Binance

Binance is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange in terms of the trading volume between 2017 and 2019. Initially launched in China, the company moved its headquarters in Malta. It is believed that the move was in order to avoid severe regulatory hurdles.

The exchange was launched back in 2017 by Yi He and Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The latter is also the CEO of the company and one of the most prominent people within the entire cryptocurrency community.

Binance has managed to develop into something a lot more than merely a trading platform. In fact, it provides an entire ecosystem where users can trade, invest, and even earn interest on cryptocurrency they stake.

One of the more exciting developments for Binance was the Launchpad, which gave birth to a new phenomenon in 2019 called Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs). Unlike traditional Initial Coin Offerings, IEOs saw the cryptocurrency exchange do a serious due-diligence prior to listing the coins for trading on their very own platforms. Almost all of the major exchanges followed in the footsteps of Binance.

Earlier in 2019, Binance also introduced a dedicated Bitcoin futures platform, in addition to margin trading. The volume quickly picked up and surpassed that of the main spot exchange.

Moreover, the exchange launched its native cryptocurrency called Binance Coin (BNB). The exchange is doing a lot to ensure its utility. Traders can use it to enjoy reduced fees; it’s also the only cryptocurrency accepted for IEO investments on Binance Launchpad, and so forth.

Binance is also considered to be one of the safest exchanges out there. It has introduced the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU). The exchange allocates 10% of all of the trading fees to that fund, to provide its clients with protection in extreme cases. The funds there are stored in a separate cold wallet.