Binance, found online at Binance.com, is a popular cryptocurrency exchange currently sitting in the top 20 exchanges by volume.
The exchange has particularly strong volume in pairs like NEO/BTC, GAS/BTC, ETH/BTC, and BNB/BTC. .
Binance is a crypto-to-crypto exchange, meaning it doesn’t deal with traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar (USD). Instead, all of Binance’s pairs are traded against Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH).
For example, if you wanted to buy NEO using BTC, you would need to find the NEO/BTC pair on Binance and place an order. The same goes for trading altcoins for each other.
If you wanted to trade GAS for ETH, you would find the GAS/ETH pair and place an order.
Binance also offers a few unique features that make it worth checking out. These include:
1) Binance Coin (BNB) – Binance has its own cryptocurrency called Binance Coin (BNB). Holding BNB in your account entitles you to a discount on trading fees. At the time of writing, the discount is 50%.
2) Referral program – You can earn a commission for referring friends to sign up and trade on Binance.
3) Staking – Some coins on Binance can be staked, earning you “passive income” rewards simply for holding them in your account. For example, NEO holders earn GAS rewards just by holding NEO in their accounts.
4) Margin trading – Margin trading is available on certain pairs through Binance’s “Margin Trading Platform” feature. This allows users to trade with leverage of up to 3x on select pairs.
5) Futures contracts – In September 2019, Binance launched its own futures contract platform called “Binance Futures”. Currently, users can trade with up to 125x leverage on BTC/USDT contracts.
So is Binance a broker? No, Binance is not a broker. A broker is an individual or firm that charges a fee or commission for executing buy and sell orders submitted by an investor.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange where you can buy and sell digital assets using BTC or ETH as your base currency. While the exchange does offer some unique features not found on other exchanges, such as margin trading and staking, it does not charge fees or commissions for executing trades.