The Binance cryptocurrency exchange is one of the largest and most used crypto exchanges in the world, and one of the most versatile in its offering and services. Binance supports over 500 cryptocurrencies and over 180 countries. In this post I go through the most important things to consider before signing up.
Binance review - summary
Binance is a crypto exchange, i.e. a trading platform, where you can trade different cryptocurrencies at very competitive prices. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced crypto investor, Binance is probably the easiest, most versatile and cheapest platform to use.
Binance accepts users from all over the world and is very popular in different crypto communities. US users must trade on the Binance.US service, which differs slightly from the Binance service operating elsewhere in the world. In Finland, users use the regular Binance exchange.
Next, let's take a closer look at Binance and what it offers. In this post we cover:
- Binance overview
- Binance's services, trading platform and finance products
- Currencies and payment methods
- Binance fees
- Binance limits
- Customer support and reviews
- Frequently asked questions about Binance
- Finally: Is Binance reliable and safe to use?
Binance overview
Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, founded in 2017 by the Chinese-Canadian developer Changpeng Zhao (better known as CZ). Zhao's company Beijie Technology created the Binance exchange after a successful ICO that raised 15 million dollars. Originally based in China, Binance moved its headquarters to the Cayman Islands after the Chinese government tightened regulation of cryptocurrencies and the companies around them.
Investors in the Binance ICO received Binance Coin (BNB) in return, which could be used to trade cryptocurrencies and pay fees on Binance. At the moment (1/2025), Binance Coin, or BNB, is among the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap. BNB's original value was about 0.1 dollars, and it has kept rising with the growth of Binance and the BNB chain, standing at around 685 dollars in 1/2025.
After struggles with the Chinese government's views on cryptocurrencies, Binance now runs its servers from more lenient countries, which gives it the freedom to maintain a competitive exchange service:
"In response to China's decisions, we are moving IPs from Hong Kong to an offshore location. So we have registered in several places and we have employees in several places. That way a single regulator never affects us," Zhao has commented on the move.
Binance has had incredible success since its launch, and according to Coinmarketcap it ranks first by 24-hour trading volume, meaning it is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Its 24-hour trading volume is practically more than five times that of its nearest competitor, Coinbase.
Binance services
Binance offers the market's most versatile range of services for investing in, saving and paying with cryptocurrencies and more. Let's look at some of them next.
Binance Exchange
The best known and most common is of course Binance Exchange, the trading platform that lets users exchange fiat currency (such as euros) for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
P2P trading
Binance offers a P2P (peer-to-peer) trading service that connects cryptocurrency buyers and sellers directly. This offers more payment options, letting you pay and receive payments directly with the seller/buyer.
Credit and debit cards
Binance works with Simplex (a payment card company) to offer a service that supports credit and debit cards. With this service you can buy cryptocurrencies directly with a credit or debit card and deposit fiat currency into your account with these cards. Card payments are a paid service, though, and very expensive by Binance's standards (on a platform that is otherwise very cheap).
SEPA transfer, i.e. bank transfer
Binance lets its users buy cryptocurrencies directly with fiat currencies, such as euros, using SEPA and bank transfers. I think this is the most sensible way to move euros to Binance, since no transaction fee at all is charged on SEPA and bank transfer deposits.
Binance trading platform
Trading cryptocurrencies on Binance is fairly easy and user friendly. So even beginners quickly figure out how buying and selling cryptocurrencies works.
There is a very wide range of cryptocurrencies to trade, and as far as I know Binance's selection is one of the widest among crypto exchanges. Binance originally had only crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, but it has since added fiat trading pairs too, such as EUR and USD.
You can trade in several different views. Binance has a very stripped-down, simple convert view where beginner crypto investors can simply choose the currency they want and click the "buy" button. In addition, Binance offers trading platforms for more advanced trading.
Spot trading
For spot trading, users can choose between two interfaces. The "Convert" interface is the option for beginners, with all advanced features such as charts and order types removed. This makes it easy for beginners to swap between cryptocurrencies at market price without confusion.
Advanced users also have the regular trading interface with all the typical exchange features: charts, order books, different order types and much more. These are all available in the default spot trading interface.
Margin trading
Margin trading is available for selected trading pairs and cryptocurrencies, letting users trade with up to 10x leverage. Users can choose either cross margin, where the whole margin account balance is at risk, or isolated margin, which limits potential losses to a single trading pair.
Binance Futures: futures and derivatives
Binance Futures was launched in 2019 and lets you trade on the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and several other popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE) and others (instead of traditional buying and selling).
The platform allows trading with up to 20x leverage, which means traders can multiply their profits (but also their losses) 20 times.
The Binance Futures interface looks almost identical to the Binance Spot trading interface, apart from a few extra features for managing leverage and viewing open positions.
Unfortunately, Binance has had to suspend derivatives trading in many European countries, such as Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. This is the result of pressure from regulators worldwide, especially in Europe, who have decided that Binance is not authorized to provide investment services.
Binance finance and savings
The latest addition to Binance's services is its finance offering, which provides interesting ways to save in crypto. Let's look at them next:
Binance Savings
Binance Savings lets users earn a return on idle funds through "flexible" or "locked" savings. In practice, users can commit the cryptocurrencies they own to different "savings accounts" that pay interest on the investment. Flexible savings accounts pay a variable rate, while locked savings accounts pay a higher rate for fixed-term deposits. With the flexible options you can withdraw your cryptocurrencies quickly, while with the locked options your cryptocurrencies are tied up for a fixed term.
Staking
Binance also offers a staking service that lets users earn a return on proof-of-stake and decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrencies without much deeper study. Like the savings accounts, staking is available as flexible and locked options.
What is staking? In short: the first cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, work on a proof-of-work concept. This means anyone can contribute computing power to maintain the Bitcoin network and verify transactions. In return they receive that cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. Many newer cryptocurrencies work on a proof-of-stake concept, where users can lock their funds for the use of that cryptocurrency's network and receive that cryptocurrency as compensation (so-called "interest").
Binance Visa card
The Binance Visa card lets users spend their cryptocurrency holdings at places that only accept fiat currency by credit or debit card. Your crypto holdings are converted into euros, for example, when you make a purchase (without fees). You can read more about the Binance Visa card on Binance's website.
Crypto loans
Binance Loans offers users loans in various cryptocurrencies and tokens, secured by some of the most popular cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH and ADA.
Currencies and payment methods
Binance's selection is huge. Altogether it has over 500 cryptocurrencies you can trade, deposit and withdraw. On Binance you will find the most popular cryptocurrencies, such as:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Binance Coin (BNB)
- Cosmos (ATOM)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Solana (SOL)
- TRON (TRX)
Binance also has stablecoins:
- Tether (USDT)
- Binance USD (BUSD)
Binance costs and fees
Compared to other crypto exchanges, Binance's costs are top class and almost without exception very low. Binance spot trading fees (i.e. the fees on its traditional crypto trading platform) start at just 0.1 percent, which is practically negligible. Binance has a VIP tier system that lowers fees as your 30-day trading volume grows. Binance Futures trading fees are even lower.
Compare Binance's fees with other crypto exchanges and you will see the difference. For example, the Finnish exchange Coinmotion's trading fees are in the 0.8-2% range (1/2025). That is 8-20 times Binance's costs!
If you are used to brokers' commissions on stock purchases (such as Nordnet), Binance's prices sound even cheaper.
Deposits to Binance are free, as you might expect (apart from blockchain fees, which the sender always pays).
Binance withdrawal limits
Binance has certain withdrawal limits for taking funds out. This does not (usually) bother private investors, though, since the limits are very high. In practice, Binance limits withdrawals for VIP 0 (i.e. entry-level) users to 8,000,000 USD per day. So if you plan to move more than 8 million dollars' worth of funds a day, you will hit the limits; otherwise, no worries.
Customer support and reviews
Binance has many great features, and many investors are excited about the service for good reason. Low fees, high trading volume, and a constantly evolving exchange and services. Binance is widely considered an overwhelming success.
Binance has a comprehensive support site in English with an extensive FAQ section. You will most likely find an answer or guidance for any challenges you face in the FAQ. If the FAQ does not help, Binance has a chatbot that helps you find an answer to your question or solve your problem. If that does not work either, you can send a request to talk to a customer service representative.
Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange, so on the downside, customer service replies can take a while, and you may have to wait 12-48 hours for a reply. Unfortunately that is common at other big companies too.
Frequently asked questions about Binance
Can I withdraw money from Binance?
You can easily withdraw and transfer cryptocurrencies from Binance, as well as various fiat currencies such as EUR and USD. Binance supports SEPA transfers, so you can deposit and withdraw euros through your online bank.
Can I buy Bitcoin on Binance?
Yes. You can buy Bitcoin on Binance with a credit or debit card, a SEPA bank transfer or any supported cryptocurrency, for example.
How do you buy Bitcoin on Binance?
- Sign up for Binance
- Deposit funds into your account or buy directly with a credit card.
- Find the trading pair of Bitcoin and the crypto or fiat currency you deposited.
- Sell the deposited crypto or fiat currency for Bitcoin.
- Withdraw the Bitcoin to your own wallet or keep it on Binance.
Is Binance safe?
Binance is considered a safe exchange that lets you protect your account with two-factor authentication (2FA). So in addition to just a password, you can require SMS and email confirmations, which is highly recommended.
Finally: Is Binance reliable and safe to use?
Binance is the world's most popular crypto exchange, and for good reason. Its low fees, wide crypto selection and versatile services combined with a skilled development team have been an unbeatable combination so far. No wonder Binance is the leading cryptocurrency trading platform measured by daily trading volume.
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