Binance.US Review How it Compares and Is It Safe?

Binance.US is a popular cryptocurrency exchange where traders from the United States can buy, sell, and trade digital assets.

It offers about 150 cryptocurrencies you can buy using the U.S. dollar, Tether (USDT), Binance USD (BUSD), and BTC. Even though Binance.US doesn't have as many features as its parent company, Binance, the trading platform has a good number of products.

Binance.US has far more limited features than its parent company, Binance. This is due to regulatory constraints, and the fact that it's an entirely separate company with different technology that was built in 2019 compared with Binance, which launched in 2017.

Although Binance.US is more limited in its features and supported cryptocurrencies, you can feel more assured by the fact that it is under very close US-based scrutiny, making it a safer option for most US-based investors.

This Binance.US review will explain in detail the products it offers, how to use them, how it compares with other exchanges, and whether Binance.US is a good option for you.

Key Takeaways

• Binance.US is a separate exchange from Binance.
• Only residents of the United States can use the trading platform.
• Users enjoy low fees, compared with other cryptocurrency exchanges.
• It is suitable for amateur and professional traders.
• There may be a few concerns about its customer support methods.

Introduction to Binance.US

Due to government scrutiny and tax problems, Binance had to stop doing business in the United States in 2019. In light of this closure, it partnered with BAM Trading Services to open a different company that will operate only in America.

On September 18, 2019, Binance announced that Binance.US began operating and is functional in most U.S. states. Although Binance might own a stake in the new company, the two are separate legal entities that make independent decisions.

Features of Binance.US

Crypto exchange

On Binance.US, users can buy digital assets with a debit card, convert one cryptocurrency to another, buy cryptocurrency with US dollars, and do trades with the app.

The platform offers a growing list of 150 cryptocurrencies and multiple blockchain networks. It works with Bitcoin as well as Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Binance Chain, Harmony, and many other blockchains. Generally, the minimum trade volume on Binance.US is 10 USD.

Meanwhile, users can trade on any of the three markets available. The USD markets contain a list of coins you can buy with USD and sell for USD. Also, in the stablecoin and BTC markets, you can trade crypto using USDT, BUSD, USDC, or BTC.

Staking

Staking refers to the practice of locking cryptocurrencies for a set period of time in exchange for a percentage interest or reward. It's a great way to earn a passive income.

The interest on staked assets is calculated daily and paid weekly. Users may turn on the auto-stake feature, which helps compound their rewards.

While Binance.US allows its users to unstake at any time, blockchain networks determine how much time the unstaking process will take. In addition, an asset will not accrue any staking rewards during this process.

Staking attracts low fees, which Binance.US will deduct from your weekly reward. Currently, you can stake Binance Coin (BNB), Solana, Cosmos, Avalanche, Polkadot, The Graph, Livepeer, Audius, and Polygon.

See the latest Binance.US staking rewards.

Crypto Wallet

Binance.US acts as a custodial wallet for its users. So, when you buy or deposit crypto, it stores the asset in its own wallet, and the value of the asset shows up in your account balance.

By clicking "Wallet" on the Binance.US platform, you will see a list of crypto assets you own. Also, this page will display the total USD value of your portfolio and a chart showing a breakdown of your portfolio.

Since Binance.US does not offer futures or margin trading services, you can only buy cryptocurrencies on the spot or stake them for rewards. Similarly, your wallet only displays the balance of your spot and staking accounts.

In the wallet interface, users can make dollar deposits and withdraw crypto. When you click on "Deposit," select a coin or token and choose the blockchain network (e.g., ERC-20) that corresponds with the sending wallet. After that, copy the wallet address (and memo, if necessary).

To get money out of your wallet, choose a coin and the blockchain network that are the same as the receiving wallet. After that, enter an amount along with a wallet address.

Binance.US has a "whitelist" where you can add the addresses of your cryptocurrency wallets from which you plan to regularly withdraw coins. By doing so, there will be less tendency to send crypto to an incorrect wallet address, which may lead to the loss of assets.

There is no minimum amount of crypto to deposit on Binance.US. However, each coin has its own specified minimum withdrawal and even a daily limit.

OTC Trading

It is a trading portal where buyers and sellers negotiate trades manually. OTC is meant for transactions with large volumes that can disrupt the exchange's liquidity. Meanwhile, there are no trading fees for over-the-counter trades on Binance.US.

To use this portal, request a quote by selecting a coin, the amount you are selling, and the coin you want in return. Then, you will receive a quote from another OTC trader interested in your deal. If both parties agree, they can authorize the trade.

Educational Resources

Binance.US wants to help any U.S. resident over the age of 18 who lives in the U.S. invest in crypto. In light of this, the company provides educational resources for people with little knowledge about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Currently, there are 61 articles in the "Education" section of the Binance.US blog. Each article discusses a topic that relates to crypto trading and how to use the exchange. Recent posts on the blog talk about the blockchain, NFTs, consensus mechanisms, crypto scams, crypto staking, market cap, smart contracts, etc.

While the global Binance exchange provides educational resources like videos and articles in Binance Academy, Binance.US seems to be catching up at its own pace.

Bonus and Referrals

There are two ways to earn a bonus on Binance.US: through direct referrals or by becoming an affiliate. Referring someone is a simple process of sending the person your invite link, and you can earn $10 after they make $100 worth of trades on the exchange.

On the other hand, Binance.US affiliates have to complete a registration form and prove they have a community to introduce to the platform. There are also agreed-upon terms for the affiliate program.

Regardless of the process, Binance.US affiliates earn a commission on the fees their referrals pay. Additionally, they can make up to $1,000 for every person they refer to the exchange.

Tax Reporting

Filing your taxes can be a lot of work, especially when you make multiple trades daily. So, to stop people from avoiding taxes on purpose or by accident, Binance.US has a tax reporting interface where crypto traders can see how much tax they owe on their trades.

The "Export Statement" tool provides a full report of a user's buy and sell trades, deposits, withdrawals, and over-the-counter trades. Depending on the time of year or when they joined the platform, users can get either annual or quarterly statements.

Even though not all trading is taxed, it is taxed to sell crypto for a profit, receive or earn rewards in crypto, or change one coin into another.

If you wish to learn more about crypto tax filing, visit the Binance.US guide.

Who can use Binance.US?

Binance.US is a great option for beginner investors who are based in the US, because it's more limited in its features. Beginners benefit from its lack of clutter and ease-of-use. It's still a decent option for advanced trading; however, there may be better crypto exchanges with more features, trading pairs and supported cryptocurrencies for US-based traders looking for advanced trading features.

Institutional Accounts

Binance.US provides tools to help hedge fund managers, family offices, and venture capitalists trade cryptocurrencies. By setting up institutional accounts, these financial institutions can get access to more than 125 crypto assets listed in 250 pairs. In fact, they can stake digital assets on the platform and earn on-chain staking rewards.

Binance.US insures USD deposits into institutional accounts with the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC). Also, institutions enjoy 0% trading fees on some crypto pairs.

The exchange also says it has a customer service team that is available 24 hours a day to help its institutional clients.

USD Deposits and Withdrawals

Users of Binance.US can deposit and withdraw USD using a bank account instead of a crypto wallet address. On the exchange, you can use ACH (Automated Clearing House), domestic wire transfers, Apple Pay, and a debit card to send and receive USD.

To use one of these methods, go to "Account & Settings" on your dashboard, then "Payment Methods." Next, click "Add a New Account" and select either ACH, debit card, or domestic wire. After that, enter the necessary information that the platform might request.

The following are some things you might need to know about USD deposits or withdrawals:

• ACH deposits are free, but you must maintain up to 130% of the deposit amount in your bank account. Also, the minimum withdrawal via ACH is 1 USD.
• You cannot withdraw funds deposited via ACH or debit card until 10 days.
• There is a daily limit of 5,000 USD on ACH transactions, and withdrawals may take 72 business hours to arrive.
• Withdrawals via domestic wire (wire transfer) cannot be less than 100 USD. Likewise, the daily limit on this method is $1 million.
• Users must contact their banks to authorize a domestic wire. Wire transfers may take 1-3 business days to arrive.
• Only iOS users can deposit via Apple Pay, and the Binance.US app will sync directly with the Apple Pay account on their phones.

Visit this guide for further information regarding USD deposits on the Binance.US crypto exchange.

Fees

Deposit and withdrawal fees

Crypto

Binance.US does not charge its users for storing crypto assets in their wallets. But there are fees that users must pay out of their crypto holdings in order to withdraw their crypto.

Although most coins have fixed withdrawal charges, ERC-20 tokens (tokens running on the Ethereum blockchain) differ. Why? The gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain are high and change depending on how many transactions the network has to approve at once.

Consequently, Binance.US will disclose Ethereum's current fee at the time of the withdrawal. In addition, the exchange allows users to set ERC-20 withdrawals for periods when the network is less congested and fees are cheaper.

USD

The following are USD deposit and withdrawal fees:

• ACH: users do not pay any fees when using ACH.
• Wire transfer: withdrawals via wire transfer attracts a $15 fee.
• Debit card: users will pay 3.75% of the deposit amount.
• Apple Pay: the deposit for this method is 3.75% of the amount.

Trading fees

When executing advanced (spot) buy or sell trades, Binance.US users have to pay Maker or Taker fees. Admittedly, this crypto exchange charges some of the lowest trading fees compared with other crypto exchanges, starting at 0%. Also, the charges do not fluctuate because there is no spread on spot trades.

Binance.US categorizes cryptocurrency pairs into three categories: Tier 0, Tier I, and Tier II. Currently, Tier 0 includes only Bitcoin pairs (BTC/USD, BTC/USDT, etc.).

Tier-0 crypto pairs feature zero trading fees. Accordingly, users do not pay fees when buying and selling any volume of bitcoin on Binance.US.

Tier I and Tier II pairs feature low trading fees and volume-based discounts. Crypto pairs in Tier I include AAVE/USD, BUSD/USD, BCH/USDT, ETH/BTC, and more. At the same time, BNB/USD, MANA/BUSD, and ADA/BTC are some pairs in Tier II.

The buy, sell, and convert tools also attract certain charges. While the exchange did not give a specific amount it charges for using this tool, Binance.US maintains low trading fees for its services.

Paying fees with BNB

Binance is a notable use case of Binance Coin (BNB)Binance. . US users can use it to pay spot trading fees. Currently, Binance.US gives users a 25% discount on trading fees when they pay with Binance coin.

To keep getting the 25% discount on trading fees, you must keep BNB in your spot wallet. Also, you have to enable this option on your Binance.US dashboard. If you want low fees, it's a good idea to use BNB.

Loyalty Rewards

Binance.US ranks its users from VIP 1 to 9. It figures out this ranking based on how much a user has traded in the last 30 days. The following are Binance.US VIP levels and their required trading volumes:

As a reward for their loyalty, Binance.US users get a huge cut in the trading fee. Traders at the VIP1 level pay a flat fee. Meanwhile, those in VIP9 will only pay 0.05% taker fees when trading Tier I and II crypto pairs, and they will even enjoy fee discounts.

See the full breakdown for more details on Binance.US loyalty rewards and how they affect your charges.

Security

User Safety

Binance.US lets users protect their assets with two-factor authentication methods like SMS, email alerts, and Google authentication.

Likewise, you can view your login history to know the devices that have logged into your account. If you notice suspicious activities, you can also disable an account.

To learn more about securing your account, check out Binance. Binance. US safety tips

KYC

Federal law in the United States says that users must prove who they are before they can buy or sell on Binance.US. The verification process is in two stages: basic and advanced verification.

For the basic level, a user must verify a U.S. phone number, Social Security Number (SSN), full name, and home address.

The advanced verification process is divided into three stages.

1. Identity verification: upload an image of your State ID, driver's license, Visa, or Passport.
2. Facial recognition
3. Upload a document that confirms your address is correct.

Does Binance.US have insurance?

On the page for institutional accounts, Binance.US states that it insures USD deposits with the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC).

On the other hand, it doesn't say if it only covers deposits to institutional accounts or all deposits of U.S. dollars at the exchange. Additionally, Binance.US does not say whether it insures cryptocurrency deposits or not. We think it’s safe to assume it only insures USD deposits.

Regulation

Binance.US is a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States and subject to regulation by the US government. Binance.US is a relatively new exchange, having been established only in September 2019. BAM Trading Services operates the exchange and is registered as a money services business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) (MSB).

Unlike many crypto exchages, Binance.US complies with all applicable federal and state regulations at present. The exchange follows the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, as well as the laws of each state on how to send money. Binance.US also does mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-fraud checks on all users to make sure they meet regulatory requirements.

Customer Support

Binance.US does not seem to have an immediate response team or a direct customer support channel. Instead, users need to submit a customer support ticket and wait to receive an email reply.

Comparing Binance.us with other cryptocurrency exchanges

Binance.US vs. Binance

While Binance and Binance.US share a similar name, they are completely separate companies with separate teams.

Binance.US was set up to adhere more closely to US-based regulations and laws. Because of this, it is far more limited in the scope of features it provides, however, many consider it a much safer option because of the close scrutiny US regulators give it.

Binance.US isn't only more limited in its features; it's also far more limited in the number of cryptocurrencies it supports. This is because Binance.US has stricter processes for listing coins that could be deemed securities by the SEC or deemed unsafe for retail investors for other reasons.

Binance.US vs. Kraken

The Kraken Exchange is accessible in 190 countries. However, you can only use Binance.US within the United States.

In addition, Kraken has a customer support team you can reach via phone call, while Binance.US does not provide such a service.

Meanwhile, Binance.US users holding BNB have access to a 25% trading fee discount, which is not available on the Kraken exchange. Moreover, Binance.US offers lower trading fees than Kraken.

Binance.US vs. OKX

Binance.US and OKX are very popular crypto trading platforms that share a lot of similar features. However, the main difference between them is that Binance.US is an exchange based in the United States, and its main office is in San Francisco. OKX, on the other hand, is based in the Seychelles.

The other key difference is that Binance.US is regulated by US-based authorities and is legal to use for US-based residents. OKX on the other hand, is not licensed and regulated in the US, and isn’t legal to use for US-based residents. Binance isn't the only major crypto platform to have a US-based subsidiary. OKX created a subsidiary called OKCoin which is based and regulated in the US.

Beyond this, OKX is a much more full-featured platform with significantly more features and lower fees.

While Binance.US may seem like a worse option than OKX, it does have the benefit of heavy scrutiny from US-based regulators, making it a much safer option for US-based traders.

How to access Binance.US

You can create an account and use the Binance.US exchange on its website. Of course, the mobile app provides easier access. It is available for download on Google Play or the Apple Store.

Users can also get the iOS app on their Apple Watch to check the balance of their portfolio and use a few other features.

Can you access the exchange from other countries?

The Binance.US website, mobile app, and cryptocurrency trading services are only available to people who live in the United States. Further, U.S. residents living in New York, Vermont, or Hawaii cannot use the exchange.

So, crypto traders outside of the U.S. can choose Binance or any other reliable exchange.

Do Binance's legal issues affect Binance.US?

Although Binance faces insider trading and money laundering allegations, these issues do not affect Binance.US.

As we've already said, the two crypto exchanges are different companies with their own rules. Further, Brian Shroder is the CEO and President of Binance.US, not Changpeng Zhao (C.Z.).

Pros and Cons of Binance.US

What Binance.US could do better

There’s a lot to like about Binance.US. It’s a solid crypto exchange with competitive fees and some compelling features. Its main draw for US-based investors is that it’s based in the US and is regulated and licensed there. This is important, particularly if you plan to deposit a lot of USD or crypto.

In saying that, there are a few things they could improve on when compared with other exchanges, including:

• Being available in all US states for all US residents.
• Release more features such as a crypto card, crypto lending and more powerful trading features to help it compete with the top crypto exchanges.
• They’re not quite as good with customer support as exchanges like Kraken.

Binance.US Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can non-US residents use Binance.US?

Binance.US is only available for residents of the United States. It was set up specifically for the US market, and is unlikely to be available elsewhere in the future.

Can I use Binance.US in the USA?

Yes, you can use Binance.US in the USA. Binance.US was created specifically for investors who are residents of the United States.

Is Binance.US the same as Binance?

No, Binance.US is a completely different company to Binance. Binance.US has a different team, technology and operations to its parent company, Binance. It's regulated within the United States and adheres to the federal and state laws of the USA.

Is Binance.US owned by China?

No, Binance.US is owned by US-based investors. Its parent company, Binance, initially started operations in China, however, it quickly moved to other jurisdictions when the Chinese government changed its stance on cryptocurrencies.

Is Binance.US a crypto exchange?

Yes, Binance.US is a crypto exchange. It has more limited features than its parent company, Binance, however, it is an exchange that is legal to use in the United States.

Final thoughts on the Binance.US review

Binance.US offers a suitable range of digital assets and keeps its charges as low as possible. Even though accusations have been made against its parent company, Binance.US follows the federal laws that govern financial institutions.

Therefore, Binance.US is a safe exchange where you can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies.

Methodology for this review

The team at Bitcompare poured through as much information as possible directly from Binance.US. However, that wasn’t enough, we needed to use the product as well. This allowed the team to fully grasp its features and how competitive it was with other crypto exchanges.

When scoring this product, we evaluated:

• Security: Does it have best practices like two-factor authentication and cold wallet storage, and has it ever been compromised?
• Usability: Is it easy to navigate? Have we experienced any bugs? And how does its usability compare with that of the competition?
• Regulation and licensing: Is it regulated and licensed to operate in its respective markets?
• Insurance: Is it insured? How much, and under what conditions?
• Features: Does it have features for advanced and beginner users? How do those features stack up with the competition?