Binance

Binance

Industry	cryptocurrency industry
Founded	2017
Founders	Changpeng Zhao Yi He
Headquarters	Worldwide
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Changpeng Zhao (CEO, Founder) Yi He (CMO, Co-Founder) Wei Zhou (CFO) Ted Lin (Chief Growth Officer) Helen Hai (Head, Binance Charity) Gin Chao (Strategy Officer)
Products	*Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Marketplaces *Startup Incubation *Research and Information Portals *Payment Solutions *Cryptocurrency Solutions *Blockchain-Powered Charity Platform
Website	www.binance.com

Binance is a global blockchain ecosystem operating in more than 180 countries around the world. Since 2018, Binance’s core cryptocurrency exchange platform is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, accommodating more than 15 million users from more than 180 countries and regions, and recording daily trading volumes as high as $16 billion.

Binance launched in July 2017 as a cryptocurrency trading platform, currently offering around 200 digital assets across as many as 600 trading pairs. It has also expanded its operations into fiat-to-crypto, margin, futures, and options trading, as well as cryptocurrency staking, lending, and mining.

Binance has various divisions that form an ecosystem of blockchain- and cryptocurrency-related products and services, spanning across cryptocurrency information (Binance Academy, Binance Research, Binance Info), investments (Binance Labs, Binance X, Binance Launchpad), technology (Binance Chain, Binance DEX), social good (Binance Charity), and collaboration tools (Binance Cloud, Binance Pool, Binance Widget).

Strategic investments and acquisitions have also contributed to Binance’s expansion, including the acquisitions of crypto wallet app Trust Wallet in July 2018, Indian crypto marketplace WazirX in November 2019, and crypto information platform CoinMarketCap in April 2020.

The Binance brand is also used on various other exchanges, such as partner fiat-to-cryptocurrency platforms, including Binance.US, Binance Singapore, Binance Jersey, Binance Uganda, Binance Lite Australia, and Binance Korea. Binance DEX, a community-driven decentralized exchange, was launched in April 2019.

History

2017: Binance Origins

Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, started his career as a programmer, building software used for trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg Tradebook. In 2005, he founded Fusion Systems, a company that built high-frequency trading systems for brokers, in Shanghai. In 2013, he joined Blockchain.info as the third member of the cryptocurrency wallet’s team. From June 2014 to July 2015, he served as chief technology officer at OKCoin, a platform for spot trading between fiat and digital assets.

In June 2017, CZ led the team that created the whitepaper for a cryptocurrency ecosystem named Binance. Since the launch of its cryptocurrency exchange, the first of its many services, Binance featured a matching engine that can support 1.4 million orders per second, touting itself as one of the fastest exchanges in the market. The exchange also featured cross-platform support, including PCs, Mac computers, and Android and iOS smartphones, as well as multilingual customer support.

File:Binance Yi He.jpg

Binance CMO and Co-Founder Yi He

A notable feature of Binance that contributed to user adoption is BNB, a cryptocurrency used to settle transactions within the Binance exchange. Initially created as an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, BNB has since transitioned to the native token of Binance Chain. A total of 200 million BNB was created during the launch of Binance, following an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised $15 million. BNB can be used to pay for fees on the Binance platform, including trading fees, withdrawal fees, and others. Binance also stipulated a quarterly “burning” of BNB based on trading volumes for that quarter, until the total supply of BNB decreases to 100 million BNB. As of June 2020, Binance has burned 20.1 million BNB across 11 coin burn sessions that started in the third quarter of 2017.

In August 2017, Yi He, who co-founded OKCoin and served as vice president of Chinese mobile video company Yixia Technology, joined Binance as co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer. Yi was responsible for growing Yixia’s valuation into billions of Chinese yuan, turning Miaopai into the most popular short video app in China and Yizhibo into a leading live-streaming app. At Binance, Yi helped grow Binance’s brand and boost its community growth significantly in its early days, particularly aiding in overcoming early challenges.

Binance launched its Android and iOS apps in September 2017 and introduced its PC app two months after. In December 2017, Binance became the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by 24-hour trading volume, five months after it was launched. The exchange ended the year with more than 3 million registered users.

2018: Forming the Binance Ecosystem

Between late 2017 and early 2018, Binance established its first new divisions, including Binance Labs, its investment arm, Binance Launchpad, its token sale platform, and Binance Info, its crypto information database. In March 2018, Binance announced plans to create its own blockchain called Binance Chain, with Binance Coin as its native token.

In April 2018, Binance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Bermuda. Months later, a similar memorandum was signed with the Malta Stock Exchange to develop a platform for trading security tokens.

Buoyed by the performance of the exchange, Binance started investing in longer-term projects and funds. In May 2018, Binance Labs established a $1 billion fund, named Binance Ecosystem Fund, for investing in promising blockchain projects. Since then, Binance Labs has made direct investments, as well as launched an Incubation Program, designed to invest in and help entrepreneurs deliver products with clear product-market fit, and the Fellowship, which provides grants to open-source blockchain developers and researchers.

In July 2018, Binance created the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and began allocating 10% of all trading fees received into the fund to provide an in-house insurance mechanism for users.

During mid-2018, Binance added more divisions, including Binance Charity Foundation, its philanthropy arm, and Binance Academy, a nonprofit crypto-education platform. In July 2018, Binance acquired Trust Wallet, a popular decentralized cryptocurrency wallet app for Ethereum tokens, marking Binance’s first acquisition. Trust Wallet has since launched support for multiple cryptocurrencies. In October 2018, Binance invested in TravelbyBit, an Australia-based online travel agency that offers booking services for travellers using digital currency.

Binance Charity went on to secure partnerships, including an MoU with Malta’s then-President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme. In October 2018, CZ launched the Binance Charity portal for blockchain-recorded donations at the UNCTAD World Investment Forum, announcing that 100% of funds from donors will reach end beneficiaries. As of June 2020, Binance Charity has listed 22 cryptocurrency donation drives, and all funds are tracked on the blockchain, including allocation details.

In late 2018, Binance rolled out its slate of cryptocurrency information and education offerings. Binance Academy launched its beta version, while Binance Info underwent a major revamp in September 2018 to add new features and enhance navigation. In November 2018, Binance Research was formed to provide institutional-grade reports on cryptocurrencies. In December 2018, Binance Academy formally launched its education platform in 15 languages and has since added support for another language and more features.

2019: New Crypto Trading Services, Acquisitions, and Challenges

File:Binance CZ.jpg

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao at the Binance Blockchain Conference.

In January 2019, Binance announced that it had partnered with Israel-based payment processor Simplex to enable cryptocurrency purchases on Binance.com with debit and credit cards. During the same month, Binance also hosted the Binance Blockchain Week in Singapore.

Throughout 2019, Binance Launchpad committed to help 11 token projects fundraise on the blockchain and grow their communities internationally by hosting token launches on Launchpad, beginning with its first token sale for the year in January.

In 2019, four Binance-branded regional exchanges launched, all equipped with the capability to exchange local currencies for cryptocurrencies. Binance Jersey, a fiat-to-crypto platform catering to Europe and the U.K., was launched in January 2019, followed by Binance Lite Australia in March, Binance Singapore in April, and Binance.US in September. These platforms are created by local entities in these areas, while Binance licensed the technology needed for the exchanges.

Meanwhile, Binance and its global community have spearheaded the creation of a blockchain called Binance Chain. Launched in April 2019, Binance Chain launched as the native blockchain for BNB, which completed the token’s transition from ERC20-minted token to a native token, as well as the Binance DEX decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, which was developed on top of the new blockchain. Through Binance Chain, developers can also create cryptocurrency tokens that are easy to transfer, trade, and use.

BNB rose in the cryptocurrency rankings, reaching as high as No. 6 in the cryptocurrency market capitalization rankings in July 2019, according to cryptocurrency information website CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, Binance DEX grew to become one of the largest decentralized exchanges by trading value, hitting US$800 million in trading volumes during its first year of operations.

In May 2019, Binance discovered a security breach that resulted in the loss of 7,000 BTC in funds. No user funds were affected, because Binance used its SAFU fund to cover the incident. Nonetheless, the exchange further strengthened its security measures and reopened one week after the incident. The Binance website then underwent a revamp in June 2019.

Binance continued to expand its products and services. In July 2019, the month of its second anniversary, the exchange launched Binance Margin trading services, which offered leveraged trading for major cryptocurrencies, and Binance OTC (then called Binance Trading), which processed large-scale cryptocurrency transactions. Meanwhile, Trust Wallet launched support for multiple decentralized exchanges, including Binance DEX.

In August 2019, Binance introduced the Venus initiative, an open blockchain project for launching currency-pegged stablecoins in collaboration with governments, companies, and institutions. As part of this ongoing program, stablecoins pegged to currencies such as the U.S. dollar, British pound, South Korean won, and Indonesian rupiah, have been created using Binance Chain. For instance, Binance collaborated with stablecoin company Paxos to create BUSD, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin that is fully regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services.

The second half of 2019 also saw Binance entering into more acquisitions and product launches. In August 2019, Binance Savings (then called Binance Lending) was launched, offering several options for users to deposit their funds and earn interest. In September 2019, Binance launched Binance Staking, a platform that supports staking mechanisms for certain cryptocurrencies while they’re deposited on users’ Binance accounts. Binance acquired crypto derivatives platform JEX and invested in Chinese crypto data company Mars Finance.

There are two product launches that were considered crucial in Binance’s expansion from cryptocurrency exchange to global trading platform. The launch of Binance Futures in September 2019 signaled Binance’s entry into the crypto futures and derivatives market. One month into the launch, Binance Futures was able to process $1.4 billion USD in trading volume within 24 hours, as well as launch 125x leverage on its Bitcoin futures product. Binance Futures ended 2019 as one of the top four crypto futures exchanges in the world, just one quarter into its launch.

In late 2019, Binance also launched a concerted effort to cater more currencies around the world. In October 2019, Binance launched a peer-to-peer service for trading the Chinese yuan for multiple cryptocurrencies. During the same month, Binance listed the Nigerian naira as the first local currency supported on the exchange. The exchange has since entered into partnerships for the acceptance of Euro, Russian ruble, Turkish lira, and more local currencies. After beginning 2019 with zero support for local currencies, Binance ended the year with features and arrangement that allow the purchase of cryptocurrencies using 18 local currencies.

Binance closed 2019 with the following moves on the M&A and strategic fronts: the October 2019 launch of a BNB exchange-traded product (ETP) on SIX Swiss Exchange, in partnership with Amun; the acquisition of WazirX, India’s leading cryptocurrency platform, in November 2019; the acquisition of decentralized app (dapp) information and analytics platform DappReview in December 2019; and the strategic investment in crypto derivatives platform FTX, also in December 2019.

2020: Open Platform Vision, Leadership in New Crypto Markets

In 2020, Binance enhanced many of its products, including the then-nascent Binance Futures and fiat-to-crypto features, into market-leading status. In early 2020, Binance Futures launched more perpetual contracts to accompany its main BTC futures product. With new futures products for major cryptocurrencies such as ETH, XRP, EOS, and BNB, Binance Futures grew its roster of products to 26 perpetual contracts. As of June 2020, Binance Futures is ranked among the top three futures exchanges in the world, oftentimes reaching the No.1 spot in terms of trading volumes. Binance has since ventured into launching more crypto derivative products, such as Binance Options and Binance Leveraged Tokens.

In the local currency front, Binance P2P was expanded to more local currencies. Binance launched peer-to-peer trading for the Vietnamese dong and Russian ruble in February 2020, followed by the Euro, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, Argentine peso, and three more Latin American currencies in March, and then the Indian rupee and Indonesian rupiah in April. Combined with support for direct credit card payments on Binance for buying cryptocurrency, as well as partnerships with local payment processors around the world, Binance expanded its local currency support to 42 countries.

Meanwhile, In February 2020, Binance announced its Open Platform initiative. In the same month, Binance introduced Binance Cloud, a new infrastructure solution for building custom exchanges using Binance’s technology, as a crucial part of the initiative. Other solutions that are under the Open Platform umbrella include the Binance Widget, which allows websites to host crypto purchases powered by Binance, as well as the Binance P2P merchant program, which attracted peer-to-peer traders from around the world, and the Binance Broker Program, which welcomed broker-partners that provide digital asset trading services for global users through Binance’s API. Crucial developments under the initiative include a partnership with Internet browser company Brave Software to embed the Binance Widget on Brave browsers, which was announced in March 2020, and the launch of Binance Korea as the first exchange built via Binance Cloud, in April 2020, followed by the migration of Indonesian crypto exchange Tokocrypto to the Binance Cloud a month after.

April 2020 marked two major events in BInance’s history. In what is considered one of the biggest M&A deals in the cryptocurrency industry, Binance acquired CoinMarketCap, the most visited cryptocurrency website in the world. CZ said that despite the acquisition, Binance and CoinMarketCap will operate independently of each other. Nonetheless, the deal was notable, as it was made in the middle of a global economy held at a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Binance also entered into the crypto mining market, with the launch of Binance Pool in April 2020. Binance Pool offered crypto miners the chance to pool together their resources into the Binance-led mining group, while being able to link their crypto earnings to their Binance account, for convenient use in the exchange’s comprehensive crypto finance service suite.

In May 2020, the Binance global community launched a testnet and whitepaper for Binance Smart Chain, a proposed blockchain that will run parallel to the Binance Chain while adding programmability compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, as well as and native cross-chain communication. This proposal introduces a consensus algorithm called the Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus.

Products and Services

Core Solutions

Binance started as a cryptocurrency exchange, but has since expanded its core service into several solutions, many of which are considered leaders in their respective markets.

Binance Exchange is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Binance serves users from 180+ countries and regions, with an average daily trading volume totaling over $2 billion, through a matching engine capable of executing over 1.4 million orders per second,

Binance Margin grants access to funds from Binance Exchange for use in leveraged trades, specifically for the purpose of amplifying potential returns on long or short positions

Binance Futures is one of the leading cryptocurrency futures markets in the world. Binance Futures allows experienced users to trade crypto futures contracts with up to 125x leverage, through a NASDAQ-level matching engine that processes 100,000 orders per second with ease and minimal latency of 5 milliseconds on average.

Binance Options are flexible, American-style call and put options that can be exercised anytime before the expiration date. These options, currently available in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, offer expiry periods between 10 minutes to 1 day at market prices.

Binance OTC is an over-the-counter trading desk specializing in block trades across Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Users can quickly trade large quantities at minimal slippage with quick (often instant) settlement and zero fees.

Binance P2P provides access to purchasing or selling cryptocurrencies using local currencies through a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) or business-to-consumer (B2C) model.

Binance Savings provides a way for users to accrue interest on cryptocurrency savings. The platform offers both flexible and fixed-term saving accounts with varying returns for every investment situation.

Binance Staking automatically rewards users who hold select crypto assets in their Binance accounts, with competitive annual yields and no staking fees.

Binance Crypto Loans is a competitively priced lending solution that lets users borrow USDT or BUSD for up to 90 days.

Fiat-to-Crypto Platforms

In collaboration with local banking partners and entities, Binance has also supported the launch of various exchange platforms that allow users to buy cryptocurrencies using traditional currencies. As of June 2020, there are six such platforms.

Name	Date Launched	Countries/Areas Served	Cryptocurrencies Offered [as of June 2020]	Fiat Currencies Supported [as of June 2020]
Binance Uganda	October 2018	1 (Uganda)	8 (BTC, BNB, ETH, BCH, BHFT, LTC, PAX, PCAT)	Ugandan shilling
Binance Jersey	January 2019	57 (including the UK and certain countries in the European Union)*	6 (BTC, BNB, ETH, BCH, BGBP, LTC)	Euro, British pound
Binance Lite Australia	March 2019	1 (Australia)	1 (BTC)	Australian dollar
Binance Singapore	April 2019	1 (Singapore)	8 (BTC, BNB, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, NEO, LINK)	Singaporean dollar
Binance.US	September 2019	1 (U.S.)	35 (BTC, BNB, ETH, ADA, ALGO, ATOM, BAT, BCH, BUSD, DASH, ENJ, ETC, ETH, HBAR, ICX, IOTA, LINK, LTC, MATIC, NANO, NEO, OMG, ONT, QTUM, REP, RVN, USDT, VET, WAVES, XLM, XRP, XTZ, ZEC, ZIL, ZRX)	U.S. dollar
Binance.KR	April 2020	1 (South Korea)	6 (BTC, BNB, ETH, BKRW, BUSD, USDT)	South Korean won (via BKRW stablecoin)

BNB

The native token of the Binance ecosystem, BNB is a cryptocurrency created by Binance in July 2017, initially to facilitate payments for trading and transaction fees on the exchange. Within Binance, BNB has significantly increased its use case, as it is being used for a variety of purposes, such as purchasing tokens in Binance Launchpad token sales, allocating and earning interest for Binance Savings, storage requirement for participation in various promos and community activities, and more. Outside of the Binance ecosystem, many crypto companies accept the use of BNB for purchasing goods, trading, using as rewards, and more. Currently, there are more than 120 use cases for BNB.

Binance Chain and Binance DEX

Since the creation of the Binance Chain blockchain, Binance and its community have collaborated on the creation of Binance DEX, a decentralized exchange developed on top of Binance Chain. After two previews of the decentralized platform were disclosed in 2018, Binance DEX launched on testnet in February 2019. The community-created platform combined several features present in decentralized exchanges with a user interface similar to Binance.com.

Following various test runs and software enhancements during a two-month testnet, Binance DEX launched on mainnet in April 2019 and spurred the conversion of BNB from an ERC20 token based on the Ethereum blockchain to a BEP2 native token of Binance Chain. Binance Chain offers one-second block confirmation times and several high-performance features that are suited for token exchange activities.

Binance Chain has undergone four updates, each featuring enhancements to the blockchain and Binance DEX. In May 2020, the community behind Binance Chain unveiled a proposal for Binance Smart Chain, a blockchain that will run parallel to Binance Chain while providing the capability to put smart contracts on tokens.

Binance Divisions and Initiatives

Binance originally started as an exchange, but has since evolved into an ecosystem of services that move Binance forward in its goal to increase crypto adoption and serve the greater mission of blockchain advancement worldwide.

Binance Launchpad is a token launch platform focused on connecting blockchain startups and entrepreneurs in need of fundraising to a worldwide network of Binance users.

Binance Labs identifies, invests, and empowers blockchain entrepreneurs, startups, and communities, providing financing to industry projects that help grow the larger blockchain ecosystem.

Binance X is a developer platform that empowers developers to conceive and build new blockchain initiatives on the Binance platform.

Binance Academy is an accessible blockchain and crypto learning portal that hosts free educational resources in over 15 languages.

Binance Research is a research portal offering impartial and in-depth analysis, insights, and reports on a broad range of topics in the blockchain and crypto industry.

Binance Info is Binance's comprehensive hub of information on over 1,000 cryptocurrencies, including trading data, project information, news and third-party rating reports.

Binance Charity is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to achieving global sustainable development through blockchain-enabled philanthropy

Venus (initiative) is an open blockchain project focused on partnering with governments, corporations, and global organizations to develop fully compliant, localized stablecoins and digital assets that are pegged to local fiat currencies.

Binance Open Platform (initiative) positions Binance as an infrastructure provider for the blockchain and crypto industry. Binance said that it is committed to growing its existing ecosystem to provide a decentralized open platform that connects and facilitates transactions between blockchain businesses and users.  

Binance Cloud is an all-in-one business-to-business-to-consumer solution for partners looking to launch crypto exchanges powered by technology from the Binance platform.

Binance Pool is a platform that connects cryptocurrency miners to Binance’s suite of financial products.

Acquisitions and Investments

Binance has also acquired and invested in several cryptocurrency companies since its launch. Notable acquisitions and investments include:

CoinMarketCap (acquisition) was founded in 2013 and has since become the most popular price-tracking website for cryptocurrencies. It is the most referenced and trusted source for comparing thousands of crypto entities in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency space by users, institutions, and media.

Trust Wallet (acquisition) is the official cryptocurrency wallet of Binance. Trust Wallet is a decentralized mobile wallet used to send, receive, and store leading cryptocurrencies. Trust Wallet works seamlessly with Binance DEX, allowing users to trade crypto directly on the platform while retaining full control over their digital assets.

WazirX (acquisition) is India's largest cryptocurrency exchange with more than 200,000 app downloads. WazirX also launched the world's first auto-matching peer-to-peer engine to help traders to convert Indian rupees to crypto and vice versa.

JEX (acquisition) is a data-driven decentralized applications (dapps) platform, tracking data from over 3,900 dapps across 13 public blockchains.

TravelbyBit (strategic investment) is an online booking platform that allows travelers to pay for flights and accommodations with popular cryptocurrencies. In May 2020, TravelbyBit merged with Travala, another online travel booking website that processes cryptocurrency payments.

FTX (strategic investment) is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that offers perpetual and quarterly futures on more than 20 different products, as well as leveraged tokens, options, index futures, and spot markets.

Tokocrypto (strategic investment) is a regulated digital exchange in Indonesia. Founded in 2018, Tokocrypto is one of the country’s leading exchanges for cryptocurrency.

Numbers (strategic investment) is the creator of an integrity assurance data framework that can trace, verify and analyze data near data origin.

External links

• Official website