Binance – which is coined from a union of the words’ Binary’ and ‘Finance’ – is an online platform designed to digitally trade and exchange cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, etc. The platform, which is physically located in Hong Kong, Malta, Japan, and the United States of America, was founded in China in the year 2017 by two high-profile Chinese developers – Changpeng Zhao and Yi He under the company Bijie Technologies. Binance mainly functions in the cryptocurrency market as a highly secure platform running on a Byzantine-fault-tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism. It offers a broad range of cryptocurrency–to–cryptocurrency exchange for over a hundred of the most popular, most traded digital coins in the market.
The platform’s native currency Binance Coin (BNB), which was launched in 2017 through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), sold a total of 100 million out of 200 million BNB tokens to the general public at a unit price of $0.15 per token, raising a total market capitalization of $15 million in Ethereum and Bitcoin. The remainder of 100 million BNB tokens is split between the founding team, and their investors in the ratio of 8 are to 2, respectively.
With average transaction traffic of over 1.4 million for every second, Binance stands tall as the biggest cryptocurrency trading platform recording an average daily volume of transactions to the tune of over 2 billion.
The structure of the platform, which originated as Ethereum based (ERC-20) before migrating to its custom made Binance chain, is built in the form of a standard stock exchange, offering a range of services such as listing and delisting of coins in the market and the raising of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). This is similar to Initial Public Offerings (IPO) for stocks –to help newly featured coins gain entry into the market.
There are three basic types of trade that Binance supports. These are
- The Market Order which are trades programmed to be executed at a price deemed to be the most favorable in the market;
- The Limit Order, which is executed in strict compliance to the trader’s specified price limit and
- The Stop Limit Order, which activates the trade at the point when the price reaches a predetermined level. There are other crypto trading derivatives such as Trailing Stop Order, Post Only Order, Limit TP/SL order, and Stop Market Order added by Binance specifically for future contracts trading.
In the aspect of transactions, its profit margin is leveraged on the power of a large number base of customers, driving down its transaction cost to as little as 0.1% of the customer’s total transactions for withdrawals only and granting a further 50% discount for customers who make use of its digital currency – BNB. Binance coin (BNB) currently stands popular among traders with a gross market capitalization of $36.4 billion. Like many other well-established cryptocurrencies, BNB’s public acceptance is becoming widespread as a fully-fledged digital medium of exchange and a store of value. The coin is already known to be widely accepted as a means of payment for travel arrangements, hotel bookings, flight ticket payment, entertainment reservations such as lottery tickets, and others. Some platforms accept BNB as a payment option for the purchase of stocks and as collateral for obtaining loans from banks.
One of the reasons Binance has grown to become a market leader and an important part of the overall crypto ecosystem is its commitment to nurturing emerging coins by providing an elaborate support system that comprises development funding, expert advice, support, and a platform for fundraising and ICO exercises among others. So far, over 40 new blockchain-based projects have been launched through the Binance Launchpad system.
To maintain relative scarcity and drive up its value, Binance plows back one-fifth of its profits every three months to buy off and destroy a large number of BNB’s from the market. This measure ultimately ensures that only about 50% of all BNB are left for trade and investment.
A clean and simple user interface, multiple language options, and an intuitively rapid processing speed for million-per-second transactions; are some unique features offered by Binance that earn it the reputation as one of the most preferable exchange sites in the crypto world today. Other unique features of the platform are:
- Seamless and secure connection between the platform and the user’s bank account, making it easy, fast and reliable to purchase any type of crypto-coins directly from the bank
- Ease and speed of conversion from one form of asset to another
- Impressively low transaction and exchange fees and fast processing speed for the facilitation of exchange
How to Start Using Binance
Before delving into the steps to follow to register and begin to use Binance, every new user should note that getting on one of the most successful exchange sites with a massive user base offers the benefit of first-hand knowledge of some of the newest and promising ICO offers. The wide range of cryptocurrencies support and acceptability affords the user a wide range of options for trade and investment and possible returns afterward. With that, the steps to follow to start using Binance are;
- Locate the Binancewebsite.
While this might sound like an easy task, there are many examples of cloned fake sites that mimic the address and interface of the original platform and can be used to swindle users of hard-earned assets. That being said, the number one feature to look out for once the site address has been entered into the search bar is the green padlock sign usually accompanied by the word ‘secure’ on the left-hand side of the search bar right after the refresh icon (for most browsers such as Chrome, Safari, and Firefox). This is a security certificate confirmation that certifies the site as safe, secure, and a trusted original.
- Proceed to Registeras a New User on the platform
After proper verification of the site’s authenticity, the next step is to click on the ‘Register” button located on the top right corner of the webpage. This button is for new users who are just joining the platform for the first time. Old users who have already begun a registration process or have completed it are expected to click the ‘sign in’ option instead.
The registration page requires the new user to input an email address, a selected password that will be entered twice for confirmation, and an optional identity number of the referrer in the event that the new user is being introduced to Binance by another user. Once the email address and the password entered twice have been confirmed as matching, the user is
expected to undergo verification and then click on the ‘register’ button, having read and agreed to the platform’s terms of use. At this point, a confirmation mail is sent to the website provided during registration to inform the user of successful registration. The email address provided also serves as a channel for the resolution of other subsequent account issues that may arise, such as ‘forgotten password’ and other ‘invasion of privacy attempts’.
- Complete the 2-Factor (2FA) higher Authentication step.
The 2-Factor Authentication or 2FA for short is a standard method of enhancing protection that adds an extra layer of protection for various forms of digital and online transaction platforms. The process involves the use of a One-Time Password (OTP) consisting of a six-digit code,sent to the phone of the user to complete the registration process.
OTP set-ups can either be HMAC-based One Time Password (HOTP) is a randomized system of password generation valid for an unspecified period and Time-based One Time Password (TOTP) which is equally a randomized password generation system that changes after every 30 seconds. It is equally advisable that users back up their private key used in initiating the authentication for easy retrieval of account in case of stolen or damaged device.
This process is extremely important, especially for sites that deal with transactions and the exchange of assets. Given that cryptocurrencies exist only in digital form, they are prone to a variety of cyber-security risks such as phishing, keylogging, and network sniffing, which may render the account vulnerable and result in the loss of assets by a user. Two reasons for this are usually insufficient security measures put in place by the user or complete ignorance of the potential risks involved. Apps like Google Authenticator or Auth can be used to initiate a successful 2FA on the Binance platform.
- Begin Trading and Exchange.
Once these steps are completed, the profile is ready for the user to begin transactions. There are a wide variety of cryptocurrency assets to choose from and invest in, ranging from coins, alternative coins, or altcoins and tokens.
For most users, successful registration is only the first step towards a broader confusion on how to navigate the platform. There is still the need to understand how to deposit into a Binance account, what and what not to use BNB for, and other issues covered in the following sections.
Depositing and Withdrawing from Binance Account.
The steps to depositing or withdrawing into a Binance account are as simple as the registration process.
For Deposits
First: Click on the Deposit Page
Many of the functions users need to perform such as deposits or withdrawals, are on the first page of the site. For deposits, the user is required to click on the ‘Deposit’ button situated at the top right corner of the page.
Secondly: Choose the coin or token to be deposited
After clicking on the deposit button in Binance, which is the first step, a page appears showing the user a list of options to choose the particular coin to be deposited. The user can also make use of the search bar to quickly type in the name and select. After the selection has been made, the user now proceeds by clicking on the deposit button right beside the particular coin selected for the deposit. The specific deposit button belonging to the specific choice of cryptocurrency must be chosen as each coin comes with a unique generated identification address distinct from others.
Thirdly: Make a Transfer of the Coins to the Address Generated
The unique address generated from selecting the specific coin for deposit will form the channel through which the user sends a specific unit of the coins to his Binance account. This unique address is usually generated with a heading captioned ‘BTC Deposit Address” ( in the case of Bitcoin being the selected coin to be deposited). This sender can then add the generated address as the recipient of the number of coins to be transferred by the user.
Lastly: View Deposit History
To confirm the success of a deposit, the ‘Deposit/Withdrawal’ button is clicked again to reveal a drop-down history option. This option, when clicked, shows the user a history of all deposit and withdrawal transactions on the platform. A successful deposit will reflect in the history, including the type of coin, the amount, and the date of the transfer made.
For Withdrawals
The process of withdrawing is slightly different and is explained below. It must be noted that there are various ways in which a user can withdraw tokens and coins from the platform. Binance provides the option of fiat currency withdrawal and Peer –to – peer (P2P) transfers. This explanation will focus on fiat currencies using a dedicated user cryptocurrency wallet.
Step 1: Login and Select’ Wallet’.
After logging into their account, the user proceeds to the top right corner of the site and selects the ‘Wallet’ option. This reveals a drop-down menu with options like Overview, Fiat and Spot, Margin, Futures, P2P, and others. For a wallet transfer, the user is required to select the option of ‘Fiat and Spot.’
Step 2: Click on Withdraw from the Fiat and Spot Option under Wallet
After selecting the Fiat and Spot option, the user is expected to choose the ‘withdraw’ button and opt for the crypto tab. This enables the user to select the particular cryptocurrency to withdraw from. Some cryptocurrencies have multiple networks from which they are issued, and it is up to the user to select from which network the Withdrawal would be made.
Step 3: Proceed to Cryptocurrency Wallet and Generate Recipient Address
The process of withdrawing is required to be done with the cryptocurrency wallet close by. The wallet is then opened, and the specific coin to be withdrawn into it is selected, then the user is required to select ‘Receive’. For most wallets like Trust Wallet, this action generates a unique address for the coin and a bar code which can be scanned or preferably pasted on the withdrawal page opened in step 2 on Binance.
Step 4: Paste Recipient Address and Send
The address is then pasted on the Binance page and reviewed carefully before the user can click ‘Submit’. A 2-Factor Authentication code will be instantly sent to the sender’s mail. The sender is expected to enter the code to authorize the transaction. A proof of the transaction is usually available in the transaction history of both the users’ wallet and Binance.
What about Binance Coin (BNB)?
One of the cleverest things that the owners of Binance did was develop their currency called Binance Coin, besides the range of services provided. This addition makes Binance stand out as the first exchange platform with a native digital currency providing ease and high user functionality. BNB, which currently stands as the third most valuable cryptocurrency in the world with a current market value of $570.90, was initially designed as a useful addendum for the platform providing special benefits to users on the platform. With BNB, users were able to settle a broad range of transaction fees ranging from Trading (buying and selling of various coins), Withdrawal, and fees paid for listing on the market. They equally get
to enjoy a 50%, 25%, 12.5%, and 6.75% discount on all transactions during the first four years of using the native BNB. Respectively BNB can also be employed as a coin for investing in new entrant ICOs and ICOs already listed on Binance’s dedicated platform. Other unique uses of BNB are;
Payment of goods and services
A few companies are beginning to accept the idea of incorporating cryptocurrencies into their payment options. TravelbyBit, an Australian company in 2018, began the use of a range of digital currencies, including BNB, as an acceptable mode of payment. Others like Tesla, which currently only accepts Bitcoin, may expand to accommodate other coins in the nearest future.
A store of value for fiat currency in times of need: BNB is also valuable as a store of value and a channel for saving money for the future. During the coronavirus pandemic that saw world economies crash, many people turned to cryptocurrencies as a means to shield their liquid assets from economic depreciation.
Payment of salaries and settlement to employees: Some employers have already begun to adopt the method of paying a part of workers’ salaries in cryptocurrencies. This is found in most blockchain companies like Ripples, Binance, and other upcoming token companies.
Trading on the exchange platform as an alternative coin: when BNB is having no contact with outside exchanges, it can also be used to trade on the Binance platform and hopefully make gains from price surges depending on the outcome of the market.
Collateral for obtaining loans: some traditional banks and financial lending institutions are beginning to accept cryptocurrency as a form of collateral given that the market is prone to appreciation or depreciation and has been proven to contain assets that retain value for a relatively long period.
