Binance, native binance
In 2013, unknown to anyone, Changpeng, while playing poker, learns about bitcoin, which is gaining momentum. Crypto literally intoxicated CZ and in 2014 he sold his house in Shanghai to invest in the bitcoin. That same year Zhao quit his job to join Blockchain.info, and some time later became the technical director of the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin.
But CZ's ambitions did not end there. Working for OKCoin, the future creator of Binance began to think about his own crypto exchange. Changpeng hesitated to launch his project for a long time, but then came 2017, the ICO boom. During the crowdsale Zhao raised the necessary $15 million, and that in just one month!
ICO, Initial coin offering, is a form of investment attraction in the form of selling a fixed number of new cryptocurrency units to investors. ICO is often replaced by the word "crowdsale.
The year 2017 is notable for the first popular hype around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. During this year, bitcoin reached new highs several times, miners bought up video cards, and every crypto-project issued its tokens, 70% of which were scams.
To differentiate itself from competitors who only served customers in English on their platforms, Cz added 9 more foreign languages to Binance's website. Thus, a simple translation into several languages and user-friendly UI gave a huge boost to the crypto-exchange's popularity growth.
Binance became the largest platform in just six months. But problems with the authorities did not last long either. In the summer of 2017, just a couple of months after the company began operating in Shanghai, Chinese authorities imposed a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges. The Chinese government feared illegal and uncontrolled withdrawal of funds from the country through already established digital platforms.
The Binance team then consisted of only 30 people. Therefore, it was not difficult for them to simply move to Japan and conduct business from there. However, already in 2018, the government regulator of the country of the rising sun issued a warning about the impossibility of trading without proper licenses, i.e. crypto is everything.
After that Binance decided simply not to disclose the location of the main office, so as not to provide themselves with unnecessary legal hassle. Zhao assures that all employees live in different countries and work remotely.
It turns out to be a kind of "Schrodinger's Binance. On the one hand, it is everywhere, but on the other hand, it is nowhere to be found. Convenient, isn't it?
Features
Of course, Binance would not be such a successful project if it was limited to cryptocurrency trading. Binance is a whole ecosystem with its own features and unique opportunities:
BNB
Binance has its own coin, BNB. Because the exchange is interested in getting its token bought, it gives a lot of opportunities for token holders: discounts on transactions, access to NFT drawings, access to Launchpool and Launchpad.
NFT Marketplace
Of course, Binance could not pass by the NFT boom in 2021. Therefore, in June of the same year an internal NFT-marketplace was launched.
It's unlikely you'll find an iconic long term collection here, but it's definitely worth it to take part in various IGOs and try your luck at giving away lucky tickets!
IGO is the same as an ICO, only it's not coins, but NFTs for games. The rules here are simple, you buy a ticket, for example for $30, which entitles you to participate in IGO. If your ticket is lucky - you get charged $30 and NFT, which you can sell at the secondary market (usually at the start floor price is either equal or greater than ticket price). If you're not on the winner's list, you get your money back.
Launchpad & Launchpool
Launchpad is the same ICO. Here you can buy new tokens at a very tasty price, before they go on the exchange. To do this, you need to fulfill some conditions, usually it is a hold of n- amount of BNB in your account for 7-30 days. Of course, not all Launchpad participants get the right to buy new tokens, because their number is limited, and there are always enough people who want to.
Launchpool is a way to earn new tokens without investing. You just freeze your funds (usually BNB or BUSD) and get a certain amount of new coins every day.
Academy
A very handy collection of articles parsing crypto. There are both general topics for newbies and narrowly focused ones for experienced cryptans.
Sometimes, Binans holds generosity actions and puts tests, for passing of which you can get crypto (but the chance to get something more than $1 is close to zero, and awards are taken away in a few minutes).
Autoinvestment
Don't want to get sucked into the crypto infoplex every day? Take advantage of autoinvestment.
The settings are very flexible, you choose convenient for you investment amounts, intervals and the cryptocurrencies you like. This way, you don't have to think about averaging your portfolio every time the market moves. You set aside once a month from your lunches, thus investing in your future!