with its original pitch being discounted trading fees. Over time it became central to the wider ecosystem:

• Fee discounts on Binance spot trading when you pay fees in BNB.
• Gas token on BNB Chain, where transactions are paid in BNB.
• Launchpad / Launchpool participation, where holding or committing BNB earns allocations of new tokens.
• Earn and staking products denominated in or rewarding BNB.

BNB Chain is the EVM-compatible blockchain that evolved from the original Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain. It hosts a large DeFi, NFT, and dApp ecosystem and is known for low fees and high throughput, with the common trade-off of more validator centralization than Ethereum. BNB has long ranked among the largest crypto assets by market cap; it broke out to a fresh all-time high (~$793) in December 2024 and pushed higher through 2025. Check CoinGecko for the live price and rank and DefiLlama for current BNB Chain TVL.

For where BNB Chain fits among networks, see our broader centralized exchange and bridge coverage.

Security and the SAFU fund

Binance publishes Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves and maintains SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users), an emergency insurance fund created in 2018 and funded over time from a portion of trading fees — a backstop for extreme events, not a guarantee, and not a substitute for self-custody. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users — Binance's emergency insurance fund, created in 2018 and funded from a portion of trading fees, intended to reimburse users in extreme cases such as a security breach) was set up so that, in a severe incident such as a hack, Binance could draw on a separately held reserve to make affected users whole rather than passing the loss directly to them. Binance publishes SAFU wallet addresses for transparency. Alongside SAFU, Binance runs the standard exchange security stack: the majority of assets in cold storage, monitoring systems, and account-level controls (2FA, withdrawal whitelists, anti-phishing codes).

Binance also publishes proof-of-reserves using Merkle-tree attestations so users can verify their balance is included in the reported reserves. Proof-of-reserves shows assets at a point in time; it does not by itself prove liabilities, so it is a useful but partial signal.

None of this removes the core CEX risk: you are trusting an operator with custody. A SAFU fund is a backstop sized for plausible incidents, not an unlimited guarantee, and exchanges can be hacked, restricted, or frozen. The durable rule is to keep only working capital on any exchange and self-custody long-term holdings.

Regulation: the DOJ settlement and what changed

In November 2023, Binance settled with the US Department of Justice and other agencies over anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations for roughly $4.3 billion. Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleaded guilty and stepped down as CEO; Richard Teng became CEO, and Binance operates under enhanced compliance and monitoring. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

The November 2023 resolution was one of the largest corporate penalties in US history. The core findings concerned Binance failing to maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program and violating US sanctions. As part of the DOJ resolution, Binance agreed to pay ~$4.3B across penalties and forfeiture and to submit to compliance monitoring.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) (Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, founded Binance in 2017 and was its CEO until pleading guilty in the November 2023 US settlement and stepping down), Binance's founder and long-time CEO, pleaded guilty and stepped down. Richard Teng (Richard Teng, a former regulator, became Binance's CEO after CZ stepped down in November 2023), a former financial regulator who had led several Binance regional businesses, took over as CEO.

CZ was sentenced to four months and served his term in 2024; he was later pardoned by President Trump in 2025, and by 2026 had publicly floated reviving Binance.US to give American users access to global liquidity again. He no longer runs the exchange, but remains a major shareholder and a prominent voice in the industry.

What changed in practice:

• Stronger compliance and KYC. Tighter onboarding, more aggressive geo-blocking of restricted jurisdictions, and a more conservative listing posture.
• Clearer US separation. Binance.com remains off-limits to US persons; Binance.US is the distinct US entity (and the subject of 2026 revival talk from CZ).
• Institutional positioning. Under Teng, Binance has emphasized regulatory licensing in multiple jurisdictions and engagement with institutional users.

Regulation of Binance continues to evolve country by country, and the specifics of its licensing and available products differ by where you live.

How to get started (with safety)

Open the official binance.com, confirm your region and entity, complete KYC, lock down security (authenticator-app 2FA and a withdrawal whitelist), deposit only trading capital, test small, and withdraw long-term holdings to self-custody. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

1. Verify the site and your region. Go to binance.com and confirm Binance serves your country and which entity applies. US persons must use Binance.US, not Binance.com.
2. Register and complete KYC. Use a strong, unique, password-manager-generated password and finish identity verification to unlock full limits and products.
3. Lock down security. Enable authenticator-app 2FA (never SMS — SIM-swaps are a leading drain vector), set an anti-phishing code, and configure a withdrawal-address whitelist with a cooldown.
4. Deposit only what you'll trade, and test small. Fund the account modestly, run a small test buy or transfer, and confirm everything behaves as expected before scaling up.
5. Self-custody long-term holdings. Move anything you intend to hold beyond active trading to a hardware or self-custody wallet — keep only working capital on the exchange.

For how Binance compares with other venues, see our best centralized exchanges guide, and compare live volume and reserves on data.web3wagmi.com.

Binance vs other exchanges

Binance leads on liquidity, pair selection, and low fees globally; Coinbase leads on US regulation and ease of fiat on-ramp; Kraken leads on security track record and euro pairs. The right choice depends mostly on your jurisdiction. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

The practical takeaway: outside the US, Binance is usually the default for cost and liquidity. Inside the US, you cannot use Binance.com — Coinbase, Kraken, or another US-regulated venue is the answer, with Binance.US a more limited option. See our best centralized exchanges guide for the full comparison.

Risks and what to avoid

Binance is the largest and most liquid exchange, but it is custodial, leveraged products can liquidate you, regulation varies by country, and no exchange is immune to hacks or restrictions. Use it deliberately and self-custody what you hold. Last verified: 2026-06-16.

• Custodial risk. Your balance is a claim on Binance, not coins you control. SAFU and proof-of-reserves help but don't eliminate this.
• Leverage risk. Futures and margin can liquidate your entire position; funding costs and volatility magnify losses. Most beginners should avoid leverage.
• Regulatory and access risk. Products, KYC, and availability differ by jurisdiction and can change; using the wrong entity (e.g., Binance.com as a US person) is a real legal exposure.
• Phishing. Fake "binance.com" front-ends and ads are a common scam — bookmark the official URL and verify it on every login.
• Product complexity. Earn, Launchpad, and dual-investment products carry their own lockups and risks; read the terms before committing.
• Concentration. Don't treat any single exchange as a vault. Spread custody and keep long-term holdings off-platform.

Safety checklist

1. Verify the URL is the official Binance domain — fake sites and ads are a top phishing vector.
2. Enable authenticator-app 2FA (never SMS) and set an anti-phishing code.
3. Set a withdrawal-address whitelist with a cooldown on new addresses.
4. Deposit only active-trading capital; withdraw long-term holdings to self-custody.
5. Confirm your region and entity (Binance.com vs Binance.US) before depositing.
6. Understand any leverage or lockup before using futures, margin, or Earn products.

Glossary

• Binance — the world's largest centralized crypto exchange by trading volume.
• Binance.US — the separate, more limited US entity for US persons; no derivatives.
• BNB — Binance's native token; fee discounts, BNB Chain gas, and Launchpad/Earn participation.
• BNB Chain — Binance's EVM-compatible smart-contract blockchain (formerly Binance Chain / Binance Smart Chain).
• Maker/taker — fee model: maker adds liquidity (limit order), taker removes it (market order).
• VIP tiers — volume-based fee discount levels on Binance.
• Earn — Binance's suite of savings, staking, and yield products.
• Launchpad / Megadrop — Binance's new-token launch platforms, often committing BNB for allocations.
• Futures / margin — leveraged products with liquidation risk.
• SAFU — Secure Asset Fund for Users, Binance's emergency insurance fund (since 2018).
• Proof-of-reserves — Merkle-tree attestation that user balances are included in reported reserves.
• CZ (Changpeng Zhao) — Binance founder and former CEO who pleaded guilty and stepped down in 2023.
• Richard Teng — Binance's CEO since CZ's departure in November 2023.
• DOJ settlement — the ~$4.3B November 2023 US resolution over AML and sanctions violations.

Looking ahead

Binance's path through 2026 is about consolidating its post-settlement transformation: operating under enhanced compliance, pursuing licensing across jurisdictions, and positioning for institutional flows under Richard Teng's leadership while defending its lead in spot liquidity and fees. Watch three signals: whether Binance's global market share holds as regulated competitors expand, how its proof-of-reserves and SAFU disclosures evolve toward fuller proof-of-solvency, and how the BNB Chain ecosystem grows relative to other smart-contract networks. For the conservative user, the guidance is unchanged regardless of headlines — use Binance for liquidity and on-ramping, keep only working capital on it, and self-custody anything you mean to hold.

For context, see our best centralized exchanges guide and compare live exchange data on data.web3wagmi.com.