Binance Review

Our verdict: in our view, Binance is a strong pick for active traders who want low fees, a long coin list, and derivatives in one account. In our view, it is less suitable for first-time buyers who want a simple app. Binance launched in 2017. Since January 2026, its global platform, Binance.com, has been regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) through three companies based there.

Spot trades cost 0.10% for maker and taker orders at the entry tier, or 0.075% if you pay the fee in BNB, Binance's own token. By our count of Binance's market data, 416 crypto assets have an active spot market, more than Coinbase (over 400) and fewer than Kraken (over 600).

Binance suits you if:

• you trade often and want low entry-tier spot fees that fall further with volume;
• you want futures, options, copy trading, and trading bots next to spot trading;
• you want the exchange to publish a proof-of-reserves snapshot every month.

Binance is probably not for you if:

• you live in the US, Canada, or the Netherlands, which Binance's terms exclude (US readers: see Binance in the US below);
• you want an exchange authorized in the EU under MiCA, or one with deposit insurance;
• you are buying crypto for the first time and want the simplest app.

We rate Binance higher for functions and fees than for operation and support. For beginners, we rate Coinbase higher. The alternatives below also cover readers in the US.

Binance at a glance

• Operator: Nest Exchange Limited, along with Nest Clearing and Custody Limited and Nest Trading Limited, all located in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and regulated by the FSRA.
• Founded: 2017, by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He. Status: active.
• Spot fees, entry tier: 0.10% maker, 0.10% taker. 0.075% each when paid in BNB.
• USD-margined futures with USDT contracts, entry tier: 0.02% maker, 0.05% taker.
• Buy Crypto: 2% by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. 1 EUR by SEPA transfer.
• Bitcoin deposits: free.
• Bitcoin withdrawal fee: varies, a flat fee per network that Binance publishes and adjusts.
• Crypto assets: 416 with an active spot market, by our count. Spot pairs: 1,372 in all, tokenized stocks included.
• Proof of reserves: a monthly snapshot with a Merkle tree and a zk-SNARK proof. No outside auditor named.
• Option for US residents: Binance.US, a separate exchange (see below).

Binance in the US

Binance.com does not serve the US. Its terms and list of prohibited countries exclude any person located in, a resident of, a citizen of, or operating in the United States, and its app is not available in the US App Store. Binance's 2023 settlement with FinCEN also mandated a full exit from the United States. The same list excludes residents of Canada and the Netherlands.

If you live in the US, these are the options we cover:

• Binance.US, a distinct exchange operated by BAM Trading Services with its own account, terms, and fees. It is open to residents of 38 states plus DC and Puerto Rico, not to residents of the other states, among them New York, Texas, Georgia, Ohio and North Carolina.
• Coinbase is accessible in every US state, and we rate it higher for beginners. See our Coinbase review.
• Kraken is available in all states except New York and Maine. See our Kraken review and Kraken vs Binance.

Our list of exchanges for US customers offers a state-by-state comparison of these options.

What Binance costs: a worked example

Let's say you reside in a country served by Binance and wish to purchase bitcoin using euros, then transfer it to your personal wallet:

• Buy through Buy Crypto: according to Binance's fee page, 1 EUR for a SEPA transfer and 2% for a card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
• Alternatively, trade on the spot market: 0.10% as maker or taker at the entry tier, 0.075% if paying the fee in BNB.
• Withdraw the bitcoin: a flat fee per network, which Binance adjusts based on network conditions. Our last check showed 0.00002 BTC on the Bitcoin network and 0.000001 BTC over Lightning.

In our view, the spot market is the cheaper route once your money is on the exchange: the 0.10% trading fee is one-twentieth of the 2% card fee. For comparison, OKX charges 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker at its global entry tier.

Active traders benefit from volume-based discounts. Spot rates decrease with 30-day volume and BNB holdings: VIP 1 starts at 1,000,000 USD and 5 BNB, while VIP 9, beginning at 4,000,000,000 USD and 5,500 BNB, pays 0.011% maker and 0.023% taker. USD-margined futures with USDT contracts start at 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker, and TradFi perpetuals on stocks, indices, commodities, and currencies at 0.0400% taker with no maker fee.

Regulation and licenses

Binance.com's operator, Nest Exchange Limited, holds recognition as a Recognised Investment Exchange by the FSRA, effective January 2026. Nest Clearing and Custody Limited, which holds client assets, is a Recognised Clearing House, and Nest Trading Limited holds an FSRA financial services permission. Disputes under Binance's terms go to arbitration seated in ADGM, under ADGM law.

Binance's license page also highlights local companies outside Abu Dhabi, such as Binance FZE with a VASP license from Dubai's VARA, Binance Japan under the JFSA, an AUSTRAC registration in Australia, and licenses in Kazakhstan and Bahrain. It lists no license in the EU, the UK, or the US.

In the EU, Binance lacks authorization under MiCA: ESMA's interim register of crypto-asset service providers includes no Binance entity. For those in the EU seeking a MiCA-authorized exchange, Kraken holds such authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland.

Regulatory history

In November 2023, Binance Holdings Limited, the group company in the Cayman Islands, pleaded guilty in the US to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, failing to register as a money transmitting business, and violating sanctions law. With the parallel actions of the CFTC, FinCEN and the Treasury's sanctions office, the four US actions together required Binance to pay over $4.3 billion. Changpeng Zhao, the founder, pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and resigned as CEO.

Under the plea agreement, Binance agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years, and FinCEN's settlement imposes a five-year monitorship. We found no primary source saying either has ended.

The SEC's civil case against Binance Holdings Limited, Binance.US operator BAM Trading Services, and Zhao, initiated in June 2023, was dismissed with prejudice in May 2025. In October 2025, Zhao received a presidential pardon. It covers him personally, not Binance's plea, settlements or monitorships.

Security and proof of reserves

Client assets are held by Nest Clearing and Custody Limited as custodian, kept apart from its own assets under the ADGM rules on client money and custody. Binance's terms indicate no obligation to insure digital assets, and we found no deposit insurance. Binance may enforce multi-factor authentication for logins, withdrawals, and security changes.

In May 2019, hackers extracted 7,000 BTC from Binance's bitcoin hot wallet through stolen API keys and two-factor codes. Binance said at the time that its SAFU fund would cover the incident in full and that no user funds would be affected.

Binance offers a monthly proof-of-reserves snapshot, featuring a Merkle tree and zk-SNARK proof, without naming an external auditor. In the snapshot we read, reserves covered 100.16% of account balances in BTC and 102.91% in USDT. Since January 2026, those balances include the platform's own assets, and Binance said the earlier method showed inflated ratios.

Alternatives to Binance

• For first-time buyers: Coinbase, which we rate higher for beginner friendliness. Refer to our Coinbase review and Coinbase vs Binance.
• For active traders seeking a similar global platform: OKX, with a global entry tier of 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker. See our OKX review and OKX vs Binance.
• For US residents: Binance.US, Coinbase, or Kraken, as previously detailed.
• For comparing trading fees across exchanges we review: our fee comparison table.

FAQ

Is Binance good?

In our view, yes for active traders: spot fees start at 0.10%, our count of its market data finds 416 crypto assets, and futures, options, and trading bots are accessible within the same account. It is weaker for first-time buyers, who face many products, and its record includes the 2023 guilty plea in the US. We rate its functionality and fees highest among our six criteria.

Is Binance cheaper than Coinbase?

The cost varies by location. Binance.com levies 0.10% maker and taker fees at the entry tier, or 0.075% with BNB. Coinbase Advanced's entry tier is 0.09% maker and 0.10% taker in international markets, 0.25% and 0.50% in the EU and UK, and 0.50% and 0.90% in the US.

Can you use Binance in the US?

Not Binance.com, as its terms exclude US residents and citizens. Binance.US, a separate exchange, serves residents of 38 states plus DC and Puerto Rico and applies 0% maker and 0.02% taker on most spot pairs, compared to 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker at Coinbase's US entry tier. Coinbase vs Binance offers a full comparison.

What are Binance's withdrawal fees?

Binance imposes a flat fee per coin and network, lists it on its fee page, and adjusts it with network conditions without prior notice. At our last check, USDT was 1.5 USDT on Tron (TRC20), 0.5 USDT on Ethereum (ERC20), and 0.01 USDT on BNB Smart Chain (BEP20), with bitcoin at 0.00002 BTC on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin deposits remain free.

How we checked this review

We read Binance's terms of use, its list of prohibited countries, its license page, its fee pages and the public data behind them, its proof-of-reserves page and its announcements. We looked up the operator in the FSRA's public register and Binance in ESMA's MiCA register, and read the 2023 announcements of the US Justice Department, the CFTC and the Treasury. We count crypto assets with an active spot market and leave out tokenized stocks and fiat currencies.