Launched in 2017, Binance quickly grew to become the largest cryptocurrency exchange on the internet. The service processes millions of orders per second.
There are a lot of crypto exchanges available online, however Binance is viewed as the best for many reasons. One reason is the number of currencies that are supported and the infrastructure that is powering the service.
The service has also acquired a great reputation because of how honest and transparent Binance CEO ChangPeng Zhao is with customers. I have seen some examples of this recently. For example, when Binance had to take their service down to perform routine maintenance, their CEO kept everyone up to date. Just a few days later when it was announced that Bitgrail had been hacked, ChangPeng announced that they were in contact with them to assist in the recovery of assets wherever they can.
In this article I would like to give you a brief overview of how you can use Binance to buy and sell cryptocurrencies online.
A Cryptocurrency Exchange for Everyone
I have mainly been using Binance through my phone. In addition to an Android app, there is also a dedicated Windows application. Alternatively, you can login to your account via your browser.
Although I do find it handy to use my phone, you do get to see a lot more information via the dedicated Windows application and via the browser.
Only Cryptocurrencies can be deposited and traded on Binance. Therefore, in order to deposit funds into Binance you need to send coins you have bought or mined and stored in a cryptocurrency wallet or mining pool. Those who have not got any cryptocurrency funds can buy on an exchange such as CoinBase and then deposit on Binance.
The Binance exchange can be viewed on your browser in two different formats: Basic or Advanced. The information is the same in both formats but is presented differently.
Even if have a good understanding of Cryptocurrencies, the first time you view an exchange such as Binance can be daunting. There is a huge amount of information displayed at once and it can be a little overwhelming due to the numbers constantly changing.
If you take a deep breath and examine each section, it is actually not that difficult. On the left hand side of the exchange you will see the latest buying and selling orders for the coin you selected. In the middle is a graph that illustrates this same information. The current price of other coins and trade history can be seen on the right hand side.
You can buy or sell a coin using a limit order, market order, or stop-limit order.
A limit order allows you to set the maximum price you will pay for a coin and the lowest you would sell a coin. Depending on the current price of the coin on the market, your limit order may not be executed for a while.
When you select market order, you are opting to buy or sell at the current market price, whatever that may be.
A stop-limit order allows you to buy or sell a coin until a specific price point has been released.
A 0.03% fee is charged on trades. As I write this, fees are actually 50% less due to an offer. I believe the fees are fair.
The advanced exchange format displays the same information in a different way.
I have no real preference of either display format, but it makes sense to select the exchange display format that displays the information that is important to you.
Before you make any trades, I encourage you to spend some time in the Binance section and familiarise yourself with the Binance interface. That will help you get a better understanding of everything before you buy or sell your first coins.
The World of Crypto Trading
When you're on the exchange, all the coins are displayed using three or four letter codes.
I have no doubt that some people just pick one currency and invest, but if you are serious about investing in cryptocurrency, you should do your homework.
You should look at the historic price of the coin and read the latest news about it. It pays to be sceptical about the advice given online about what coins to invest in as many recommendations are coming from people who have something to gain by pushing the price of a currency up.
I am not an experienced cryptocurrency investor, but my own recommendation is to select coins that you believe in. Read the whitepapers behind the technology and look at whether the coin is adding something valuable, whether it be security, privacy, speed, or whatever.
A lot of Binance users trade every single day. This can be a stressful thing to do as prices inevitably go up and down all the time. I think for most people it is better to select a coin you believe in, buy some coins, and then hold (HODL) them for a period of time, be it months or years. You will see a better return in the long term and save yourself a lot of inconvenience in the process.
Final Thoughts
This has just been a short insight into how Binance works and how you can use it to buy and sell cryptocurrency online.
The best way to see how it works is to open up an account, deposit some coins, and then start trading.
Good luck.
Kevin
