Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various digital assets. Describing itself as "the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and digital asset exchange," it was founded in 2017 and has become one of the largest exchanges in the world by trading volume. ^[11] It offers a comprehensive suite of services, including spot and futures trading, a decentralized exchange, and a venture capital arm.

Overview

Binance was founded in July 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high-frequency trading software, and co-founder He Yi. The company was initially based in China but moved its headquarters out of the country shortly before the Chinese government restricted cryptocurrency companies. The exchange grew rapidly, attracting a large user base with its extensive list of supported cryptocurrencies and low trading fees; by mid-2025, the platform reported serving over 275 million users globally. The platform's ecosystem is centered around its native utility token, BNB. This token was originally launched as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain before migrating to its own native blockchain, the BNB Chain, which operates on a dual-chain architecture combining the BNB Beacon Chain for governance and the BNB Smart Chain for smart contract functionality. ^{[1] [10]}

The company operates a comprehensive suite of products designed to serve both retail and institutional traders. Its core offering is the centralized spot exchange, where users can buy and sell digital assets at current market prices. In addition to spot trading, Binance offers a derivatives market, Binance Futures, which allows for trading perpetual contracts and other leveraged products. To cater to the decentralized finance (DeFi) community, the company also launched Binance DEX, a decentralized exchange built on the BNB Chain. Through strategic acquisitions and internal development, Binance has expanded its services to include crypto-to-fiat payment solutions, a token launch platform, and an investment and incubation arm known as Binance Labs. ^[1]

History

Binance was established in July 2017 by co-founders Changpeng Zhao and He Yi. The company, which began serving U.S. customers from its inception, funded its initial operations through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in July 2017, launching its native utility token, BNB, on the Ethereum blockchain. ^[7] The first quarterly burn of BNB tokens, a mechanism designed to reduce the total supply, took place in October 2017. As the platform evolved, Binance launched its own proprietary blockchain, the Binance Chain. In February 2019, the BNB token was migrated from the Ethereum network to the Binance Chain, becoming the native asset of the new ecosystem. By January 2020, Binance had completed ten rounds of token burns, permanently removing approximately 16.7 million BNB from circulation. The company continued to operate without robust Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols for years, only beginning to require all new users to provide KYC information in August 2021 and fully restricting non-KYC users from trading in May 2022. ^{[1] [7]}

The company has pursued an aggressive growth strategy through strategic acquisitions to expand its user base and service offerings. On April 2, 2020, Binance publicly announced its acquisition of CoinMarketCap, a prominent cryptocurrency data aggregator. The deal, valued at an estimated $300 million to $400 million, was primarily structured with equity and BNB tokens. The primary motivation for the acquisition was to gain access to CoinMarketCap's substantial web traffic, which attracted over 207 million visitors in the six months prior to the deal, providing a significant channel for acquiring new retail users. Following the acquisition, CoinMarketCap founder Brandon Chez stepped down as CEO and was replaced on an interim basis by Chief Strategy Officer Carylyne Chan. Binance stated that CoinMarketCap would continue to operate as an independent business entity. ^[2]

Binance further expanded into the crypto-to-fiat payments sector with the acquisition of Swipe.io, a platform offering a crypto wallet and Visa debit card. The acquisition was announced on July 7, 2020, for an undisclosed sum. This move was part of Binance's broader strategy to bridge the gap between digital assets and traditional finance, enabling users to spend their cryptocurrencies at merchants on the Visa network. At the time, Swipe was available in 31 countries, primarily within the European Union. On December 30, 2021, Binance announced it had acquired the remaining outstanding shares of Swipe, taking full ownership of the company. This solidified Swipe's role as the official card program manager and technology platform for the Binance Card. Concurrent with the full acquisition, Swipe's CEO, Joselito Lizarondo, announced he would be stepping down from his role. ^{[3] [4]}

Partnerships

Binance has engaged in numerous strategic partnerships and integrations to expand its ecosystem and enhance its technological capabilities.

Investment in FTX

In December 2019, Binance announced a strategic equity investment in the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX and took a long-term position in its native utility token, FTT. The partnership was initially intended to support the growth of FTX and the broader crypto derivatives market. However, the relationship evolved into a significant rivalry. Binance divested its equity stake in FTX in July 2021. In November 2022, public statements from Binance's CEO about selling the company's FTT holdings were a key factor contributing to a liquidity crisis that led to FTX's collapse. ^[12]

Paxful Fiat Gateway Integration

To expand fiat-to-crypto accessibility, Binance partnered with peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace Paxful in December 2019. The collaboration integrated Paxful’s Virtual Bitcoin Kiosk onto the Binance platform, allowing users to purchase Bitcoin with 167 different fiat currencies using P2P payment methods like bank transfers and online wallets. This provided a crucial on-ramp for users in regions with limited access to traditional financial services for crypto purchases. ^[13]

Band Protocol Oracle Integration

In August 2020, Binance integrated Band Protocol's decentralized data oracles into the Binance Smart Chain (now BNB Chain). This move, which followed an investment in Band Protocol by Binance Labs, was aimed at providing developers of decentralized applications (dApps) with secure and scalable access to real-world data. Oracles are essential for DeFi protocols, feeding external information like asset prices to the blockchain to enable smart contract execution. ^[14]

Bitcoin Lightning Network Integration

Binance completed its integration of the Bitcoin Lightning Network in July 2023. The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 protocol that facilitates faster and more cost-effective Bitcoin transactions. The integration allows Binance users to select the "LIGHTNING" option for BTC deposits and withdrawals, bypassing the slower and more expensive main blockchain for smaller transfers. The move was partly motivated by a period in May 2023 when high network congestion and fees forced Binance to temporarily halt BTC withdrawals. ^[15]

Technology and Products

Binance offers a diverse range of products and services catering to different segments of the cryptocurrency market.

Trading Platforms

• Spot Market: The core platform for buying and selling hundreds of cryptocurrencies at current market prices. It accommodates various order types, including market, limit, and stop-limit orders, to serve both novice and experienced traders.
• Binance Futures: A derivatives trading platform that allows users to trade cryptocurrency futures and perpetual swaps with leverage. It is one of the world's most liquid derivatives exchanges, providing tools for speculation and hedging.
• Binance DEX: A decentralized exchange built on the BNB Chain, offering a non-custodial trading environment where users maintain control of their private keys and trade directly from their wallets.

Financial Services

• Binance Launchpad: An Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platform where new cryptocurrency projects can raise funds by selling their tokens to Binance users. Participation is often determined through a lottery system or a subscription model based on the amount of BNB a user holds over a specified period.
• Binance Earn: A yield-generation service that allows users to earn passive income on their crypto assets. It offers a wide range of products with varying risk levels, including flexible savings, locked staking, and higher-yield DeFi staking options. ^[11]
• Binance Card: A crypto debit card, powered by Swipe's technology, that allows users to spend their cryptocurrency holdings at millions of locations worldwide that accept Visa. The card automatically converts the user's crypto to the required fiat currency at the point of sale.
• Binance Pay: Launched around mid-2023, Binance Pay is a contactless, borderless, and secure payment system designed to facilitate fast crypto transactions, including remittances and daily purchases. Since its inception, the service has processed over $27 billion in total volume. It has been integrated into the payment infrastructure of countries like the Kingdom of Bhutan.

The development and integration of these products reflect the company's strategy to create a comprehensive ecosystem for digital assets. ^{[1] [3] [10]}

BNB Token

BNB is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance ecosystem and serves multiple functions across its various platforms.

Overview

Initially launched as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network, BNB migrated to the BNB Chain and is now the native coin of that blockchain. BNB Chain features a dual-chain structure: the BNB Beacon Chain (formerly Binance Chain) handles governance and staking, while the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is EVM-compatible and designed for running smart contracts and decentralized applications. BNB is used to pay for transaction fees on both chains, similar to how Ether (ETH) is used on Ethereum. The token is central to the operation of Binance's centralized and decentralized exchanges. ^[1]

Tokenomics

The maximum supply of BNB is capped at 200,000,000 tokens. The tokenomics incorporate a deflationary mechanism through a process known as "burning," where a portion of the supply is permanently destroyed. This process aims to increase the token's scarcity over time. As of October 2025, the total and circulating supply were approximately 139 million BNB. The token has consistently ranked among the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. ^[1]

Burn Mechanism

Binance has implemented a token burn mechanism to systematically reduce the total supply of BNB over time. The original whitepaper outlined a plan to use 20% of the company's quarterly profits to buy back BNB from the open market and destroy them. This was later updated to an "Auto-Burn" mechanism, where the amount of BNB to be burned is calculated formulaically based on the BNB price and the number of blocks generated on the BNB Smart Chain during the quarter. This change was designed to make the process more transparent and predictable. These burns are scheduled to continue until 100 million BNB, or 50% of the total initial supply, have been removed from circulation. ^[1]

Use Cases

BNB has a wide range of utility within the Binance ecosystem and beyond:

• Trading Fee Discounts: Users on the Binance exchange can receive a 25% discount on their spot and margin trading fees by paying with BNB.
• VIP Tiers: Holding a certain amount of BNB is one of the criteria, along with trading volume, for achieving VIP status on the exchange. VIP levels grant access to lower trading fees and other benefits.
• Dust Conversion: The platform allows users to convert small, non-tradable balances of various cryptocurrencies, known as "dust," into BNB, helping users consolidate their assets.
• Binance Launchpad: BNB is required to participate in token sales on the Binance Launchpad platform. The amount of BNB held by a user typically determines their potential allocation in new projects.
• Gas Fees: On the BNB Chain, BNB is used to pay for transaction fees (gas) for all operations, including trading on the Binance DEX and interacting with decentralized applications (dApps).
• Payments: A growing number of merchants and service providers accept BNB as a form of payment for goods, services, travel bookings, and credit card bills.

These use cases are designed to create sustained demand for the token and integrate it deeply into the platform's operations. ^[1]

Corporate Structure

Binance operates a global, decentralized corporate structure with a number of specialized divisions and acquired entities that support its core business.

Binance Labs

Binance Labs is the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance. It invests in and supports early-stage blockchain and Web3 projects. One of its affiliated entities is YZi Labs, which functions as an investment vehicle focused on Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. YZi Labs is deeply integrated with the broader Binance ecosystem, facilitating applications for key accelerator programs such as the BNB Chain Most Valuable Builder (MVB) program, which is designed to support promising projects building on the BNB Chain. ^[5]

Major Acquisitions

• CoinMarketCap: Acquired in April 2020, CoinMarketCap remains a key source of cryptocurrency market data and a major channel for user acquisition for Binance. Changpeng Zhao commented on the deal, stating, "The core DNA of CoinMarketCap is strongly aligned with Binance’s ethics and culture, from its integrity to its value of freedom, transparency and user-focus." ^[2]
• Swipe.io: Acquired in stages between 2020 and 2021, Swipe provides the core technology for the Binance Card program. The platform processed over $1 billion in Visa-crypto linked transactions in 2021. Following the full acquisition, Changpeng Zhao stated, "Swipe has helped Binance and Binance Card make considerable progress towards a future where digital assets can become a daily payment option for millions of people." ^[4]

Partnerships and Community

Following its regulatory settlements, Binance has emphasized forming strategic partnerships to accelerate crypto adoption and integrate with traditional finance.

• Mastercard: Binance is partnering with Mastercard to merge crypto innovations with established payment networks, with a shared goal of enhancing customer experience and security.
• Kingdom of Bhutan: The company collaborated with Bhutan's government to integrate Binance Pay into the nation's payment system, allowing it to be used for visa applications, accommodation, and local commerce. ^[10]
• Community Engagement: Binance maintains a strong public presence through social media and industry events. As of November 2025, its official account on X (formerly Twitter) had reached 15 million followers. The company also hosts "Binance Blockchain Week," a recurring event featuring discussions and announcements on industry trends and innovations. ^[11]

Legal and Regulatory Issues

As a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has faced significant scrutiny from financial regulators and law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions. The company's decentralized corporate structure has at times complicated regulatory oversight.

2019 Security Breach

On May 7, 2019, Binance announced it had been the victim of a "large scale security breach." Hackers successfully stole 7,000 Bitcoin, which was valued at approximately $40 million at the time. In response, Binance halted all transactions for a week to conduct a thorough security review. The company pledged to reimburse all affected customers in full using its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), an emergency insurance fund established in 2018. ^[6]

2023 U.S. Department of Justice Settlement

On November 21, 2023, Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges as part of a comprehensive settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Treasury Department, and other agencies. The company agreed to pay one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history, totaling $4.3 billion. The penalty consisted of a $1.8 billion criminal fine and $2.5 billion in forfeiture. ^{[7] [8]}

Binance Holdings Limited pleaded guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), failure to register as a money transmitting business, and violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The investigation found that Binance prioritized growth over compliance, willfully failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program and never filing a single suspicious activity report (SAR) with FinCEN. This allowed illicit actors, including terrorist organizations like Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades and Al Qaeda, cybercriminals, and child abusers, to move funds through the exchange. Court documents revealed an internal culture that disregarded compliance, with one employee stating in a chat, "we need a banner ‘is washing drug money too hard these days - come to binance we got cake for you.’" The company also facilitated over $898 million in trades between U.S. users and users in sanctioned jurisdictions like Iran between January 2018 and May 2022. ^{[7] [8]}

As part of the plea agreement, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective AML program, resigned as CEO of Binance, and agreed to a personal fine of $50 million. He was later sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024. The settlement requires Binance to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years and received a 20% penalty reduction for its partial cooperation during the investigation. ^{[6] [7]}

In a separate matter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had filed a lawsuit against Binance in 2023 for allegedly operating illegally in the U.S., dropped its case in June 2025. Following the 2023 settlement, Binance, under the leadership of new CEO Richard Teng, has publicly shifted its focus toward robust regulatory compliance. Teng, who has an extensive background in financial regulation, stated that his key priorities include collaborating with global regulators to uphold high standards. In a June 2025 interview, he positioned Binance as "the most regulated exchange" and highlighted the importance of clear regulations and institutional adoption for the industry's growth and stability. The company's communications reflect a more cautious approach in certain markets; for instance, its official X profile includes a disclaimer that its posts are not directed toward UK users. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Binance.com vs. Binance.US

In 2019, in response to growing regulatory pressure in the United States, Binance launched Binance.US, a separate entity intended to serve American customers in compliance with U.S. laws. However, the Department of Justice found that the global platform, Binance.com, actively worked to retain its high-value U.S. customers, from whom it had generated over $1.6 billion in profit between 2017 and 2022. The company instructed these "VIP" users on methods to obscure their U.S. connections, helping them circumvent blocks. This failure to properly restrict U.S. users from its less-regulated global platform was a central element of the 2023 federal investigation and settlement. ^{[7] [8]}

Key People

• Changpeng Zhao (CZ): A co-founder and the former Chief Executive Officer of Binance. He is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry who oversaw the company's expansion into a global leader. On November 21, 2023, Zhao stepped down as CEO as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. He was subsequently sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 and paid a $50 million fine. ^[6]
• He Yi: A co-founder of Binance who has played a crucial role in the company's marketing and growth strategies. She holds a key leadership position and is deeply involved in managing Binance Labs and the company's broader business ventures. ^[1]
• Richard Teng: The current Chief Executive Officer of Binance, appointed on November 21, 2023. With over three decades of experience in financial services and regulation, Teng previously served as the CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and as the Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange. Upon becoming CEO, he outlined his priorities as maintaining Binance's leadership in product and security, collaborating with global regulators to uphold high standards, and fostering partnerships to accelerate crypto adoption. ^{[8] [10]}