Binance.US Review 2022: A Trusted, Beginner-Friendly Option?

If you’re looking to cash in on the crypto craze, you might have heard of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. It’s one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, and it's not hard to see why. It has a user-friendly interface, low fees, and supports hundreds of different coins.

As of 2021, Binance had 28.6 million users worldwide and traded a jaw-dropping $7.5 trillion. 

Binance is a Chinese-founded company that’s been around since 2017. However, Binance proper was actually banned in the United States in 2019. In response, Binance released Binance.US, a separate legal entity that uses a lot of the same technology and products as Binance—albeit with fewer features.

So, if you’re in the United States, you aren’t using the “real Binance,” but it’s still a popular option for US-based crypto enthusiasts. 

But is it safe?

Is it worth the money? 

And how can you start trading without breaking the bank? 

The ultimate Binance review: Binance is a beginner-friendly option. 

• Low fees: Binance has the lowest fees of any crypto exchange, ranging from 0.1% – 0.5% per transaction
• Resources: Binance has a DIY Resource center to answer most users’ questions
• Trading options: Users can choose from 60+ coins on Binance for diverse investment options

Binance is a big platform with a lot of moving parts. Check out my Binance review as a new user, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Platform	Fees	Promotions	Link
	$0 Fees	Earn up to $250 in BTC bonus when you sign up and fund your new account.	Learn More
	0.5% - 4.5% Other fees may apply.	Get $5 in Bitcoin when you complete your first trade.	Learn More
	0.9% - 2% Other fees may apply.	No promotions at this time.	Learn More
	0.5% - 3.99%	$20 of BTC for new users after trading $100 or more within 30 days.	Learn More

Binance.US Review

Binance.US is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where you can buy, sell, and trade over 60 different cryptocurrencies. Binance’s US office operates out of San Francisco and, while US users miss out on some of the features compared to Binance’s international platform, the US version is still pretty robust. 

Binance.US includes features like: 

• Automation: Are you a fan of dollar-cost averaging? Binance lets you automatically invest on a schedule that you dictate. Since crypto prices are always in flux, this is a nice way to avoid the insanity of trying to time the market.
• Trust Wallet: Since 2018, Binance has owned Trust Wallet, which is a hot wallet for crypto storage. Binance offers Trust Wallet for free to its users, but you’re allowed to use your own hot or cold wallet if you want.
• OTC Trading: Over The Counter Trading is a more advanced option for Binance users. If you want to directly negotiate trades between a buyer and a seller, OTC allows you to do peer-to-peer trading without any fees. However, the minimum is $10,000, so I doubt that Binance newbies would need to use this feature anytime soon.
• Advanced trading: Look, Binance has a lot of great information on its platform. But if you try to move from Basic to Advanced, you’re going to be overwhelmed. The Advanced option is a tremendous leg up for experienced crypto nerds, but I recommend holding off on this feature until you’re more experienced.

In addition to these features, Binance also offers a generous referral program that allows you to earn a 40% commission on any trades your referrals make. Not bad, eh? 

With all of that said, Binance is a useful platform for exchanging cryptocurrency. But beginners are frequently curious about its fees, customer service, and how it compares to other exchanges like Coinbase Pro.

Fees

The minimum amount you need to fund your Binance account is $10, which makes it a great platform for testing the waters with crypto.

Its fee schedule is a little complicated, but bear with me here. Binance says it determines fees based on your daily BNB (Binance’s crypto coin) balance and your trading volume over the last 30 days. The platform updates this every day at midnight so you get an idea of the fees you’ll pay. 

Depending on the tier of your account with Binance, you’ll pay a certain amount of fees. For example, if you’re trading less than $50,000 over 30 days (and pretty much all beginners are), that puts you at the VIP 0 tier. Translation: you’re spending less on the platform, so you’ll pay higher fees. But even then, Binance’s “higher fees” aren’t that bad. 

There’s a simple 0.5% fee to buy or sell crypto, which is the most affordable option of any crypto exchange. 

Binance also charges an ultra-low 0.1% spot trading fee, if you get into trading on very short timeframes. Whatever fees you pay, Binance will deduct those from your account balance, so it’s not like you’ll see a separate charge for these fees on your bank account.

The good news is that Binance also offers discounts! You can cut your fees by 25% if you pay with BNB. This is obviously a play that Binance uses to get people to use its crypto coin, but whatever. You’ll need to own BNB to take advantage of this discount, so it’s good to keep a few BNB on hand for that reason.

Customer Service

But how is Binance when you have a question? The not-so-great news is that the customer support for Binance.US isn’t as responsive as it is for international Binance customers. But even then, the platform has plenty of support options, so you’re never investing without support.

As a Binance user, you can get help via: 

• Binance Resources: Binance has a pretty robust Resource area with articles and step-by-step videos to guide you through using the platform. It’s a great place to go if you’re stuck! You can also opt to follow certain help pages. If Binance ever makes changes to the page, you’ll get an email notification about the new changes.
• Contact form or email: The hard thing about Binance.US is that you can’t pick up the phone and call someone. You can pretty much only contact them via a contact form or email. I do think the contact form is annoying and long-winded, but it does help you avoid a lot of repetitive questions so the reps can help you faster.
  
• Chat: The Binance.US website uses an AI chatbot, Ada, to answer quick questions. It can’t really help you with complex problems, but it’s a good tool that helps you sift through Binance’s resources more quickly.
  

All in all, I’m not mad about Binance customer support, but it doesn’t have the immediacy that some newbie investors might expect.

Binance VS Coinbase Pro

Binance and Coinbase Pro are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. But the biggest difference between these two platforms is their fees. 

Users have called Coinbase out over its high fees, which are as expensive as they are hard to understand.

This might not seem like a big difference, but if you trade on a daily basis, it can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars lost per year. If you traded $1,000 worth of Bitcoin each day on Coinbase Pro, you would lose $500 per year on the fees alone!

Another benefit to Binance is that it supports coins that Coinbase Pro doesn't support. So, if you're interested in investing in altcoins, for example, then Binance may be the better option for you.

Binance.US Review Pros and Cons

Pros

• Low fees: Nobody likes paying fees. Binance has gained millions of users largely for the fact that it has the lowest fees of any crypto exchange. 
• Speed: One of the reasons Binance was founded was to speed up cryptocurrency trades, which are famous for taking a long time (lookin’ at you, Bitcoin). 
• Resources: I really do like Binance’s resource portal. Binance also has a tax portal to help you prepare for the inevitable headaches that come with crypto taxes. So, even though the customer support could be a little faster, you’ll likely find the answers to all of your questions on the Binance website.
  
• Trading options: You can choose from 60+ coins on Binance, which gives you plenty of diverse investment options. It also offers peer-to-peer trading, spot trading, and margin trading. That might not mean much to you if you’re a beginner, but these advanced options mean you won’t have to jump ship for another platform once you’re more experienced.
  
• Secure storage: Although Binance offers a free hot wallet, which can be exploited by hackers, it stores most of its customers’ crypto in cold storage. In the crypto world, that makes it very difficult for attackers to compromise your investments. 

Cons

• Availability: My biggest beef with Binance.US is that it isn’t actually available in all 50 states. US users are already missing out on a lot of features and coins, but if you’re in certain states, you won’t be able to use Binance.US. That was the case for me! I’m in Texas, but Binance.US doesn’t have a license to operate in Texas. Binance allowed me to create an account, but I wasn’t permitted to actually invest in anything. The legalities change often, so make sure you live in one of Binance’s licensed states before signing up.
  
• Customer service: Can you get a human to help you on Binance.US? Yes. Will it take a while to hear from someone? Also yes. But as long as you don’t have a really convoluted, complex issue, you should be able to solve your own problems thanks to its robust self-help portal.
• Complexity: I highly recommend that beginners stick with Binance’s Basic dashboard to start. If you accidentally click on the Advanced tab, you’re going to see a lot of numbers and squiggly lines that you might not understand. It’s a great platform, but beginners can get in trouble in the more advanced areas if they don’t pay attention.

Is Binance Good For Beginners?

Look, 48% of the people on Binance are just investing in crypto as a hobby. While the platform can definitely get complex, it’s tailored to crypto newbies, too. 

Binance is a beginner-friendly option for first-time traders because it's user-friendly and the interface is easy to understand. You can view your trades and information on the homepage and easily navigate through the site to see your balance, past transactions, and much more. The site features an extensive FAQ that covers most of the questions people have about Binance, too. 

Definitely stick with simple buying and selling for now and learn as you go. If you want to take full advantage of the Binance.US platform, be sure to sign up for automatic investing—it’s as simple as a few clicks and it’s a great way for beginners to learn about crypto firsthand.

Can Binance.US Be Trusted?

Hm. That’s a hard question to answer. Like any financial platform, you need to know that you can entrust your money with Binance. Its daily trade volume is a whopping $76 billion, which is more than its four competitors combined. This does show that it’s a big, trusted option for crypto enthusiasts. 

Binance also uses two-factor authentication and stores most of its users’ crypto coins in cold storage. Binance offers plenty of security options that go above and beyond what other exchanges offer—including allowing users to define their own personal API key (which limits what API resources can be accessed) as well as IP address restrictions on withdrawal addresses.

Binance.US hasn’t had any reported leaks, although hackers did manage to steal $40 million from Binance’s international platform a few years ago. The good news is that Binance paid each user back for the stolen crypto, so that’s good. 

The SEC is currently investigating Binance for money laundering and fraud. This is a developing situation, so we don’t know a lot of details, but it’s something to keep in mind. 

Binance Review: Is It Right For You?

Binance is known as the world’s gateway to crypto. There’s a reason it’s the biggest and the most popular cryptocurrency exchange platform in the world. Its low fees mean you get to keep more of your money, and isn’t that the point of investing? 

However, the customer support, limited features for US users, and pending investigations can be a deal-breaker for some usersAt the end of the day, you can always create an account, test the waters, and see if you want to use Binance long-term. But compared to options like Coinbase Pro, Binance is a very affordable option that helps crypto beginners become crypto experts in no time. Create a Binance account now to test it for yourself.

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