Binance scores 4.1 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives, competitive on security and fiat access, and trailing on trading cost and listing disclosure;Binance scores 4.1 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives, competitive on security and fiat access, and trailing on trading cost and listing disclosure;
Binance Review 2026: 4.1 Out of 5, and Why the Largest Exchange Is No Longer the Default
Binance scores 4.1 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives, competitive on security and fiat access, and trailing on trading cost and listing disclosure; it suits derivatives traders outside the EU and the United States, and it is the wrong pick for fee-sensitive spot traders and for anyone in the EEA.
Key Takeaways
- Binance scores 4.1 out of 5 overall, with a 5.0 on derivatives and a 3.5 on asset coverage, its lowest mark.
- Spot fees are 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker at the Regular tier, or 0.075% when fees are paid in BNB, so $50,000 of monthly taker volume costs $600 a year, or $450 with BNB, against $300 at MEXC's 0.05% standard rate.
- Binance suspended new sign-ups, deposits, new spot orders and Earn products for EU users on 1 July 2026 after withdrawing its Greek MiCA application, and withdrawals stay open.
- The 7,000 BTC stolen in May 2019 was covered by Binance's SAFU fund, and the October 2022 exploit hit the BNB Chain bridge rather than exchange custody.
- US residents cannot use the global platform, and Binance.US has charged 0% maker and 0.02% taker on spot since 22 April 2026.
- Readers who want lower spot fees and faster access to new listings will find them on MEXC; readers who need the deepest derivatives book and the widest fiat rails should stay.
Is Binance Still the Default Exchange in 2026?
Binance is still the largest venue in crypto, but in 2026 it is no longer the default choice everywhere, because EU users lost most services on 1 July, US users are routed to a separate company, and its 0.10% spot rate is now matched or beaten by several rivals at the entry tier.
For years the case for Binance wrote itself.
Deepest order books, the widest product range, and a fee schedule that undercut the incumbents of the time.
Three things changed the arithmetic.
On 24 June 2026 Binance withdrew its licence application under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation in Greece, and from 1 July 2026 it stopped onboarding EU users and switched existing EU accounts to close-only mode with withdrawals open, a sequence set out in our explainer on the July 1 MiCA suspension.
In the United States, the global platform has never been the product on offer, and the US entity cut its own fees to near zero in April 2026.
And the 0.10% entry rate that once looked aggressive now sits in the middle of the field, with MEXC publishing 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot and OKX publishing 0.08% maker at its entry tier.
None of that makes Binance a weak exchange.
It makes Binance an exchange that has to be judged dimension by dimension, which is what the rest of this review does.
How We Scored Binance
This review scores Binance from 0 to 5 on six equally weighted dimensions: fees and costs, asset coverage, derivatives, security and custody, deposits and withdrawals, and customer support.
Every figure comes from Binance's own fee schedule, help centre or terms, from a regulator, or from an established news organisation, and each carries a retrieval date.
Regional availability and regulatory standing are disclosed but never scored, because a platform is either usable where you live or it is not.
MEXC operates a competing exchange, and the full scoring rules, source hierarchy and conflict-of-interest policy are published in our exchange review methodology.
The support score is based on published channels only; our timed-ticket test for this platform is scheduled for the next review cycle.
Binance Scorecard 2026: Six Scores and One Overall Figure
Binance earns 4.1 out of 5 overall, with a 5.0 on derivatives, 4.0 on fees, security, deposits and support, and 3.5 on asset coverage, where its listing pipeline is selective and its listing count is not published.
Dimension | Score (out of 5) | What we measured | Verified against |
Fees and costs | 4 | 0.10% spot maker and taker at the Regular tier, 0.075% paying in BNB, 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on USDT-margined futures | Official fee schedule and futures fee FAQ |
Asset coverage | 3.5 | Dated listing and delisting archives, a named delisting framework, a 14-day delisting notice, no published listing count | Platform announcements and our listing disclosure index |
Derivatives | 5 | USDT-margined, USDC-margined and coin-margined futures, options, portfolio margin, TradFi perpetuals, published margin tiers | Help centre product rules |
Security and custody | 4 | Two public incidents in 2019 and 2022 with users made whole, an emergency fund, a proof-of-reserves page | Mainstream media reporting and platform pages |
Deposits and withdrawals | 4 | Card, bank and peer-to-peer on-ramps by country, per-network withdrawal fees, EEA rails suspended since July 2026, limits shown inside the account | Help centre and platform notices |
Customer support | 4 | Chat support advertised around the clock, ticket system, self-service centre; timed ticket test not yet run | Platform support pages |
Overall | 4.1 | Average of the six dimensions | Methodology page |
Data verified as of 17 September 2026 against each platform's official fee schedule, help centre and terms; incident history from regulator filings and mainstream media reporting.
What Does Binance Charge in Fees?
Fees and costs: 4.0 out of 5.
Binance charges 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot at the Regular tier, which drops to 0.075% when fees are paid in BNB, and 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on USDT-margined futures, which drops a further 10% with BNB held in the futures account.
Those are the published Regular User rates on Binance's fee schedule, retrieved on 17 September 2026, for accounts trading under 1,000,000 USD in 30-day spot volume.
USDC spot pairs are priced slightly lower at 0.095% taker, or 0.07125% with BNB.
The first VIP tier requires at least 1,000,000 USD of 30-day volume and at least 5 BNB, and it only moves the maker rate, to 0.090%.
The futures rates come from Binance's futures fee FAQ, last updated on 1 May 2026, which prices a Regular User at 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on both USDT-margined and coin-margined contracts.
The BNB discount is real, but it is a discount you hold, because the tokens have to sit in the relevant wallet and their price moves while they do.
Our methodology prices the same monthly volume on every platform, so the table below runs three volumes as spot taker orders for a full year.
Monthly spot taker volume | Binance at 0.10% | Binance paying fees in BNB at 0.075% | MEXC at 0.05% | MEXC with MX deduction at 0.04% |
$1,000 | $12 a year | $9 a year | $6 a year | $4.80 a year |
$50,000 | $600 a year | $450 a year | $300 a year | $240 a year |
$500,000 | $6,000 a year | $4,500 a year | $3,000 a year | $2,400 a year |
Annual cost at each platform's published Regular or standard tier, verified as of 17 September 2026; the $500,000 line stays inside Binance's Regular tier because VIP 1 requires 1,000,000 USD of 30-day volume.
The gap is $300 a year at $50,000 a month before any discount, and $150 a year after the BNB discount.
On futures the picture is closer, and the routing matters more than the headline.
A trader moving $50,000 a month as a futures taker pays $300 a year at Binance's 0.05%, or $270 with BNB, against $120 at MEXC's 0.02% taker rate on BTCUSDT perpetuals.
The MEXC futures figure applies to orders placed through the web and app, because API-routed futures orders on MEXC are priced at 0.06% maker and 0.08% taker, which is higher than Binance's Regular rate.
Anyone who trades through bots or scripts should price that line, not the headline.
How Broad Is Binance's Asset Coverage?
Asset coverage: 3.5 out of 5.
Binance runs dated public archives for both listings and removals and publishes a named delisting framework, but it does not publish how many tokens it adds each month, and its pipeline is selective by design, so traders hunting early listings will find many small-cap tokens elsewhere first.
We do not score platforms on their self-reported coin totals, because exchanges count listed assets differently and the totals are not comparable.
What can be checked is the paperwork.
In our listing disclosure index, verified on 28 August 2026, Binance cleared the two archive tests and the named-framework test.
Its delisting notices ran fourteen days ahead of the trading halt in the June and August 2026 batches we checked, the longest interval among the eight platforms in that index.
Fourteen days is generous for anyone holding a position they stopped watching.
The column Binance leaves empty is the periodic listing count, which is the only figure that tells you whether a pipeline is running rather than how large the back catalogue is.
Binance also runs a pre-listing venue, Binance Alpha, where selected tokens trade on-chain before a spot listing, and it has its own help-centre section.
That product is the honest answer to the listing-speed question for Binance users, and it is also an acknowledgement that the main spot market lists late by choice.
How Strong Is Binance for Derivatives?
Derivatives: 5.0 out of 5.
Binance offers USDT-margined and USDC-margined perpetual and delivery futures, coin-margined contracts, options, portfolio margin, a Portfolio Margin Pro programme, TradFi perpetual contracts and event contracts, each with its own published rule set in the help centre, which is the broadest documented derivatives surface in this comparison.
The product list above is taken directly from the futures and options sections of Binance's help centre as of 17 September 2026.
Leverage and margin tiers are published per contract on Binance's trading parameters page, which is why we do not quote a single maximum leverage figure here.
A leverage number without the position band it applies to is marketing, not a specification.
Two mechanics matter for EU readers who still hold positions.
Binance operates a credits mode for USDT-margined contracts, documented under Binance Futures Credits in the help centre, and EU accounts have been in close-only mode since 1 July 2026.
Pricing is where the derivatives story is not unanimous.
At 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker, Binance ties OKX at the entry tier and beats Bybit's 0.055% taker, while MEXC's web and app rate on BTCUSDT perpetuals is lower at 0.02% taker.
Depth is Binance's real advantage on this dimension, and depth is something a fee table cannot show.
Is Binance Safe? Security, Custody and Incident History
Security and custody: 4.0 out of 5.
Binance has two publicly reported security incidents, a 7,000 BTC hot-wallet theft in May 2019 that was covered in full by its emergency fund, and an October 2022 exploit of the BNB Chain cross-chain bridge that did not touch exchange custody, and it publishes a proof-of-reserves page, which together place it in the competitive band rather than the leading one.
The timeline below is built from mainstream reporting, with the resolution stated alongside each event.
On 7 May 2019 attackers withdrew 7,000 BTC, then worth about $41 million and roughly 2% of Binance's bitcoin holdings, using phishing and other techniques, and Binance said users would not be affected because its secure asset fund would cover the loss.
That fund, the Secure Asset Fund for Users, is the emergency reserve Binance set up in 2018, and 2019 was the first time it was drawn on publicly.
On 6 October 2022 an exploit of the BSC Token Hub bridge minted 2 million BNB, then worth about $570 million, and BNB Chain validators paused the chain while the bridge was patched, with roughly $100 million to $110 million estimated to have left the chain before the halt.
That event was a blockchain incident rather than an exchange custody breach, which is why exchange balances were not affected, and it belongs in a Binance review because Binance built the chain and told users their funds were safe.
On 21 November 2023 Binance agreed to a settlement of about $4.3 billion with the US Department of Justice, FinCEN, OFAC and the CFTC, including a five-year FinCEN monitorship, and its founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty and stepped down as chief executive, according to the US Treasury press release of that date.
That settlement is a regulatory event, so under our rules it is disclosed here and in the availability section, and it does not move the security score.
Binance links a proof-of-reserves page from every page of its site, and we could not retrieve the methodology text behind it at the time of checking, so the score credits the disclosure and not a verified attestation.
For the full incident record across the industry, our crypto exchange hacks database lists 81 breaches with their reimbursement outcomes.
How Easy Are Deposits and Withdrawals on Binance?
Deposits and withdrawals: 4.0 out of 5.
Binance supports card, bank transfer and peer-to-peer on-ramps with availability set by country, charges crypto withdrawal fees per network, and shows per-tier withdrawal limits inside the account rather than on a public schedule, and since 1 July 2026 its EEA fiat and deposit rails are suspended, which is the limitation that keeps this score at 4.0.
The fee overview page carries separate tabs for deposit and withdrawal costs, buy and sell, peer-to-peer and fiat, so the numbers exist, but they are priced per asset and per network rather than as a single figure.
Peer-to-peer trading sits behind identity verification, and the help centre groups fiat and peer-to-peer purchases together because the available methods change by jurisdiction.
Withdrawal limits are the weak point of the disclosure.
Binance displays them under the account's security settings once you are logged in, and our methodology reads limits against the verification tier they attach to, so a limit we cannot read publicly is a limit we cannot score above the competitive band.
EU readers should treat the rails as closed for new activity, because deposits and new orders stopped on 1 July 2026 while withdrawals continue.
What Is Binance Customer Support Like?
Customer support: 4.0 out of 5.
Binance advertises chat support around the clock from every page of its site, backs it with a ticket system and a self-service support centre, and we have capped the score at 4.0 until our own timed ticket test runs, because a published channel is a promise and a timed reply is a measurement.
Our rule is one non-urgent ticket per platform per review cycle, timed from submission to a reply that answers the question, and Binance's test is scheduled for the next cycle.
What can be said today is that the channels exist and are easy to find.
What cannot be said yet is how long a substantive answer takes for an account holder with an ordinary question.
Binance vs Binance.US: Which One Can You Actually Use?
US residents cannot open an account on the global Binance platform, and the US product is a separate company, Binance.US, which cut its spot fees to 0% maker and 0.02% taker on all pairs on 22 April 2026 with no volume tiers, so a US searcher reading a Binance review is usually shopping for a different exchange than the one scored above.
The two platforms share a brand and little else that matters to a fee table.
Binance.US runs a flat schedule, while the global platform runs a nine-level VIP ladder.
Binance.US is a spot venue for US customers, while the global platform's strongest dimension is derivatives.
This review scores the global platform, and US readers should compare Binance.US against other platforms licensed in the United States, such as Coinbase and Kraken, rather than against the figures on this page.
Where Is Binance Available, and Where Is MEXC?
Binance's global platform is closed to new EU users and to US residents, and MEXC is unavailable to residents of the United States and the United Kingdom and holds no MiCA authorisation in the EU, so readers in those markets should choose a locally authorised platform whichever review they are reading.
Binance in the European Union
Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece on 24 June 2026 and suspended new registrations, deposits, new spot orders and Earn products for EU users from 1 July 2026, with withdrawals remaining open and no announced end date.
As of 18 August 2026 Binance did not appear on ESMA's register of authorised crypto-asset service providers.
Binance in the United States
US residents are served by Binance.US, described in the section above, and the 2023 settlement with US authorities included Binance's commitment to exit the US market as the global entity.
MEXC
MEXC does not serve residents of the United States or the United Kingdom, and readers there should use a platform licensed by their local regulator.
As of 17 September 2026, MEXC is not authorised under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and appears on ESMA's register of non-compliant entities following a September 2025 decision by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets; readers in the EU and EEA should treat a MiCA-authorised platform as the appropriate option.
Binance Benefits and Limitations
Benefits
- The broadest documented derivatives range in this comparison, with USDT-margined, USDC-margined and coin-margined futures, options, portfolio margin and TradFi perpetuals each carrying published rules.
- Futures entry pricing of 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker that ties the best rate among the large offshore platforms and improves a further 10% with BNB.
- A fourteen-day delisting notice period in the 2026 batches we checked, the longest in our eight-platform index.
- Two public incidents, in 2019 and 2022, that ended with users made whole, and an emergency fund that has existed since 2018.
Limitations
- Spot pricing of 0.10% per side at the entry tier, double MEXC's 0.05% taker rate and with no maker rebate below VIP 1.
- No published monthly listing count, so the size of the live listing pipeline cannot be checked from outside.
- Most services suspended for EU users since 1 July 2026, with no announced date for a return under a MiCA licence.
- Withdrawal limits shown only inside the account, which makes the deposits and withdrawals dimension harder to verify than on platforms that publish a tier table.
Who Binance Is For, and Who Should Look Elsewhere
Binance is the right pick for derivatives traders outside the EU and the US who need depth across many contract types, and it is the wrong pick for fee-sensitive spot traders, for new-listing hunters, and for anyone in the EEA, who should choose a MiCA-authorised platform.
Binance is the right pick if:
- You trade futures or options in size and need the widest documented product range with published margin tiers.
- You value a long delisting notice and would rather hold a selective catalogue than a broad one.
- You live in a market where the global platform accepts new customers and you want fiat on-ramps by card, bank and peer-to-peer.
Look elsewhere if:
- You trade spot as a taker and $300 a year on $50,000 of monthly volume is a number you notice.
- You hunt new listings and want a venue that publishes how many tokens it adds each month.
- You live in the EEA, where Binance's services are suspended and a MiCA-authorised platform is the appropriate option.
Readers in the second group who are outside the United States, the United Kingdom and the EEA can compare MEXC's published rates in the section below, and our comparison of Binance alternatives covers eight platforms on the same six dimensions.
The MEXC View
MEXC operates a competing exchange, and this section is where our own position is stated rather than implied.
Binance beats MEXC on derivatives breadth and on order-book depth, and a trader who needs options, coin-margined contracts and portfolio margin in one account has a better answer at Binance than at MEXC.
Where MEXC is the answer is the spot fee line and the listing pipeline.
A spot taker moving $50,000 a month pays $600 a year at Binance's 0.10%, $450 after the BNB discount, and $300 at MEXC's 0.05% standard taker rate, or $240 with MX deduction at 0.04%, with no volume minimum attached to either MEXC figure.
A spot maker pays $600 a year at Binance and $0 at MEXC, because MEXC's published maker rate is zero.
Two boundaries keep that claim honest.
The zero applies to spot maker orders and to web and app futures orders, not to API-routed futures, which MEXC prices at 0.06% maker and 0.08% taker.
And MEXC does not serve the United States, the United Kingdom, or EU readers under MiCA, so the saving is available to readers outside those markets.
On listings, MEXC was the only platform in our eight-exchange index publishing a monthly count, reporting 135 new tokens in March 2026 with 65% platform-first by its own figures, and Binance publishes no comparable number.
Binance is still the deepest venue in crypto, and 2026 is the first year that depth stops being the whole answer.
The head-to-head numbers on all six dimensions are in our MEXC vs Binance comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Binance safe to use in 2026?
Binance has two publicly reported incidents, in 2019 and 2022, and users were made whole in both cases.
It scores 4.0 out of 5 on security and custody in our review, with its proof-of-reserves methodology not retrievable at the time of checking.
Is Binance legit and regulated?
Binance holds authorisations in several jurisdictions, including entities regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market, but as of 18 August 2026 it holds no MiCA authorisation in the EU.
It settled with US authorities for about $4.3 billion in November 2023.
Can I use Binance in the EU in 2026?
Not for new activity, because Binance suspended new sign-ups, deposits, new spot orders and Earn products for EU users on 1 July 2026.
Existing EU users can still withdraw, and EEA readers should use a MiCA-authorised platform.
What is the difference between Binance and Binance.US?
Binance.US is a separate company serving US residents, charging 0% maker and 0.02% taker on spot since April 2026.
The global platform charges 0.10% per side on spot and is not available to US residents.
What are Binance's trading fees?
Spot is 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker at the Regular tier, or 0.075% paying in BNB.
USDT-margined futures are 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker, with a further 10% off when BNB is held in the futures account.
Does Binance require KYC?
Yes, identity verification is required to trade, and peer-to-peer purchases also sit behind verification.
Withdrawal limits by tier are shown inside the account rather than on a public schedule.
How does Binance compare with MEXC?
Binance leads on derivatives breadth and depth, while MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot and a monthly listing count.
Readers outside the US, UK and EEA can see the full MEXC vs Binance comparison.
Risk and Compliance Notice
Trading cryptocurrencies involves substantial risk, and derivatives and leveraged products can produce losses greater than the amount deposited.
Nothing on this page is financial, investment, legal or tax advice.
MEXC operates a competing exchange; no platform can buy a score or a ranking position on MEXC Learn.
MEXC is not available in every jurisdiction and is not authorised under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation; readers in the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United States and the United Kingdom should use a platform authorised by their local regulator.
Always confirm current terms on a platform's own official pages before opening an account or placing a trade.
Market Opportunity
4 Price(4)
$0.022111
$0.022111$0.022111
USD
4 (4) Live Price Chart
This article is provided by Sarah Chen for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets involve significant risk. Please conduct independent research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of MEXC or its affiliates.
Popular Articles
View More
OKX Review 2026: 4.1 Out of 5, the Most Complete Offshore Exchange, and What It Costs at the Regular Tier
OKX scores 4.1 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives with a unified account, portfolio margin and an options market, competitive on fees and security
Coinbase Review 2026: 3.4 Out of 5, Three Fee Paths Under One Brand, and What a Public Company Actually Buys You
Coinbase scores 3.4 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on deposits and withdrawals and competitive on security and disclosure, and trailing on fees, where a
BingX Review 2026: 3.5 Out of 5, One 2024 Breach Handled in the Open, and What a Top-Tier Copy Lead Actually Costs
BingX scores 3.5 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives and copy-trading tooling and trailing on asset coverage and on the cost of following a top-tier
Gate.io Review 2026: 4.0 Out of 5, the Widest Exit Window in Crypto, and a 0% Maker Rate That Starts at VIP 11
Gate, the exchange formerly branded Gate.io, scores 4.0 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on asset coverage and reserve disclosure and trailing on entry-tier fees
Hot Crypto Updates
View More
Dangote Refinery IPO Goes On-Chain: How Solana and Base Opened Africa's Biggest Listing
Key takeaways Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE opened its initial public offering on September 14, 2026 at ₦525 per share, selling 4.1 billion new ordinary shares for roughly 3.3% of
Avalanche to Power UAE PASS Digital Vault for 12.5 Million Users, With Helicon Landing September 22
Key takeaways TDRA, the UAE's federal digital government authority, is upgrading the blockchain layer supporting the UAE PASS Digital Vault to Avalanche, the certified document store inside the
CLARITY Act Fails Senate Cloture Vote: What Happens to US Crypto Market Structure Now
Key takeaways The Senate failed to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on September 15, 2026, with the tally at 49 to 50 and one senator not
How the US-Iran War After Months of Fighting Is Reshaping Regional Economies, Energy and Crypto Markets
The most important economic story of the US-Iran war is no longer what happened when the fighting began. It is what has happened since. Months into the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains severely
Trending News
View More
Gold Price Falls Toward $4,300 as Rate-Hike Expectations Return
Gold has fallen toward $4,300 per ounce as rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and renewed Fed rate-hike expectations pressure prices.
Outcome.xyz HIP-4 Prediction Market Tops $11 Million in Its First Week
Outcome.xyz reportedly exceeded $11 million in HIP-4 trading volume during its first week. Here is what drove the growth and what traders should watch next.
Related Articles
View More
Bitget Review 2026: 3.9 Out of 5, the Deepest Copy-Trading Shelf, and a Japan Exit With Three Dates You Need
Bitget scores 3.9 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives and on security disclosure with a monthly proof of reserves and a protection fund of $300 million
OKX Review 2026: 4.1 Out of 5, the Most Complete Offshore Exchange, and What It Costs at the Regular Tier
OKX scores 4.1 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on derivatives with a unified account, portfolio margin and an options market, competitive on fees and security dis
Gemini Crypto Exchange Review 2026: 2.8 Out of 5, a 1.200% Entry Taker Fee, and the Three Regions It Closed in April
Gemini, the New York crypto exchange rather than the AI model, scores 2.8 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, competitive on security and custody and on US dollar rails, and
Crypto.com Review 2026: 3.3 Out of 5, Two Prices Under One Brand, and What the App Quote Hides From the Exchange Fee
Crypto.com scores 3.3 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, leading on deposits and withdrawals and competitive on security, and trailing on fees, derivatives disclosure and as
