Crypto.com vs. Binance.US – Forbes Advisor

You need to do your homework before investing in cryptocurrency.

There’s more to it than simply choosing which cryptos you want to own. First of all, you need to decide how you want to buy and sell cryptocurrency.

To get started, learn about crypto exchanges—there are about 500 of them to choose from. Let’s take a closer look at two of the most popular exchanges, Crypto.com and Binance.US.

Crypto.com vs. Binance.US: Similarities

Crypto.com and Binance.US both let you trade an extensive roster of cryptocurrencies. They also offer a wide range of other services, such as crypto wallets and crypto staking for Cardano (ADA) and Ethereum (ETH).

Both exchanges offer cryptocurrency storage options.

Binance.US users can select the Binance Chain Wallet, which supports the storage of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Binance Coin (BNB), to name a few. Users on Crypto.com can hold their crypto in the Crypto.com DeFi wallet.

Both exchanges offer margin trading as an advanced feature. Margin trading allows users to borrow money to trade bigger amounts.

Security is a major issue in crypto, and both companies have experienced hacks.

In January 2022, nearly 500 than Crypto.com accounts experienced unauthorized withdrawals. All in all, total losses were around $34 million, including more than $15 million in ETH, $19 million in BTC and about $66,200 in other cryptocurrencies.

While the Binance.US exchange itself hasn’t been hacked, thieves stole $40 million worth of BTC from its parent company in 2019.

Crypto.com vs. Binance.US: Differences

Binance.US is best-suited for more experienced crypto investors who trade often and can rack up savings thanks to the exchange’s tiered fee structure.

For users who trade Tier 1 crypto pairs like ETH/USD or SOL/USD, the maker and taker fees are 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, for trades of less than $10,000 per month. In addition, the company offers free BTC trading for a limited set of pairs.

Crypto exchanges are not known for their excellent customer service. But Binance.US ranks particularly poorly on this front compared to Crypto.com. Nearly 90% of Binance.US reviews on Trustpilot give the exchange a “bad” rating, while only 64% of reviews give Crypto.com a bad rating.

Despite it’s less-than-outstanding customer service reputation, Crypto.com is more beginner friendly than Binance.US.

“Crypto.com is the go-to option for beginners and people new to crypto,” says Ivaylo Yovkov, chief operating officer with Rewards Bunny.

The Crypto.com platform is also more widely available in the U.S., although it also charges higher fees, on average, than Binance.US.

“Crypto.com’s mainstream global sports sponsorships and TV advertising campaigns make their platform seem familiar and trusted,” says Joseph Poulose, chief information officer with InterMedia Group of Companies.

Who Should Pick Crypto.com?

The Crypto.com platform is one of the most popular crypto exchanges around, with 50 million users across 90 countries. Founded in 2016, it’s available everywhere in the U.S. except the state of New York.

Although it boasts more than 250 tradable coins, not all of them can be traded in the U.S. That said, Crypto.com offers a range of features, including a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and a DeFi wallet.

Crypto.com also has a prepaid Visa rewards card that makes it easy to add funds to your account with bank transfers, credit or debit card payments, and cryptocurrency. Users of the exchange’s native cryptocurrency, Crypto.com Coin (CRO), stand to benefit the most from the card.

Another feature of Crypto.com is that users can earn interest on cryptocurrencies they can loan to other users depending on their loaning and how much CRO they hold in their account.

Crypto.com Pros

• Trading fee discounts for users who hold CRO
• Cashback rewards Crypto.com Visa card
• Beginner-friendly app

Crypto.com Cons

• You pay more in fees if you trade less
• It’s not available in all 50 states
• Fees and discounts can be hard to understand for beginners
• Platform has been hacked

Who Should Pick Binance.US?

One of the main appeals of Binance.US is low fees. In addition to limited free Bitcoin trading in the U.S., the exchange offers some of the lowest fees in the industry. The more you trade, the lower your fees, and you can get a 25% discount on advanced trading fees if you pay with Binance’s native token, BNB.

Note that BNB is one of the top 10 altcoins. The coin is a utility token mostly used to pay trading fees and get discounted trades, but its $47 billion market cap is a testament to Binance’s popularity.

“Crypto.com and Binance are two companies that are essentially competing for the same pool of retail users and a differentiated pool of more sophisticated users and businesses,” says Anderson Mccutcheon, CEO of Chains.com.

U.S. residents, except those living in Hawaii, New York, Texas and Vermont, have to use the pared-down spin-off platform that complies with U.S. financial regulations.

Like Crypto.com, Binance.US offers over-the-the-counter (OTC) trading where exchanges are done directly between a buyer and seller and large trades can happen without moving the wider market.

Binance.US Pros

• Fees are low compared with major competitors.
• Supports more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
• It offers several versions tailored to various crypto skills and comfort levels.

Binance.US Cons

• Not available in several states in the U.S.
• Parent company Binance has been hacked
• Company is facing regulatory issues
• Has a reputation for poor customer service