An Introduction to Binance.com
Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (also known as CZ) and rose to prominence during the 2017 crypto bull run when prices of crypto assets reached spectacular new heights. In that short time, Binance has managed to become the largest crypto asset exchange by trade volume and made its founder, CZ, a kind of crypto celebrity.
Besides Binance’s ability to generate such a large user base in such a short amount of time, it is unique from other popular exchanges because of its highly valued token, commitment to decentralization, and wide global accessibility. This and a few other features are the reasons why Binance found its way to the top of our best cryptocurrency exchanges list.
BNB Token
The Binance platform uses a token called Binance Coin or BNB, which as of May 2019 has an over $3.3 billion total market capitalization. The BNB token was created after Binance’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) as an ERC-20 token running on the Etheruem blockchain.
It has been planned since the whitepaper for the BNB token to eventually be transferred over the Binance’s own decentralized exchange blockchain to function as a key base asset as well as gas for the new network. The Binance decentralized exchange is scheduled to launch in late April 2019.
Currently, the BNB token can be used on Binance to pay for fees at a discounted rate. BNB holders benefit from a token value increasing system called “The Burn”. The Burn works by destroying a portion of BNB tokens every quarter, based on Binance’s trading volume, until 50% of the total supply of BNB is destroyed, in theory increasing the value of each BNB token in the long term by decreasing the total supply.
Jurisdictions
Binance was founded and started in China, but had to relocate to Japan because of the China’s ban on cryptocurrency trading in 2017. After facing regulatory issues in Japan, the company moved to Malta where it could establish relations with and receive assurances from the country’s prime minister.
The Binance team is globally distributed and does not have a central physical headquarters. Binance is a crypto-to-crypto exchange that has chosen to make its services available to a wide variety of jurisdictions.
Clients who wish to purchase crypto assets with traditional fiat currencies are now able to do so with the recently launched Binance Uganda in Africa and Binance Jersey in Europe.
Why Jersey?
Jersey is an island located near the coast of France and a “crown dependency” of the United Kingdom.
The island is highly focused on financial services and is considered a major offshore financial center comparable to the Cayman Islands or Bermuda with its lax regulatory and tax policies.
The crypto industry has had a history of problems with regulators across the world so it makes sense that Binance chose to work closely with governments such as Malta and Jersey that are able to offer governmental guarantees as well as close proximity to European financial markets and currencies.
Binance.je
Binance Jersey only launched in January of 2019 so is a very recent addition to the crowded arena of crypto asset exchanges. However, it plays a strategic role for Binance as a fiat-to-crypto gateway for clients that want to exchange the Euro or British Pound for crypto assets.
Despite its name, Binance Jersey is not only available in Europe. It is also available in a wide variety of different countries such as Argentina, Chile, Hong Kong, South Africa, Canada, and Australia along with many others.
Fiat Gateways
Binance’s founder, CZ, has expressed that building fiat gateways are a necessary requirement in order to increase crypto adoption throughout the world. Binance Jersey is only the beginning of its ambitious plans to open up to 10 fiat-to-crypto exchanges in 2019 with ideally two per continent! Uganda and Jersey are the first onramps with plans to open more in Singapore, Liechtenstein, and other countries.
Limited Markets
Unlike Binance, which has hundreds of different tokens and coins available for trading, Binance Jersey is still fairly limited by only offering Bitcoin and Ethereum for trading.
Binance Jersey does not even offer Binance’s native BNB token for trade so there are no special BNB token related discounts available for Binance Jersey users. Its main purpose is the ability to purchase crypto using fiat currencies, specifically the Euro and the British Pound.
Once Binance Jersey clients are able to convert their fiat into Bitcoin or Ethereum, it would be fairly easy to move that crypto onto the main Binance website to begin trading the vast number of tokens available on Binance.com.
Fees
Since Binance Jersey offers a limited amount of trading options and no BNB token or crypto-to-crypto trading, the fees are relatively straightforward and simple:
Walkthrough
Create an Account
The main difference for registering an account between Binance Jersey and Binance.com is the need to complete Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verifications. On Binance, these KYC requirements are not needed in order to begin trading, but they are for Binance Jersey.
This is not unusual because identity verifications are required for nearly all exchanges that deal with traditional fiat currencies such as Binance Jersey’s competitor, Coinbase. To complete this process, you will need to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
Proof of identity and proof of address are also needed before you can start depositing assets into your Binance Jersey account. Proof of identity must be a valid government-issued photo identification document such as a national identification card, permanent resident card, or international passport. Proof of address can be a recent utility bill, bank statement, or government issued correspondence.
Deposit Assets
After you have completed your KYC and account verification, you must select which currency you want to deposit and how much. If it is the British Pound or Euro, you will need to send a wire transfer from your bank to Binance’s bank account within 20 days. The wire transfer will usually take between 2-5 business days for international wire transfers.
Start Trading
Once you have money deposited into your account, you can buy Bitcoin or Ether by choosing either the Basic or Advanced exchange mode.
Binance plans to open up to 10 different fiat-to-crypto gateways similar to Binance Jersey in new jurisdictions so no matter where you are, it likely that a Binance fiat-to-crypto gateway will be coming your way soon!
References
- Binance’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) BNB Token Details
- What is ERC20 token?
- Binance Fees
- Binance FAQ
- Binance Chain FAQ
- Binance News
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Very Detailed Guide! Good Share!