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Binance
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume. The platform allows its users to buy, sell, deposit, transfer, and store over 350+ cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, Polygon, Avalanche, Dogecoin, and BNB. It was founded by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He in 2017 and was registered in the Cayman Islands. [1][2][3]
Binance users can trade on the platform using computers and mobile devices. The app is available for both IOS and Android devices.[32]
Overview
Founded in 2017 and based in Malta, Binance Is a centralized global cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy, sell, deposit, and transfer over 350+ cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, Polygon, Avalanche, Dogecoin, and BNB. It is considered to be the largest crypto exchange by total trading volume. Binance offers its users Basic and advanced trading including Spot, Futures, and Margin Trading. Binance is a mashup of the words ‘binary’ and ‘finance’.
The Binance platform offers cryptocurrency products and services, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more, also supporting over 40 different languages.
In September 2020, Binance launched the Binance Smart Chain in parallel to the Binance Chain. The Binance Smart Chain was created to support Smart contracts, allowing its users to create DApps, tokens, and mint NFTs on the blockchain.
Binance sees itself as a vibrant global community powered by Binance users from all walks of life, who come together both in real life and online to pursue their passions and advance the crypto cause. The platform also offers its users a suite of products for users to grow their crypto holdings by earning, which includes Binance Earn, Simple Earn, Defi Staking, Liquidity Farming, Dual Investment, Auto-Invest, and many more. [73][74][75]
History
2017 - 2018
CEO Changpeng Zhao had previously founded Fusion Systems in 2005 in Shanghai; the company built high-frequency trading systems for brokers.
In 2013 he joined Blockchain.info as the third cryptocurrency wallet team member. He also worked at OKCoin as CTO for less than a year, a platform for spot trading between fiat and digital assets. The company was founded in China but moved its servers and headquarters out of China and into Japan in advance of the Chinese government's ban on cryptocurrency trading in September 2017. By March 2018 the company had established offices in Taiwan.[7][8]
In July 2017, Binance raised a total of $15 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum during the sale of its native token in an ICO.[21]
As of January 2018, it was the largest crypto exchange with a BNB market capitalization of $1.3 billion. [9]
In March 2018, Binance announced its intentions to open an office in Malta after stricter regulations in Japan and China.
In April 2018, Binance launched its blockchain (Binance Chain) with the sole aim of creating a high-speed blockchain able to support large transactions at a lower cost compared to the Ethereum blockchain. Ever since then, Binance has been the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of the trading volume. Binance also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Bermuda. Months later, a similar memorandum was signed with the Malta Stock Exchange to develop a platform for trading security tokens.[18][20]
In 2019, the company announced Binance Jersey, an independent entity from its parent Binance.com exchange, to expand its European influence. Jersey-based exchange offers fiat-to-cryptocurrency pairs, including the Euro and the British pound.[11]
In August 2018, Binance along with three other big exchanges raised $32 million for a stablecoin project. The idea of stablecoins is to provide a cryptocurrency without the notorious volatility of Bitcoin and other popular digital assets.[10]
In October 2018, Binance Uganda launched as the first fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange of Binance.[12]
In December 2018, Changpeng Zhao revealed Binance's plans for 2019, including the launch of Binance Chain, a blockchain made by Binance, as well as a native high-performance decentralized exchange that will feature 1-second transaction confirmation times, enabling true instant transactions.[13]
2019 - 2021
In January 2019, Binance announced that it had partnered with Israel-based payment processor Simplex to enable cryptocurrency purchases with debit and credit cards, including Visa and Mastercard. The purchases are subject to Simplex’s local bank policies and are limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP.[14]
On May 7, 2019, Binance revealed that it had been the victim of a “large scale security breach” in which hackers had stolen 7,000 Bitcoin worth around US$ 40 million at the time. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said "the hackers used a variety of techniques, including phishing, viruses, and other attacks” and structured their transactions “in a way that passed our existing security checks.” Binance halted further withdrawals and deposits but allowed trading to continue. The site pledged to reimburse customers through its secure asset fund.[15][16]
On February 21, 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority issued a public statement responding to media reports referring to Binance as a ‘Malta-based cryptocurrency’ company. The statement noted that Binance “is not authorized by the MFSA to operate in the cryptocurrency sphere and is therefore not subject to regulatory oversight by the MFSA.” The MFSA added that it was “assessing if Binance has any activities in Malta which may not fall within the realm of regulatory oversight”.[17][18]
On June 24, 2021, Binance launched Binance NFT, a marketplace for digital items tied to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).[6][33]
2022
In February 2022, Binance committed a US$10 million minimum donation, which was increased to $20 million, to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine through its Binance Charity Foundation. It issued a charity crypto card in early May to help Ukrainian refugees. Binance also announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to build a strategic partnership with YG Entertainment Inc. (YG), one of South Korea’s leading multinational entertainment corporations. As part of the strategic partnership, Binance and YG will cooperate on a range of blockchain projects, including collaborations in the NFT space. Binance will provide the NFT platform and technology infrastructure while YG will supply NFT content and gaming assets.[50][60][61]
In May 2022, Binance announced that Binance Bahrain received a Category 4 license as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The Category 4 license will allow Binance Bahrain to provide a full range of crypto-asset exchange services.
In June 2022, Binance teamed up with two big names in the entertainment industry. on the 23 of June, Cristiano Ronaldo and Binance team up for a legendary NFT partnership, and on the 30th, TikTok Star Khaby Lame and Binance team up to drive crypto awareness.[68][69]
On June 23, 2022, Binance announced in a press release that they had signed a multi-year NFT partnership with Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Through the partnership, Binance will launch a “global campaign aiming to give Ronaldo’s fans an introduction to Web3” with a “compelling entry point into the world of NFTs.”
Throughout the agreement, Ronaldo and Binance will create a series of collections for sale exclusively on the Binance NFT platform.[51]
On November 18, 2022, the first NFT collection was released on Binance CR7 NFT with feature designs created in collaboration with Ronaldo.[78]
"Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the world's best footballers and has transcended sport to become an icon in multiple industries. He has amassed one of the world's most dedicated fan bases through his authenticity, talent, and charity work," said Binance Founder and CEO.[51]
On 08 July 2022, Binance celebrated its Fifth Anniversary with an in-person event that took place in Paris, France.[71]
In August 2022, Binance secures preliminary regulatory approval from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) to operate in Kazakhstan.[66]
As of September 2022, Binance was considered the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, with a $76 billion daily trading volume on the exchange and a record of 90 million customers worldwide.[72]
2023 - Present
In February 2023, Binance completed the integration of Binance-Peg BUSD on the Optimism network. Deposits and withdrawals for Binance-Peg BUSD are now open on the Optimism network. Users may now transfer BUSD and Binance-Peg BUSD across the Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, TRON, and Optimism networks. Binance also launched a new batch of Cloud Mining products for BTC mining. Users can purchase hashrates, and start accumulating mining rewards in their Funding Wallets.[80]
Withdrawal from the Canadian Market
On May 12, 2023, Binance announced that it will discontinue operations in Canada due to the challenging regulatory climate. The decision follows new guidance from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which mandates crypto asset trading platforms to secure pre-registration approval. In February, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) revealed new guidance that prohibited crypto asset trading platforms within the country from offering margin, credit, or other forms of leverage to any Canadian client. They also prohibit CTPs from permitting clients to purchase or deposit value-referenced stablecoins and proprietary tokens without the prior written consent of the CSA. The regulations also include enhanced expectations regarding the custody and segregation of crypto assets held on behalf of Canadian clients according to the CSA. [81] [83]
Binance explained the decision in a tweet [82]:
Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace.
We would like to thank those regulators who worked with us collaboratively to address the needs of Canadian users. Albeit a small market, it held sentimental value for us as the home country of our founder. We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry. Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time. We put off this decision as long as we could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become apparent that there are none.
Our remaining Canadian users are receiving an email with comprehensive information on how this will impact their accounts going forward. While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework. We are confident that we will someday return to the market when Canadian users once again have the freedom to access a broader suite of digital assets.
Products
Binance Pay
Binance Pay is a contactless, borderless and secure cryptocurrency payment technology designed by Binance. Using Binance pay, users can send and spend crypto at ZERO fees, Shop and pay with crypto at stores and businesses that support Binance Pay, and also Send crypto to friends and family.
Binance Gift Card
Binance Gift Card allows its users to send and receive cryptocurrency in a fast, simple and customizable way at zero fees to both Binance and non-Binance users. Once the recipient redeems the gift card code, the crypto will be fully credited to the recipient's Binance funding wallet.[63]
Binance p2p
Binance offers an easy-to-use platform that allows its users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly with other users. Its Peer-to-peer crypto exchanges allow crypto-market participants to trade with each other directly, making transactions done exclusively between the buyer and the seller, with minimal to zero involvement from Binance as a third-party intermediary. When using binance P2P, Binance facilitates transactions and safeguards ITS users on the platform.[64]
Binance P2P offers users a flexible way to trade bitcoin and other digital assets with one another. With over 300+ payment methods and 70+ fiat currencies to choose from, Its P2P platform is one of the most accessible gateways for users to access crypto.
Binance Launchpool/Launchpad
In September 2020, Binance launched a yield farming platform called Binance Launchpool to bring Defi principles to a wider audience. It was created to help and advise project teams on how to best issue and launch their token.[19]
Since its launch, dozens of additional Defi projects have launched on Binance Launchpad, attracting hundreds of millions of dollars of investors’ money.[20]
Binance NFT
On June 24, 2021, Binance launched a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplace on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). The platform would operate three markets: a premium venue for top auctions, a standard trading market that anyone can use to mint, sell, bid, and purchase NFTs from creators around the world, and also Mystery Boxes, where users Stand a chance to win rare NFTs in a box full of surprises.[21][33]
In April 2022, Binance NFT introduced the Mini App feature. With a simple and intuitive design, users can access Binance NFT's products and services seamlessly within the Binance app.
Binance DEX
Binance DEX (launched in 2019) is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on Binance Smart Chain that allows exchanging digital assets issued and listed on it. The matching happens within the blockchain nodes and all transactions are recorded on-chain, forming a complete, auditable ledger of activity.[36]
Binance Earn
The Binance Earn suite of products for users to grow their crypto holdings. It is a one-stop hub on Binance where users can see all their earning possibilities open for them and the cryptocurrency they hold. This ranges from Simple Earn, Staking, Farming, and Dual Investment.[65]
Binance Coins
BNB
BNB is Binances' native cryptocurrency, launched during an initial coin offering (ICO) in July 2017 as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, before moving migrating over to the Binance Chain in February 2019 and becoming the native coin of the Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain. The founding team of Binance and angel investors was among the recipients of BNB tokens. A public auction was also used to release 100 million BNB to the cryptocurrency community. Binance raised a total of $15 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum during the ICO by selling all 100 million tokens for 15 cents apiece.
15% of the $15 million raised was set aside as reserve tokens, with the remaining 35% going toward improving the Binance platform and exchange system. 50% went toward marketing and branding.[57][58]
Anyone can utilize BNB outside of the Binance trading platform because it also powers the Binance DEX (on the Binance Beacon Chain) and a large number of BNB Smart Chain (BSC)-based applications. More than 180 digital assets have been released on BSC, and BNB has been used by millions of people in association with BSC for utility purposes.[54]
BNB uses an Auto-Burn system to reduce its total supply to 100,000,000 BNB. The BNB Auto-Burn mechanism adjusts the amount of BNB to be burned based on BNB's price and the number of blocks generated on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) during the quarter. This offers greater transparency and predictability to the BNB community.
As of July 2022, Binance had completed 20 BNB coin burn events. In total, 38,927,812.66 BNB tokens have been destroyed, reducing its initial 200M supply by 19.34%.[55]
Use Cases:
BNB Token can be used for the various purpose
- Reduced trading fees on the Binance exchange
- Pay for trading fees on Binance DEX (Decentralized Exchange)
- Pay for transaction fees on the BNB Beacon Chain
- Pay for transaction fees on the BNB Smart Chain
- Pay for goods and services for both online and in-store purchases (e.g., using Binance Card or Binance Pay)
- Book hotels, flights, and more at Travala.com
- Community utility tokens on the BNB Chain ecosystem (such as games and DApps)[56]
Binance USD (BUSD)
BUSD is both an ERC-20 token and a BEP-20. It offers flexibility to its holders by allowing them to quickly turn their holdings into a stable assets without moving off the blockchain, It also allows its users to quickly send money around the globe with nominal fees.
As of June 30, 2022, according to Paxos, 96% of the assets backing the Binance USD were held in cash and cash equivalents, while 4% were invested in U.S. Treasury bills.[52][53]
On the 10 of September 2022, BUSD Hits Its $21B Market Cap Mileston, after its launch in July 2019.[67]
Binance Angels
Binance Angels are self-motivated representatives of the Binance community. They are passionate volunteers whose belief in the transformative power of blockchain technology ignited their passion to contribute to Binance’s vision (to increase the freedom of money around the world).
They are often referred to as guardian angels who help Binance users get better acquainted with the Binance platform and products. Acting voluntarily, some of the Angels are full-time workers, business owners, or entrepreneurs, while some of them are university students or people taking a break from their careers. In addition, a lot of them are hobbyists, sports, musicians, artists, spouses, partners, parents, and more.[76]
Binance Charity
In 2020, Binance Charity launched a campaign called Crypto Against COVID to raise $5,000,000 to purchase and distribute essential supplies to vulnerable areas during the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Binance Charity has been led by Helen Hai since it was founded in 2018.
In April 2022, Binance donated $2.5 million in BUSD to the United States for the UNHCR, a UN body that deals with refugees. This was the first stablecoin gift made by the company. The event demonstrated how cryptocurrency may be crucial for raising money and assisting with humanitarian help.
In February 2022, Binance committed a US$10 million minimum donation, which was increased to $20 million, to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine through its Binance Charity Foundation. It issued a charity crypto card in early May to help Ukrainian refugees.[65][66]
The Binance Charity is dedicated to spreading the freedom of money to people in need, around the world, regardless of their social status or geographic location, It believes they should be entitled to possess this freedom. Since its inception in 2018, Binance Charity has donated USD 10 million to support projects helping in the wake of global disasters and tackling complex social and environmental issues.[77]
Acquisitions
CoinMarketCap acquisition
On March 31, 2020, it was reported that a deal was closed to acquire CoinMarketCap. The news was first broken by The Block. CZ stated:[22]
“We plan to empower CoinMarketCap to continue to build innovative, useful products for its users and the global community.”[23]
JEX Exchange
On September 3, 2019, Binance acquired JEX Exchange from CoinDesk[24]:
Binance entered the Derivative (finance) game by buying the JEX exchange in September. The futures market leads in volume after only seven months of operation and now sits in contention with perennial favorites like BitMEX for most open interest, a measurement of the aggregate open long and short positions on a market. A joint effort with Peer-to-peer exchange Paxful suggests fiat-stablecoin aspirations. A strategic investment in upstart FTX represented another bet on crypto derivatives[25].
Swipe.io
On June 30, 2020, Binance acquired Swipe (SXP), a Visa card platform that enables users to spend crypto. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.[26][31]
Trust Wallet
On July 31, 2018, Binance completed the acquisition of Trust Wallet, a secure and intuitive mobile wallet. Through this acquisition, Binance aimed to provide a better service and enhance the safety of all of its users.[27][28]
The deal was undisclosed, but Binance confirmed to TechCrunch that the compensation is a mixture of cash, Binance stock, and a portion of its BNB token.[29]
DappReview acquisition
On December 3, 2019, Binance acquired DappReview, an evaluation platform that offers data-driven research and advertising services to blockchain-based decentralized applications (dapps).
The acquisition of Beijing-based DappReview will help the world's leading exchange by volume to further develop its existing dapps and create new blockchain use cases, said Viktor Radchenko, founder of Binance's TrusofWallet.[30]
Partnerships
- Chainlink[37]
- FTX[38]
- Paxful[39]
- Paxos[40]
- Band Protocol[41]
- Ankr
- Web Summit
- Aptos Lab
- TikTok Star Khaby Lame
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- SPLYT
- Primavera Sound
Binance Labs
Binance Labs was established in April 2018. Through investments, incubations, and empowerment, Binance wanted to build a more robust blockchain ecosystem after being the fastest firm to achieve success earlier that year.[35]
Binance Labs is committed to supporting top projects that promote Web3 and blockchain technologies. Binance Labs envisions Web3 as the next generation of the internet, with digital information interconnected in a decentralized manner and publicly owned by users, enabled by blockchain technologies.[37]
More than 100 projects from more than 25 countries have received investment and incubation from Binance Labs since 2018. Industry-leading initiatives including 1inch, Audius, Axie Infinity, Dune Analytics, Elrond, Injective, Polygon, Optimism, The Sandbox, and STEPN are among those in its portfolio. Binance Labs invests in three stages which include early-stage venture, late-stage growth, and incubation.
In June 2022, Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, closed a $500M Investment Fund to Boost Blockchain, Web3, and Value-Building Technologies. The new fund would be used to make investments in initiatives that can increase the use cases for cryptocurrencies and promote the use of Web3 and blockchain technologies. Incubation, early-stage venture, and late-stage growth are the three stages in which the new fund will make investments.[70]
In September 2022, Binance Labs also led an $8.5 million seed funding round for Bitquery as part of its ongoing drive to support innovative blockchain data solution providers. The round was co-led by dao5, with Susquehanna, DHVC, INCE Capital, and angel investors from Google among other participants. Bitquery offers a full set of APIs and analytics tools to democratize data access and solve pain points associated with on-chain data.[62]
Team
| Name | Designation |
|---|---|
| Changpeng Zhao | Co-Founder and CEO[42] |
| Yi He | Co-founder and CMO[43] |
| Ted Lin | Chief Growth Officer[44] |
| Catherine Coley | CEO of Binance US[45] |
| Jarred Winn | Senior Vice President[46] |
| Gleb Kostarev | Director, Russia & CIS[47] |
| Jiho Kang | CEO of South Korea KR[48] |
| Eric Zhang | Managing Director[49] |
Binance
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