What this exchange is
Binance launched in 2017 and within a year became the world's largest venue by volume — a position it still holds. The practical consequence is simple: almost any coin that trades at all trades here, and the books on major pairs are the deepest on the market. For arbitrage this means Binance's price is usually the price, and gaps elsewhere are measured against it.
There is no single headquarters, and that is not a technicality: the legal entity you deal with depends on your country, and so do the rules — available funding methods, limits and the list of services.
Getting started
Registration takes minutes, but verification comes before your first trade. Without it P2P and fiat funding are closed and withdrawal limits are severe. You will need a passport or ID and a selfie; checks usually take from a few minutes to a day.
Then: fund the account, pick a pair, understand order types. Beginners almost always trade at market — the order fills instantly at the current price. A limit order rests in the book and waits for your price: cheaper in fees, but it may never fill.
Fees and where the savings are
Binance layers three things: a base spot rate, a volume discount, and a separate discount if the fee is paid in BNB. The last is the main saving here, and it is a single toggle in settings. Live withdrawal fees per network are in the table at the top of this page — they move with network load, and memorising them is pointless.
One practical rule: the withdrawal fee depends on the network, not the amount. Moving a thousand dollars and ten thousand over TRON costs the same, so splitting a withdrawal into parts is a straight loss.
Funding, withdrawals and P2P
Binance supports nearly every common network and is among the most flexible venues for withdrawals. Its P2P section is the largest in the world: in most countries this is how local currency gets in and out. There are many advertisements and the buy/sell spread is usually the tightest of any exchange — a consequence of seller competition.
If you do P2P arbitrage, keep in mind a risk that has nothing to do with the exchange: a payment received to your card can be reversed if it came from an account that later becomes the subject of a police report. Escrow protects your crypto in the trade; it does not protect your bank account from being frozen.
What to know
In November 2023 Binance settled with US authorities, admitting failures in anti-money-laundering and sanctions compliance. The payments came to roughly four billion dollars, founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty personally and stepped down as chief executive. The exchange kept operating but has tightened checks noticeably since: source-of-funds questions are routine and unverified limits are stricter.
This is not a reason to avoid the venue, but it is a reason not to hold more there than you trade with, and not to be surprised when a large withdrawal asks for an explanation.
Who it suits
Almost everyone, which is why most people start here. The deepest books, the widest coin selection, the liveliest P2P. The flip side is regulatory attention and, following from it, the strictest checks among the major venues.