Binance

The name Binance is made of two root words, Bitcoin and finance. Binance is the largest  cryptocurrency exchange. It gets the most trading volume of cryptocurrencies per day. It was created by Changpeng Zhao in Hong Kong, a prolific developer who created high frequency trading software previously. Binance was created in 2017 and was registered in the Cayman Islands. This leading cryptocurrency exchange focuses on altcoin exchange, in addition to bitcoin exchange, as well. It allows trading in more than 500 altcoin cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin and more.

Binance also has its own coin, known as the Binance Coin. Previously, its headquarters were in China, but due to China;s strict regulations on crypto business exchanges, it has now moved to Malta, EU. It is known for its crypto-to-crypto trading. The exchange conducted on binance has the lowest translation fee for cryptocurrencies. It has a high liquidity factor and regularly offers discounts to the clients who pay in the native Binanace Coin cryptocurrency tokens.

Binance has faced several regulatory restrictions in several countries. In August 2021, Binance announced that it is no longer conducting or allowing any trades on its platform.

Why is Binance Banned in the UKBinance

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced to block Binance recently. This means that the Brits can no longer carry out regulated activities and transactions on Binance. It has boosted rival companies such as CoinBase and Kraken to establish a stronghold in Britain. This happened in response to Binance’s withdrawal of application to register as a licensed asset transaction firm in May. The withdrawal was due to Binance noty meeting the anti-money laundering requirements. However, Binance is technically allowed to offer crypto trading and exchange to dwellers of the UK, the company is asked to add a notice on their website that says it is no longer allowed to operate in the country.

Binance has suffered heavy losses after getting the restrictions imposed on its work. The clients are unable to make card withdrawals due to a system fault with the UK’s Faster Payments system. This was a temporary situation but it caused heavy setbacks to Binance. Britain’s top bank Barclays has banned the customers from sending in payments to Binance. Binance is facing a troublesome situation because of reluctance and denial of different businesses to deal with it.

Binance’s bane has, as expected, turned out to be a boon for its competitors and rival companies. Some of these companies have seen their numbers double soon after the FCA announced its restrictions on Binance. Julian Sawyer, CEO of the Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitstamp told a leading business newspaper that, “We’re seeing an increase in customers in the U.K. coming to us, with no changes in marketing. I think it’s a flight to safety. If you’re told that the bank you’re with is less secure, you move the money out of the bank and move it into the next bank which is super secure.”

Bitstamp has seen its customers grow by more than 138% since FDA’s ban announcement. Binance has yet to give a statement regarding the whole restriction and business loss.

The US based crypto exchange Kraken comments that,  “The percentage share of signups from the U.K. has approximately doubled in the last couple of weeks, compared to signups in Kraken’s other leading markets.”

Another crypto exchange company, Gemini has also seen a huge increase in its users over the course of the past few months. Founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini is one of the few companies which fulfills the requirements of the FCA, and is registered in the UK for cryptocurrency exchange. Gemini’s head for the UK, Blair Halliday, says that “We have seen tremendous user growth as consumers look towards approved firms when entering the market. We expect to see exchanges and custodians registered with the FCA continue to gain market share due to the value placed on the approval process.”

Binance’s woes have noty beel limited to the UK alone. Binance announced that they had to terminate their euro bank deposits through the Single Euro Payments scheme because of the events that went beyond their control. Regulating authorities in Canada, Thailand, and Japan have also issued warnings to the company about operating without authorization. In a blog post, Binance’s CEO Zhao says that, “Compliance is a journey – especially in new sectors like crypto…. Still has a lot of room to grow.” In a letter to the world, Zhao says that, “Our vision is to increase freedom and inclusion for a better society.

We firmly believe that our industry will benefit people around the world, through the creation of inclusive financial opportunities and freedom of money. That’s why, in our first year as a company, we set up the industry’s first charity foundation Binance Charity, which has raised $15 million USD to over 20 projects for education, sustainability, and other causes. But this vision won’t be possible without the support and guidance of regulators and policymakers who understand that innovation has the most long-term sustainable impact when tempered with frameworks to protect all participants.”

Binance has vowed to win over the regulatory bodies that restricted the company. Currently, the teams at Binance are working diligently on the plans to revive their UK arm in six to eighteen months.They are doing this by hiring a number of ex-employees of the UK’s FCA in order to understand how things work and how Binance can be made compatible to the regulations in the UK.

What are some Alternatives to BinanceBinance

While Binance works to revive its business, here are some alternate platforms that one can use for their everyday cryptocurrency transactions. Here is a comprehensive list of the platforms that offer secure cryptocurrency exchange.

CoinbaseCoinbase, Binance

Coinbase is a wallet for digital currency. It allows transactions for all kinds of digital currencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin. It has a user-friendly interface, and it is easier to use as compared to the other crypto exchanges. Their UI is one of the best, and they pay small bonuses when a user tries to learn about new coins on the platform. The fee of coinbase is higher than that of other such platforms. Other platforms offer free trading, which means that coinbase’s fee may feel extra to some users. New investors who want to stake small amounts find the fee exuberant, which stops them from using this platform.

UpholdUPHOLD

Uphold provides its financial services in more than 200 countries, and it supports more than 30 crypto and FIAT currencies. One Uphold client says that, “I love that I can find my investments with ACH Debit transactions, meaning that you can charge your cards directly for immediate transactions.” Uphold’s fee is negligible. You are able to spend all kinds of currencies in your wallet. Their wallet earns a decent interest on your savings. Uphold is one of the favorite crypto exchange services because of minimal fees, faster operatives, and easy to use navigation system.

PoloniexPoloniex

Poloniex is one of the leading crypto exchange platforms that presents a diverse range of digital assets to its users. This exchange service is great for huge deposits because Poloniex; distribution channels are rock solid with ample space for good returns. Poloniex offers early investment of new currencies, which is  a great way to reap off benefits and profits as the currency gains popularity in the common market. Poloniex is also very careful about weeding out dubious coins. One of the biggest drawbacks of Poloniex is that it doesn’t have any communication channels that the users can reach out to in case of questions and queries.

LocalBitcoinsLocalBitcoins

LocalBitcoins is a peer to peer bitcoin trading website. It changed the way bitcoin has been handled. It offers great security for both personal and business accounts. Also it gives immense insight and knowledge about the world of digital crypto currencies. Talking about the drawbacks, one of the clients says that, “the price of bitcoin without a dollar reference appears in the local currency. This makes it a bit complex for countries that suffer a lot from local currency devaluation, this is somewhat confusing because in some cases the sum of money is very high and can be confusing.”

HitBTCHitBTC, Binance

HitBTC is one of the most advanced crypto exchanges with grounded markets for trading all kinds of digital currency including, but not limited to, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Dogecoin, and USDT. It is an established platform with its security as the number feature which sets it apart from the rest. It offers two step authentication to its users, which keeps the ecosystem of the platform safe. HitBTC handles large volumes of traffic with reliability, which makes it an easy to trust crypto exchange. The only drawback that this platform has is ist extremely slow identification and verification process.

KucoinKucoin

Investopedia says that, “Kucoin aims at providing users digital asset transaction and exchange services which are even more safe and convenient, integrating premium assets worldwide, and constructing state of the art transaction platforms.” Kucoin has a great market for lower market cap coins. It has a high potential for big gains when it comes to niche coins. Its charges are minimal as compared to some other platforms who charge exuberant amounts from their users. It is an easy to navigate platform after its user interface went through a major overhaul. One of the annoying aspects of Kucoin is the unnecessary emails that they send, since it floods the inbox.

NiceHashNiceHash

NiceHash runs on the concept of sharing and boosting the economy by being the computing connection between the buyers and sellers all over the world. One of the Nice Hash users praises it as, “The most interesting and practical of NiceHash is that its platform allows you to interact in two ways; the first being a buyer, you can request the mining services of other platforms or algorithms offered by different vendors, which makes a significant savings to the buyer, since it does not require capital investment in mining hardware. You simply rent the “hashing” computing power of your online platform.”

CEX.IOCEX.IO

This platform offers trading via mobile app, REST API, website, and websocket. It provides easy access to high liquidity order books for top currencies in the market. It has an easy to use interface. The customer support and other trading tools are very fast. Buying and depositing crypto is a breeze with CEX.IO. It is a perfect platform for new users. This platform doesn’t offer niche tickets and coins which can be a cause for the users to jump to other crypto exchanges. Digital coins such as XDC, CasinoCoin, TelCoin, and VeChain can boost the traffic on CEX.IO.

BitfinexBitfinex

Bitfinex is a versatile platform that offers the most liquid exchange in the world. The coins it allows are:

It has top-notch security with a 2 step authentication system. Also it doesn’t allow money withdrawal unless you follow some very strong and strict protocols for withdrawal. It prevents hackers from stealing your money. It is an easy to use system which looks and feels incredibly professional.

KrakenKraken

Kraken is the largest and most famous Bitcoin exchange in euro volume and liquidity. It also trades in CAD, USD, and BPS. There is plenty of volume in Kraken to execute large orders in bulk. The reliability of this platform is 100% with the renovations they have been doing since 2018. This has increased the confidence of users. Also it has an easy to use interface which allows the users to navigate without any hassle.

Which is the most reliable crypto exchange medium in your opinion? Let us know in the comment section below.