Binance today is more than an exchange. For a beginner, it looks like a convenient service where you can buy your first bitcoins in a couple of clicks. For a professional, it’s a venue through which billions of dollars pass every day. It’s an ecosystem with its own blockchain, educational projects, analytics, and hundreds of millions of customers around the world.
The Quickex editorial team has compiled in one review everything you need to know about Binance. We explain what the project’s ecosystem consists of and what “hidden pitfalls” it conceals.
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History
Binance was launched in 2017 by Chinese entrepreneur Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The project started in China but didn’t stay there long: the authorities quickly tightened the rules, and the company had to leave.
Binance doesn’t have a classic headquarters in the usual sense. For many years, the company has positioned itself as “a global decentralized organization without a single office.” According to CZ, wherever he is — that’s where the office is.
Formally, Binance’s legal entities are registered in various jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands and the Seychelles. Amid regulatory pressure in 2021–2022, Changpeng Zhao stated several times that he planned to create a real office for the company. In 2022, the exchange registered its subsidiary Binance Holdings Ltd. in Dubai (UAE). It is commonly assumed that this is where the company’s head office is located.
Binance has its own token, BNB. Its 2017 ICO was a resounding success. The BNB token quickly took a prominent place in the market.
BNB is among the top-5 most capitalized cryptocurrencies. Source: CoinMarketCap
The exchange became popular thanks to low fees, a stable engine, and high speed — enough even for active traders.
Over time, the company expanded its ecosystem to cover as many areas of the crypto industry as possible. As a result, Binance users gained access to all the necessary tools within a single platform. That’s how the company became a market leader.
Scale
To understand Binance’s role in the market, here are a few numbers:
- More than 290 million users worldwide.
- Number one among exchanges by trading volume.
- Its native token BNB ranks in the top-5 by market cap.
- Changpeng Zhao ranks 24th on the list of the world’s richest people (according to Forbes).
Interface and features
Now, using the exchange’s official website as an example, let’s break down what it offers its users.
The site is designed so as not to confuse even a newcomer. The top menu contains “Buy Crypto,” “Trade,” “Markets,” “Futures,” “Earn,” “Square,” and “More.” Next to it are the sign-in and language-selection buttons.
Binance works in dozens of languages: from English and German to Arabic and Czech. You can also switch displayed prices to dollars, euros, local currencies such as pesos, and so on.
Binance homepage interface
Below is a list of popular coins and market news. There’s also a QR code for the mobile app. It’s available for iOS and Android and lets you trade right from your smartphone. For those who work from a computer, there are versions for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Trading
The Trade section brings together the main tools. In the basic mode — spot trading, margin trading, P2P exchange, a quick converter, and a training demo mode.
For advanced users — decentralized trading, Web3 access via Alpha, trading bots, copy trading of other traders’ deals, and API integration.
Other sections
- Futures — derivatives and options.
- Earn — products for passive income.
- Square — the educational block: news, Academy, analytics.
In the More section you’ll find partner programs, Launchpool, Megadrop, the NFT marketplace, Binance Pay, fan tokens, and the Binance Charity fund.
Products and services
In Products — the Academy section, the Binance Pay payment system, the NFT platform, and analytical tools for market research.
- In Business — solutions for institutional clients.
- In Learn — educational materials and price forecasts.
- In Service — OTC trading and Proof of Reserves.
- In Support — 24/7 support and trading rules.
Regulatory issues
The project’s history features many conflicts with regulators. In the UK, operations were restricted; in Germany and the Netherlands, authorities brought claims for operating without a license. Japan and South Korea insisted on stopping operations without registration. In Canada, some subsidiaries left the market.
There are also countries where access to the main Binance.com platform is blocked: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and China.
In the U.S., the situation is special — a separate subsidiary, Binance.US, operates for local clients under local rules. It offers a trimmed-down set of tools and complies with the requirements of U.S. regulators, while the global version of the site is unavailable in the country.
The biggest scandal unfolded in the U.S. In 2023, CZ admitted part of the charges and stepped down as CEO. A year later, a federal court handed down a sentence — real prison time. For the crypto market, it was a signal: the largest exchanges can no longer operate in a “gray zone,” and regulators won’t turn a blind eye.
Community criticism
Accusations are also voiced by users. According to part of the crypto community, Binance may have deliberately crashed the prices of bitcoin and ether.
The alleged scheme looks like this: the exchange sells a large volume of coins, the price falls, long positions get liquidated, and Binance profits from shorts or buys the assets back cheaper.
Some analysts are sure the company is protecting its own BNB token from competition by Solana. The market maker Wintermute frequently appears in this story. Critics assume Binance exerts pressure on SOL’s price through it, and the source of the coins might even be client deposits.
There’s another front — a standoff with Coinbase. Analyst MartyParty claims that the two companies effectively share control over the market. Coinbase is betting on Layer-2 solutions in the Ethereum ecosystem; Binance — on its own blockchains. In both cases, it’s about centralization rather than the decentralized principles of Web3.
Conclusions
Binance has gone from a young exchange to the largest crypto platform. Hundreds of millions of users, first place by trading volume, dozens of services — all this confirms its leadership.
But with success came challenges. Regulatory pressure, restrictions in a number of countries, a U.S. conviction, and constant accusations of manipulation — all this makes the exchange’s future less predictable.
Today, Binance maintains its lead. But now the question is: can the company not only deal with regulators but also keep users’ trust.
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