Binance was established in 2017 and has quickly grown to become the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange based on trading volume. In its early days, Binance was not particularly suited to Australians, with USD being the base currency, but now they have a Binance Australia exchange. How has this changed things, and is it a good choice for you? I investigate this and more in my review, to help you decide if it is the right crypto platform for you.
What is Binance Australia?
Binance Australia is a jam-packed cryptocurrency exchange that offers over 600+ different cryptocurrencies, low trading fees (max 0.1%), and a ton of additional features that make it a playground for serious crypto traders. These include Spot trading, Margin trading, a P2P (peer to peer) exchange, and Futures trading. The markets are extremely liquid, and you can set limit orders and stop-limits which is very useful for large-volume traders. Here are some of the best points that stood out for me, when reviewing Binance Australia.
- World's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume
- Over 600+ cryptocurrencies supported
- Extremely low trading fees (0.1%) that can be discounted if paid using Binance Coin (BNB)
- Up to $100 cashback vouchers if you sign up with my link
- Basic, Classic and Advanced interfaces to suit different investors
- Mobile app available to trade on the go
- Earn interest on over 70+ coins by staking them on the exchange
- Buy, sell and mint NFTs in the marketplace
- Margin trading with up to 10x leverage available
- Futures trading
Features
High liquidity and range of coins
One of the biggest drawcards of Binance Australia is that they are such a large company with huge daily trading volume. This means that liquidity is high, so when you want to buy or sell, you will be able to fill your order quickly. I always find that when I trade on Binance, orders are executed much quicker than many other trading platforms. I am also continually impressed at the variety of 600+ different cryptocurrencies available to trade.
There have been countless times where I hear about a new coin with a lot of potential, and it's not available on other crypto exchanges. Then I check Binance, and the coin is available to purchase there. Nowadays I use Binance immediately to look for more obscure coins, as there is a good chance it is listed here before other platforms.
Switch to Basic interface for beginners
Although Binance is built with serious traders in mind, they do also cater to beginners. There is a 'Convert' feature which enables the inexperienced to simply choose what currency (fiat or digital) they want to swap from and swap to. For example, in the screenshot below, you can see how easy it is to swap AUD for BTC, which essentially means you are buying Bitcoin with your Australian dollars. I tried the Convert feature out, and can report that it is extremely simple and quick to use. I also found that there is no fee to use this, but Binance makes money from the spread.
NFT Marketplace
Unless you have been living under a digital rock, you have definitely heard of NFTs. Many people are still skeptical about these pieces of digital artwork, while others have jumped headfirst into it and are making thousands of dollars trading them. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, there's no denying NFTs are not going away any time soon. If you want to investigate NFTs, you can buy, sell and even mint your own NFTs on Binance Australia's marketplace.
Advanced trading
For those that are serious cryptos traders, or others that have a background in finance, trading stocks and forex, there are many familiar trading options that you can access on Binance Australia. Margin trading with up to 10x leverage is supported for a small number of popular trading pairs with the option of cross margin and isolated margin, depending on your personal preference. Binance Australia also allows users to trade futures, so they can go short on popular coins such as BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, BCH, and others.
Earn passive crypto income
While some crypto investors like to frequently trade their coins to profit from price fluctuations, another group of investors prefer to HODL for the medium to long term and see how large their initial investment grows. For those HODLers, Binance Earn is an excellent way to make the most of your crypto while it sits there. You can stake over 300+ different coins to earn rewards on your crypto, similar to earning interest in a bank. Whichever coin you stake, is what your interest will be paid in. For example, if you stake Binance Coin (BNB), you will receive more BNB as the reward.
I have found that Binance's interest rates are quite competitive, and the APY (Annualised Percentage Yield) increases if you lock your coins for a fixed duration. This is a great way to boost your crypto holdings if you don't intend to sell them any time in the near future.
Fees and Payment Methods
Depositing into Binance Australia is easy and free, with PayID/OSKO.
Trading on Binance only incurs a low fee of 0.1% which is close to the lowest you can find on any trading platform in the world. Not only is their fee already so low, but you also receive a 25% discount if you use their coin (BNB) to pay for the trading fees. This means you are only paying 0.075% per trade! If you are a high volume trader, you also receive further discounts based on the amount you traded in the previous 30-day period.
Withdrawing AUD from Binance Australia to your bank account is straightforward and is free of charge. The minimum withdrawal amount is $50, and the transaction will be instant if your bank supports NPP/PayID, otherwise it can take 1-2 business days. I made a withdrawal using PayID and can confirm that the money was transferred to my bank account in just a few seconds.
Security
Binance Australia is a safe platform for cryptocurrency trading. It is fully licensed in Australia and is registered with AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre). They store the majority of their cryptocurrency offline in cold storage to protect themselves from cybersecurity threats. Despite their tight security protocols, Binance was hacked in 2019 and over $40 million of Bitcoin was stolen. The good news is that Binance totally covered the loss, so none of their users suffered any financial loss. This is an impressive response from Binance, which has worked in their favour, as they are still the largest crypto exchange in the world. Moreover, four months after this breach occurred, Binance received the ISO 27001 certification after passing stringent audits on their information security management. As you can tell, Binance is dedicated to maintaining a secure platform for their users and will go to lengths to ensure this occurs.
Pros and Cons of Binance Australia
Conclusion
Binance Australia is a top choice for those that are interested in frequent trading and advanced features such as margin trading and derivatives. Their low trading fees of 0.1%, discounts for high-volume traders and 600+ coins make it an attractive choice for many. Binance also offers new users up to $100 cashback vouchers if you sign up with this unique link.
If you are still trying to decide on a crypto exchange, you can read my article on the top crypto exchanges for Australians here, or have a look at the brief comparison table below for some key information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Binance is a trusted cryptocurrency exchange that was established in 2017. It is a legitimate platform, fully licensed in Australia and registered with AUSTRAC.
Binance Australia charges zero fees for AUD deposits and withdrawals, and a low trading fee of 0.1% which you can reduce by 25% if you pay using their coin (BNB).
Yes, Binance Australia is a safe trading platform. They have multi-layered security and store the majority of their digital assets offline in cold storage.
Yes, Binance is much cheaper, since it is one of the lowest fee exchanges in the world, and Coinbase is one of the highest. Moreover, you cannot sell your crypto or withdraw AUD on Coinbase, so we do not recommend Coinbase for Aussies.
Related: Swyftx review, Digital Surge review, CoinSpot review