Binance

Binance.com has barred US residents since June 2019. The same year it set up Binance.US, run by BAM Trading Services Inc. (NMLS ID 1906829), to serve them. The two share a brand and a founder in Changpeng Zhao, but they have separate order books, custody and licences. A Binance.com account doesn't work on Binance.US, and US users can't legally sign up to Binance.com. In February 2023 Reuters reported that $404 million had moved in early 2021 from a Binance.US bank account to Merit Peak, a trading firm managed by Zhao. For years that report was the main reason to doubt how independent the two companies really were.

Is Binance.US safe? Its legal position is better than at any time since 2023. The SEC case is gone for good, dollar banking works again, and the exchange is licensed state by state as a money transmitter. It still isn't available in every state, so check the list before you sign up. The weak spot is transparency. Binance.US is private and publishes no audited accounts, and its May 2026 membership in the Blockworks Transparency Alliance covers how it discloses token listings, not proof of its reserves. At a 0.02% taker fee it is the cheapest spot venue in the US, so treat it as a place to trade, not a place to store coins.

"Binance US login" and "Binance US app" searches are a common entry point for phishing. Type binance.us yourself or install the app from your phone's official store. Binance.US staff won't ask for your password, 2FA code or recovery phrase.

Changpeng Zhao ("CZ") and Yi He founded Binance in July 2017, after a $15 million ICO of the BNB token. It left mainland China that year when Beijing banned crypto trading and became the largest exchange by volume within months. The group's holding company is Binance Holdings Ltd., and Binance still says it has no official headquarters. In December 2025 Abu Dhabi's financial regulator authorised it to operate there. The same emirate's MGX fund paid $2 billion for a minority stake in March 2025, the largest single investment in a crypto company to date.

Binance says it has 300 million users and handled $34 trillion of trading in 2025. Beyond spot trading it runs futures with leverage of up to 125x, P2P markets, Earn and staking products, a launchpad, and (since June 2026) trading in more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs for non-US users. BNB, its exchange token, pays for fee discounts and is the gas token of BNB Chain. Prices and supply are on the BNB market page.

Which company you actually deal with depends on where you live. Binance runs through dozens of local entities, and your terms of use name the one that holds your balance. For users in the EU after 1 July 2026, or in countries where Binance has been told to stop, that answer has changed several times.

As a custodian, Binance has handled its losses. In its one wallet hack (7,000 BTC, about $40 million, in May 2019) it covered the loss from its SAFU insurance fund. When USDe, BNSOL and WBETH briefly lost their pegs on Binance only during the 10 October 2025 crash, it paid $283 million within two days to margin, futures and loan users liquidated in the 40-minute window. It also publishes Merkle-tree proof of reserves for major assets.

That October episode also showed a design flaw. Binance valued collateral such as wBETH using its own thin order books rather than external prices. wBETH fell to $430, an 88% discount to ether, and USDe to $0.66, while both held close to their peg elsewhere. Liquidations triggered by an exchange's own quotes are a risk that a proof-of-reserves report won't show.

Binance's biggest risk is legal. In November 2023 it pleaded guilty in the US to Bank Secrecy Act, unlicensed money-transmission and sanctions violations, paid $4.3 billion and accepted a monitor. Zhao pleaded guilty separately and served four months. Since then:

• EU, July 2026: Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece after reports it would be refused, and from 1 July stopped serving EU residents. Withdrawals stayed open. It plans to reapply in France.
• US, September 2026: federal prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture complaint for about $61 million, saying two Chinese companies used Binance accounts to launder proceeds of Iranian oil sales for the IRGC. Binance is not a defendant and says the case alleges no wrongdoing by the exchange. The WSJ has reported a separate DOJ inquiry into Houthi-linked flows.
• UK, June 2026: about 1,700 investors sued Binance and Zhao in the High Court for at least £150 million over unauthorised derivatives sales.

For a trader outside the EU and US, the practical risk is losing access, through an account freeze, a forced market exit or a change of contracting entity. Losing coins outright is less likely. Keep on Binance only what you are actively trading.

Binance.com charges a flat 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot trades for regular (VIP 0) users. Paying fees in BNB takes 25% off, to 0.075%. VIP tiers lower the rate further based on 30-day volume and BNB holdings. Binance.US has no tiers since April 2026: every user pays 0% maker and 0.02% taker, BNB/USD is 0%/0.01%, and paying in BNB takes another 5% off.

Headline fees aren't the only cost. Card purchases and the one-click Convert screen include a spread, and withdrawal fees vary by network, so sending USDT on one chain can cost several times more than on another. Check the network fee on the withdrawal screen before you confirm.

Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, founded Binance and was CEO until 21 November 2023, when he pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme. He paid a $50 million fine and was sentenced in April 2024 to four months, which he served at FCI Lompoc before his release in September 2024. He remains the controlling shareholder. Richard Teng, formerly head of Abu Dhabi's financial regulator, replaced him as CEO. On 3 December 2025 co-founder Yi He, previously chief customer service officer, became co-CEO alongside him.

On 23 October 2025 President Trump pardoned Zhao. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported talks between the Trump family's World Liberty Financial and Binance, and a $800,000 lobbying effort for the pardon. Democrats and some Republicans criticised the pardon. The pardon did not undo the company's own plea or its compliance monitor.

These are the two largest exchanges, and they are built on opposite models. Binance is private, operates globally through many local entities and competes on depth and price. Coinbase is listed in the US, files audited accounts and competes on its regulatory standing. For US residents the real comparison is Binance.US against Coinbase.

If you trade often outside the US and EU, Binance costs less and gives you more markets. If you are in the US or EU, or care most about knowing which regulated company holds your coins, Coinbase is the more straightforward choice. Our exchange ratings score both on the same criteria.