Binance Hits 300 Million Users as Institutional Adoption Accelerates

Binance has surpassed 300 million registered users globally, adding its most recent 100 million users in just 18 months – the fastest growth period in the exchange's history, according to Binance Australia.

The platform took nearly five years to reach its first 100 million users, then just over two years for the next 100 million, representing a current growth rate of over 180,000 new users daily, said Matt Poblocki, general manager for Binance Australia & New Zealand, in a statement on Friday.

The acceleration comes as digital assets shift from speculative trading to broader institutional adoption. Binance reported a 14% year-over-year increase in institutional users and a 13% rise in institutional trading volumes.

A notable indicator of changing market dynamics is the decline in Bitcoin held on exchanges, which has fallen to its lowest level in five years. Meanwhile, holdings by public companies and ETFs continue to rise, with more than 200 public companies now holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Binance's 2025 User Pulse survey, covering over 95,000 users across 48 markets, found that half of users now identify as long-term holders rather than active traders. Portfolio diversification and investing for future purchases such as home buying ranked among top motivations.

In Australia, cryptocurrency ownership has reached 26% of the population, with an additional 32% open to future investment, according to research by Protocol Theory commissioned by Binance Australia. Australian trading activity concentrated around established assets, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana dominating December volumes.

The platform maintains between 35% and 45% of global Bitcoin and Ethereum trading volume and safeguards over $170 billion in customer assets based on public Proof of Reserves data, according to Kaiko.

Poblocki said 2026 will be shaped by deeper integration between digital assets and traditional finance, supported by clearer regulation including Australia's proposed Digital Assets Bill and implementation of the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework.

Binance has also expanded beyond purely digital assets, launching perpetual futures contracts linked to gold and silver this week. The products, listed as XAUUSDT and XAGUSDT and settled in Tether's USDT stablecoin, allow traders to gain exposure to precious metals pricing without holding physical assets. The contracts operate under Financial Services Regulatory Authority regulation in Abu Dhabi through the ADGM framework.