At first, Binance had an inauspicious beginning. Tokens that were listed there seemed to plummet instantly in what became known as the “Binance kiss of death.” However, that didn’t stop the exchange from immediately capturing large amounts of exchange market share. Their formula was simple — provide an incredibly intuitive, simple, and fast user-interface that had little to no downtime.

Up until Binance, crypto exchange users had been suffering at the hands of sketchy, illiquid, and poorly organized exchanges for quite some time. Many exchanges popped up and disappeared overnight — which would’ve been alright if it hadn’t been for the fact that when they disappeared, they did so with users’ funds. Coinbase was a ray of hope at the time, but their offerings were paltry, leading more adventurous traders to create accounts on obscure foreign exchanges using Google Translate. Those were the days.

Along came Binance, and all of that changed. Previously unobtainable altcoins were suddenly — and easily — available on an exchange that had real user support and a blazing fast trading engine. That’s not all Binance brought to the game, though. Binance Coin (BNB), the exchange’s native token, may have been the piece de resistance.

Binance introduced an option to traders which allowed them to pay their trading fees in BNB — doing so significantly cut trading fees. That’s still the case today. The brilliant power move to bring a token into the mix was also backed up by game-changing tokenomics — but more on that later.

It’s pretty tough to talk about Binance without mentioning Changpeng “CZ” Zao, the exchange’s effusive, charismatic, and outspoken CEO. The exchange has not been without its issues, but the difference between it and other exchanges who experience trouble is that other exchanges don’t have CZ at the helm.

Earlier this year, Binance was hacked for over 7,000 BTC ($40 million at the time). The attack, though significant, served to highlight why the world has come to trust Binance so much. In an act of complete transparency, CZ alerted the world about the attack immediately via all of the exchange’s social media channels, including his personal Twitter account, and reassured Binance users that the exchange’s SAFU fund would cover all losses. Additionally, CZ took the extremely precautionary step of suspending deposits and withdrawals for a week after the hack while the exchange’s security was upgraded.

Binance’s world domination has been aided by a rapid expansion into markets with regionally-specific exchange sites Binance Uganda, Jersey, and Singapore — all in addition to its global service. However, rather than concentrate its power into one single centralized exchange, Binance has initiated steps to decentralize its services by launching its own blockchain dubbed Binance Chain.

Now that you’re a bit more familiar with the wide scope of the Binance ecosystem, let’s have a look at the nuts and bolts of the exchange.

Opening an Account

Gaining access to a new Binance account is simple. The team at Binance is well aware that many, if not most, people who use their exchange are new to trading and investing crypto altogether. To that end, Binance has undergone several redesigns, with the most recent being in late June 2019, all to cater to a simpler aesthetic.