5.9/10

Binance

Mixedranked 6 of 6 in crypto exchanges◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026

By some distance the deepest venue in the market, with the widest asset coverage and flat 0.10% spot fees (0.075% paid in BNB). It also carries the heaviest regulatory history of any exchange we rate: a $4.3bn US guilty plea in 2023 and, since 1 Jul 2026, no service for EU residents after it withdrew its MiCA application. Which entity holds a given balance is harder to establish than at any of its peers.

Best for: Depth and asset coverage outside the US and EU, if you accept the counterparty question

Company file: Binance, owners, incidents →

How this score was reached

5.9 is the weighted average of the five pillar findings below, minus one published deduction. Real weaknesses. Suitable only for a narrow, informed use case.

Custody & Security30%: 7.2
Cost & Fee Transparency20%: 8.8
Regulation & Legal Standing20%: 4.8
Performance & Reliability20%: 9.0
Access & Support10%: 7.1

Deductions applied

−1.5Live enforcement action. A regulator currently restricts the service, its market access or its users' ability to withdraw.

Strengths

Liquidity no competitor matches, which is itself a form of user protection on exit
Spot fees of 0.10% flat, 0.075% paid in BNB
Asset coverage far beyond any regulated peer

Against it

Regulatory history is the worst of any exchange in this table
No service for EU residents since 1 Jul 2026; Binance.com excludes the US
Collateral priced off its own books failed on 10 Oct 2025

The best and worst scores on the page

Binance has the deepest order books and some of the lowest fees in this table, and it has the lowest regulation score and the only live enforcement penalty. That spread is the clearest demonstration on the site of why a weighted rubric exists: on the weighting published for this category — where regulation carries twenty per cent and a penalty is applied on top — it finishes last.

What the depth is worth

The liquidity advantage is not a vanity metric. Deep books are what let you exit a position at a fair price when everyone else is trying to do the same thing. The exception is instructive: on 10 Oct 2025 Binance valued collateral off its own order books, and wBETH and USDe de-pegged on Binance only — wBETH to an 88% discount — liquidating margin and futures users. Binance says it paid $283m in compensation within two days; that figure is the company's.

The counterparty question

Against it: a $4.3bn US guilty plea in November 2023 with a compliance monitor; an exit from the EU on 1 Jul 2026 after withdrawing its MiCA application in Greece; a UK High Court claim by about 1,700 investors; and a corporate structure that makes it hard to establish which entity holds a given balance. Proof of reserves tells you assets exist somewhere. It does not tell you who owes them to you, and on Binance that question is harder to answer than anywhere else in this table.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Binance rank last despite the best liquidity?+

Because regulation carries twenty per cent of the weighting in this category and Binance has the lowest score there, and because a live enforcement penalty is deducted on top. Without the penalty it would still sit in the bottom half. Every figure is on the comparison table.

Is Binance safe to use?+

It publishes proof of reserves for major assets and runs the SAFU fund. Binance says that fund covered its one wallet hack in 2019, and that it paid $283m to users liquidated in the October 2025 de-peg; both payouts rest on its own statements. The larger risk is losing access rather than coins: account freezes, forced market exits like the EU one on 1 Jul 2026, or a change in the entity your balance is a claim against.

Can I use Binance in the EU?+

Not for new trading. Since 1 Jul 2026 Binance has not served EU residents, having withdrawn its MiCA application in Greece; withdrawals stayed open and it plans to reapply in another member state.

Is Binance cheaper than other exchanges?+

Among the cheapest: 0.10% maker / 0.10% taker for regular users, 0.075% when paid in BNB, with volume tiers below that. OKX starts slightly lower on maker (0.08%). The rubric weights custody and regulation above cost for centralised exchanges, which is why price does not decide the ranking.

Assessed by

By Emily Volker

Editor-in-Chief · September 27, 2026

◆ Disclosure

CoinRadar Daily is a non-commercial project. We have no commercial relationship with Binance, earn nothing from any link on this page, and carry no advertising or sponsorship anywhere on the site. Findings rest on public sources; we did not open an account or transact.

Rubric v2.0How we score →

The rest of the crypto exchanges table

01KrakenTraders who use Kraken Pro and want reserve proofs they can check themselves8.4
02BitstampEuropean and UK users who want a boring exchange, in the good sense8.1
03OKXDerivatives depth with better reserve disclosure than most offshore venues7.8
04CoinbaseUS users who value an audited, listed counterparty over cheap trading7.8
05GeminiUS users who want the strictest state custody regime and will pay for it7.1
06Binance — you are hereDepth and asset coverage outside the US and EU, if you accept the counterparty question5.9