<h3><strong>Overview</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance is a newly-created brainchild founded by a team of experts in China but later transferred their headquarters to crypto-friendly Malta. The Maltese-based company dwarfs its rivals with the highest total daily visitor count, high liquidity and eye-popping trading volumes. The top exchange also attracts heavy web traffic, an emblematic factor of staggering trading volumes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A study conducted recently by “The Block” highlighted that the crypto company made away with $446M in profits, in 2018 -- during a bear market. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb1.png" alt="" width="773" height="447" /></span></p> <h3><strong>Website Interface: How friendly is it? </strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Binance website offers multi-language support, welcomes the bandwagon of new users and facilitates transactions. The interface contains a detailed navigation bar, icon of news, charts, and an exhaustive table of currency pairs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb2.png" alt="" width="1023" height="529" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The website application displays up-to-the-minute market listing data with 24-hour fluctuations and last pricing for currency pairs. At the outset, Binance provided a safe haven for sophisticated traders, but later it enticed a deluge of novel traders thirsty for its broad array of altcoins. It offers a basic and advanced interface version. The nuanced and subtle data will rack your brains as a novice because the sections lack illustrative labels.</span></p> <h3><strong>Customer Reputation</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite Binance attaining a significant toehold in the crypto market, attracting a million unique visitors every month, it is not always a smooth sail. While some people found a spot a Binance, we cannot say for sure it is the case for everyone. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like most Exchanges, it is notorious for locking customers’ accounts if they notice suspicious activity with your account.  With this in mind, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance has been accused of scamming people to pay off their debts. Some customers have turned to platforms to voice their complaints. Like this user who says</span><a href="https://np.reddit.com/r/binance/comments/9ksb3n/continuation_my_binance_account_was_blocked_4/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance locked his account with a whopping 1,200 Bitcoins</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> – approximately $7.8 million – and the reasons for doing it are unclear as the affected user says he has not been involved with any fraudulent activities. On the contrary, we cannot tell for sure whether it is Binance in the wrong or the</span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/9pavkq/my_1200_btc_still_frozen_on_binance/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">user was a victim of phishing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some people complain of getting locked out of their accounts.  Users are unable to bypass the 2FA security; reaching out to support seems unhelpful because Binance may take some time to get back to you. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are a significant number of users who say they lost their funds as they were unable to access their accounts without having to reset 2FA. They will insist you provide info that you would probably know at your fingertips if signed into your account.  They ask about:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your account balance.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The address you sent the coins from.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not everyone can keep or remember some of these details.  Unfortunately, Binance does not care; that means you get locked out of your account forever. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Question: what do they do with funds belonging to locked accounts?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb4.png" alt="" width="512" height="492" /></span></p> <h4><strong>Binance Ecosystem Security</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance developers have implemented measures to shield users from scams, digital thieves and curb money laundering. Binance data privacy and protection ensures users information is not compromised, lost, or corrupted. Key security standards that ward off errors or attacks include:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using IP addresses or cookie data to shield against automated infiltration such as phishing, spam and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using accumulated data to detect suspicious trading behavior to block potential fraud, quarantine funds and protect the entire ecosystem</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leverages IP addresses or unique identifies archived in your device’s cookies to authenticate identity</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Integrates PCI scanning, pseudonymisation, stringent physical access controls, and internal data availability restrictions.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use of Secured Sockets Layered encryption technology.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">POODLE attack protection throws hackers off the scent with impermeable browsing encryption.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Protects infrastructure from Heartbleed attack.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack protection forestalls supervening digital terrorism.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Privacy Policy and Consent Form incorporates the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) policy framework. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use of SMS two-factor verification and Google Authenticator. </span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A while back,</span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/agldxh/binance_freezes_stolen_cryptopia_funds/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Binance intercepted funds stolen from Cryptopia.</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb6.png" alt="" width="512" height="245" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">P.S: Be vigilant as there are many</span><a href="https://medium.com/mycrypto/using-phishing-tools-against-the-phishers-and-uncovering-a-massive-binance-phishing-campaign-58132e2f0e09"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Binance phishing websites</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> out there. </span></p> <h4><strong>Privacy concern</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For AML/KYC reasons, Binance asks for personal details for different account levels. Users who have Personal & Enterprise-level accounts are required to verify certain identity information. Binance does not disclose who they contact or share the info you provide for KYC reasons.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Apart from asking for personal details, Binance also monitors and tracks information related to your account, including transaction data. They collect details like the date & time you login, IP address, browser type, the operating system you are using, and device information. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On top of the information you submit for identity verifications, Binance collects transaction details for user who holds a personal or an enterprise account. This will include details like: your account balances, order activity, trade history, distribution history, and withdrawals. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Details you submit for verification purposes include: </span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Government ID. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phone number. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Contact information. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your official names.</span></li> </ul> <h3><strong>Deposit & Withdraw</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For a longest period Binance has been in Business, it has been operating as pure cryptocurrency exchange.  You could only transfer virtual currencies like Ether and Bitcoin. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, some wonderful news for Binancians: </span><a href="https://support.binance.com/hc/en-us/articles/360022498052"><span style="font-weight: 400;">debit cards and credit cards are now being accepted </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">as payment method. Binance is accepting both Visa and Mastercards.</span></p> <h4><strong>Trading Fees</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance Fee Schedule stipulates 0.1% trading fee computed based on your traded volume over a one month period and BNB balance. If you own BNB tokens, the company deducts your fees from your BNB balance. In fact, the fee decreases by up 50% when you clear using BNB. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, a level 2 user “VIP 1” transferring more than 100 BT, and holds a minimum of 50 BNB, reaps a higher discount compared to a trader in tier one.  See the screenshot below.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb7.png" alt="" width="628" height="311" /></span></p> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Essentially, your maker/taker fee, and your tier level will depend on the above mentioned factors.  </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><strong>Deposit fees</strong></h4> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cryptocurrency deposits are free of charge. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Credit card and debit card carry a fee of 3.5% per transaction or pay $10 -- which is higher. </span></li> </ul> <h4><strong>Withdrawal fees</strong></h4> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Withdrawal fees are dependent on the blockchain fee applicable for every coin.  </span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here is what the withdraw fee looks like for specific coins:</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb8.png" alt="" width="512" height="373" /></span></p> <h3><strong>Coins Listed</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance offers a wide selection of virtual currencies with a variety of trading pairs like BTC, Ethereum, USD Tether, Binance Coin, and many others. Among the top listed coins include:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bitcoin.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ethereum.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Litecoin.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Omisego.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dash.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">IOTA.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">NEO.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">EOS.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">AKR.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among 200 more coins.  See Cryptomarketcapt.com</span></li> </ul> <h3><strong>Verification requirements</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance has three account levels.</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Level 1: In this tier you don’t have to submit personal info. You just have to verify your email  to get a </span><strong>daily limit of 2 BTC.</strong></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Level 2: When you activate Google Authenticator or two-factor authentication, you account rises to tier two. Also, tier two requires that you submit details like: basic info like your real names; your contact information; your government ID, driving license or passport; and, a selfie. Accounts in this tier can transfer up to </span><strong>100 BTC per 24 hours</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Level 3: If you need to transfer more than the amount allowed in tier two, you can contact Binance support to get level-3 verification.</span></li> </ul> <h3><strong>Buy and sell limits</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance  places limits for withdrawals only; there are no limits for deposits. Your withdrawal limit will depend on your account level.  The limits are as follows: </span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Level 1: 2 BTC daily. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Level 2: 100 BTC daily. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Level  3: 100+ BTC daily.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></li> </ul> <h3><strong>Trading Volume</strong></h3> <p><strong><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb10.png" alt="" width="1023" height="499" /></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monthly macro exchange report circulated by CryptoCompare showed Binance at the top of the league, gobbling the lion’s share of the entire trading volume. </span><a href="https://www.cryptocompare.com/media/35309385/cryptocompare_exchange_review_2018_12.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The review published on December 5 2018; </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">ranked Binance as the top exchange by total monthly volume. The company’s total monthly trading volume plummeted by 13% on average since November.  As of 4th February, </span><a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/exchanges/binance"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance had a trading volume of $736,293, 347</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> per 24 hours.</span></p> <h3><strong>Countries Supported</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With their eyes on blockchain upside potential, countries such as Bermuda, Malta, and Gibraltar have established a business-friendly policy framework. Government crackdown in Japan and China saw Binance headed to lenient Malta.</span></p> <h4><strong>Does Binance have any restrictions?</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance has not exclusively restricted any states or explicitly listed supported countries. Binance mission to become the unchained global exchange for cryptocurrencies with the largest customer base. The platform doesn’t filter users IP addresses to shut down accounts from any geographical locations. As a crypto-to-crypto exchange, Binance does not handle government legal tenders making it a transnational exchange hub. For countries where Binance may have been blocked, use VPN to outfox big brother.</span></p> <h3><strong>Mobile App </strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance mobile app available via Apple iOS and other ecosystems allows you to trade cryptocurrencies right from phones with 24-hour support. The crystal clear and easy-to-use mobile platform means no opportunity will slip through your fingers as you keep your eye on the market trends.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The mobile app gives you the social license to track or manage trade anywhere. Even better, the platform’s exchange app provides price alerts for particular trading pairs. The Binance App circulates live notifications with troves of fresh news or updates from their platform.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb12.png" alt="" width="721" height="440" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance CEO recently announced the app’s update on his official Twitter handle adding that a new update also integrates the company’s basic information. The app provides users a similar experience to the desktop platform. It has garnered 4.2 star ratings on Google Play.</span></p> <h3><strong>Customer support</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to the customer support, as usual it is not a smooth curve.  Gone are the days when Binance swiftly responded to a complaint. First, there is no phone number to call; you can only submit a ticket via email.  The sad part is that when you submit a support ticket, you are most likely to get an automated response from a bot, which mostly points you to the FAQ.  Some users say they had a hard time resetting the Google Authenticator.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sometimes, the customer support will keep you waiting. When you eventually get an actual response from real employee, you have a small window to act; if you fail to act within the scheduled time-frame, the Support terminates your ticket. With a lazy customer support, you can bet the learning curve is sort of costly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="/user_files/contentfiles/storage/bb14.png" alt="" width="661" height="654" /></span></p> <h3><strong>Pros</strong></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has a gorgeous UI/UX. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It offers a variety of trading pairs. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When choosing a trading pair, the price is indicated in USD. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has a mobile app. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has not suffered a security breach.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fees charged are relatively friendly. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">High volume bids and ask are highlighted for easier spotting.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance says it will support future forks.  </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Transfer up to 2 BTC daily for unverified accounts. </span></li> </ul> <h3><strong>Cons</strong></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Does not accept fiat currency.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has low liquidity level.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not beginner friendly.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It only has limit and market orders options.</span></li> </ul>