Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges on the market. It supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies and allows you to buy, trade, and send digital assets.
However, Binance isn’t for everyone. The main issue with Binance is that it is no longer available in the United States.
While Binance has set up a US version, called Binance.US, many people in the US find that it takes a long time for their accounts to be verified. Some people end up waiting for a long time; also, Binance.US is not available in seven states, including:
- Connecticut
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Louisiana
- New York
- Texas
- Vermont
In addition, the availability of cryptocurrencies on Binance.US is lacking, even if you do manage to get approved. There are just so many assets that are supported on Binance but not on Binance.US, forcing many US-based users to look for alternatives.
While hundreds of coins are available on the main Binance platform, only around 50 are available on Binance.US.
UK users will also need to look for a Binance alternative, as regulators in the United Kingdom have banned Binance. That means Binance is not allowed to operate in the UK or accept UK-based customers.
However, Binance’s legal problems extend beyond the UK. It is currently undergoing federal investigation in the US.
Both the Justice Department and the IRS are investigating Binance for money laundering and tax offenses.
Some people may also be worried about security and privacy when using Binance. After all, Binance was once hacked, and the hackers got away with $40 million in Bitcoin.
Whether you are based in the US, the UK, or are simply curious about alternatives to Binance, this article is for you. I will talk about the 12 best Binance alternatives for buying or trading crypto — let’s get into it!
Also Read: Coin Vs Token – What’s The Difference?
12 Best Binance Alternatives
1. Coinbase & Coinbase Pro
Coinbase is my #1 recommended choice for beginners. It makes it incredibly easy to buy a wide range of cryptocurrencies, even if you do not have a lot of experience with Bitcoin.
The Coinbase mobile apps are extremely intuitive and easy to use, allowing you to buy and send Bitcoin on the go.
Unlike Binance, it is available in almost all US states (except Hawaii).
Here are the coins you can currently buy on Coinbase:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Ethereum
- Ethereum Classic
- Litecoin
- 0x
- USD Coin
- Basic Attention Token
- Decentraland
- Kyber Network
- Chainlink
- Maker
- Civic
- OMG Network
- DAI
- Zcash
- Stellar Lumens
- Algorand
- Cosmos
- Orchid
- Compound
- Band Protocol
- Numeraire
- Celo
- UMA
- Loopring
- Yearn Finance
- Uniswap
- Balancer
- Ren
- Wrapped Bitcoin
- NuCypher
- Filecoin
- Aave
- Bancor Network Token
- The Graph
- Synthetix Network Token
- Storj
- Polygon
- SKALE
- Cardano
- Ankr
- Curve DAO Token
- Internet Computer Token
- NKN
- Origin Token
- Mirror Protocol
- iExec ROLC
- Polkadot
- Solana
- Dogecoin
- Enzyme
- Amp
- Keep Network
- Livepeer
- Quant
- BarnBridge
- Rally
One of the cool things about Coinbase is that it lets you buy Bitcoin via several methods:
- Wire transfer
- ACH
- Debit card
- PayPal
Coinbase is linked to Coinbase Wallet, a cryptocurrency wallet where you store your digital assets and keep them safe. When you buy, trade, or receive Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency on Coinbase, it will automatically be stored in your wallet.
One thing I like about Coinbase is that it makes sending crypto really easy. While you can paste a wallet address or scan a QR code to send crypto to, you can also select a contact from your contact list (using the mobile app) and send crypto to them.
They will need to be Coinbase users too.
In addition to buying crypto, you can swap your crypto for quick cash at any time. Just click on the Sell option and select the crypto you want to sell.
The only way to withdraw your cash is via ACH, which takes up to a few business days.
So, can you trade crypto on Coinbase? Coinbase (not to be confused with Coinbase Pro) is not a full-on trading platform.
However, you can still swap and trade one type of cryptocurrency for another. Just click on the Convert option and select the input and output currencies.
Another advantage of Coinbase over Binance and most other alternatives is the Coinbase card, which allows you to spend some cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin, on everyday purchases. When you make purchases with your Coinbase card, you can get cash back in crypto, such as 4% cash back in Stellar Lumens.
When you use the Coinbase card, merchants don’t actually receive cryptocurrency. Instead, your Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin gets converted into the destination fiat currency.
The Coinbase card is available in the US, EU, and UK. You may need to join the waitlist and wait a bit until a card becomes available to you.
While Binance does have a Binance Visa Card, it is only available in certain European countries. That means that US-based customers can’t use it.
Now, let’s talk about Coinbase Pro.
Despite being owned by the same company, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are two entirely separate things, with separate mobile apps. While Coinbase is more geared for beginners, Coinbase Pro is a full-fledged trading platform, with the ability to make limit orders, stop orders, and more.
While they are two separate apps, I recommend using both of them together. That’s because you can send crypto from Coinbase to Coinbase Pro instantly.
Coinbase Pro has cheaper fees, charts, and a lot more. You will pay less for buying Bitcoin or any other crypto, but you will need to wait longer until your wire transfer clears.
Once you buy a cryptocurrency on Coinbase Pro, you can send it to Coinbase, to an external wallet, or trade it for USD and withdraw the USD to your bank account.
Coinbase Pro is also available in the US, excluding Hawaii. It is easier to use than Binance for beginners.
Explore: Best Bitcoin Alternatives
2. Kraken
Kraken is my #2 recommendation for those looking for a Binance alternative. Unlike Binance, it is available in almost all US states.
In addition, the verification process usually takes a lot less time than Binance.US, so it’s a good option for those looking to get started as soon as possible.
Another plus for Kraken is its superior security features, making it a good option for those who are worried about security and privacy when using Binance.
Kraken is more transparent than Binance and similar services about the security measures it uses. In addition, unlike Binance, Kraken was never hacked (though they did receive a DDoS attack).
Kraken has around 70 different coins, and trading fees, while slightly higher than Binance, are still very low. It’s not the best Binance alternative for beginners who don’t have a lot of experience, since it involves somewhat of a learning curve, but if you are more advanced, it might be the best alternative for you.
3. KuCoin
Another top recommendation of mine is KuCoin. While KuCoin does not allow US-based customers to do KYC (Know Your Customer or identity verification), they do not block US customers based on their IP addresses like Binance does.
In other words, you can still buy, trade, and withdraw cryptocurrencies in KuCoin, even in the US, without going through the KYC or identity verification process. However, you won’t be able to enjoy the higher withdrawal limits and additional purchasing methods available to those customers who do go through the KYC process.
According to KuCoin, 25 percent of people around the world who hold cryptocurrency have an account with KuCoin.
One reason to use KuCoin instead of Binance is that you can buy KCS on it or trade other cryptocurrencies for KCS. KCS is the native token of the KuCoin exchange, sort of like how BNB is the token of the Binance exchange.
And, just as BNB can be used to trade smart contracts on the Binance Smart Chain via decentralized exchanges such as Pancakeswap, KCS can be used to trade smart contracts on the KuCoin Community Chain via exchanges such as KoffeeSwap.
While the KuCoin Community Chain, or KCC, is pretty new, and the decentralized exchanges on the chain are even newer, I see a great future for it. I don’t know if it will replace Binance’s Binance Smart Chain entirely, but it can definitely turn into a major competitor.
Like BNB, KCS involves very low fees and fast transaction times. It is also much, much cheaper than BNB.
Not only that, but the market cap of KCS is only a fraction of the market cap of BNB. That means that KCS still has a long way to go, so investing in KCS now by buying it on KuCoin might be a good idea.*
*This is not investment advice. Always trade at your own risk.
4. Robinhood
Robinhood is a popular app for trading stocks. However, did you know that they now also support cryptocurrency trading?
Robinhood, unlike Binance, is available in the US. It also has a Robinhood debit card available for US residents, which you can use to spend your USD balance stored on Robinhood.
You can deposit money from your bank account and start trading immediately, but you will need to wait a few business days to withdraw that money.
Trading and tracking your trades are easy with Robinhood’s charts.
There are only a few cryptocurrencies available on Robinhood:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Bitcoin SV
- Ethereum
- Ethereum Classic
- Litecoin
- Dogecoin
However, it is generally easier to get started with Robinhood than with Binance if you are a beginner.
Robinhood does have a major drawback, however. While you can trade cryptocurrencies and profit off of those trades, you can’t withdraw the cryptocurrency you own to a private wallet.
In other words, you don’t own the private keys to your crypto. That is something to consider if you want to use crypto as a store of value in a decentralized manner or if you plan on using crypto for decentralized and anonymous peer-to-peer payments.
You can’t do all of that on Robinhood. It is solely for trading crypto and profiting off those trades.
5. Voyager
Voyager is an excellent alternative to Binance, and it is available for those located in the US (except for those in the state of New York).
One of the reasons to choose Voyager is that it offers high APR rates if you hold certain cryptocurrencies in your Voyager account. You can hold over 30 different digital assets and earn APR rates of up to 12%!
Considering that most saving accounts offer APY rates of less than 1%, and even online saving accounts offer APY rates of less than 2%, that’s a pretty good deal.
Here are examples of some different APR rates for different assets:
- Polkadot: 12%
- USDC: 9%
- Voyager Token: 7%
- Bitcoin: 5.75%
- Litecoin: 5.5%
- Cardano: 5.25%
- Polygon: 5.25%
You can earn interest on many other coins, but those are the coins that will give an APR of over 5%.
Of course, you do have to consider that when you hold a cryptocurrency, even if you earn an APR, you may still end up losing money if the price of that cryptocurrency drops.
One way to avoid that problem is to hold stable coins, like the USDC. USDC is a stable coin — a digital cryptocurrency tied to the price of the US dollar.
In other words, 100 USDC will always be worth $100.
There are minimum holding limits for each token for APR earnings. For example, to earn an APR on USDC, you must hold at least 100 USDC.
Another reason to prefer Voyager is that it offers smart router trading. It connects to over a dozen different exchanges to find the best prices for your trades.
Voyager does not even charge a commission for this. Instead, they take a percentage of the savings you earn as a profit. In other words, Voyager only earns money when you earn money.
The fact that Voyager offers commission-free trading makes it a very attractive alternative to Binance. It allows you to save a lot of money on trading fees if you trade often.
Voyager also has a large liquidity network to ensure there is always enough liquidity for your trades, so your trades get placed and executed as soon as possible. Due to high price volatility in cryptocurrency, fast execution of trades is essential.
6. Gate.io
Gate.io is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world and a top competitor to Binance. Unlike Binance, it is available to both UK and US investors, except those living in the states of New York and Washington.
Gate.io supports a lot more coins than Binance. It supports a lot of niche coins and smaller tokens that are not yet available on Binance or which will never be available on Binance.
For example, did you know that you can not buy Safemoon on Binance? You can buy it on Gate.io, however!
Safemoon is a popular altcoin that came out in 2021. It provides reflections to users — in other words, every holder of Safemoon earns free Safemoon just by holding.
The free Safemoon comes from taxes collected from sellers.
7. Changelly
Changelly is a bit different from Binance. Instead of being an actual exchange, it acts as a broker to connect you with many exchanges to get you the best rate for your crypto.
Unlike Binance, Changelly is available to US customers, with over 160 coins available. You don’t need to go through any verification process; you can sign up with your email address only to save your transaction history.
To use Changelly, simply select your input and output currencies. For example, you can decide to swap Bitcoin for Litecoin.
Then, send the Bitcoin from your wallet to the special address Changelly will give you. Once the trade is completed, Changelly will send the Litecoin back to your wallet.
It’s as simple as that!
In addition to trading cryptocurrencies, Changelly allows you to buy over 160 different cryptocurrencies with your credit card.
Not only can you buy and trade crypto, but you can also sell it and get cash to your bank card!
8. Bittrex
Unlike Binance, Bittrex is based in the US and available in the UK and almost all US states.
It offers excellent security features as well.
Another reason to prefer Bittrex over Binance is that while Binance charges small withdrawal fees for withdrawing fiat or cryptocurrencies, Bittrex charges none.
If you withdraw USD, you will have to pay zero dollars in fees. If you withdraw cryptocurrencies to a private wallet, you will only have to pay the coin’s network fee; Bittrex does not charge a fee for themselves.
9. Gemini
Gemini remains one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges for US customers. Not only is it available to US customers, but it is even available to New York residents, unlike Binance.US.
The Gemini interface is incredibly easy to use, even if you are a beginner to cryptocurrencies. With the Gemini Credit Card, you can earn up to three percent cash back on your everyday purchases.
Gemini also offers excellent APY earnings for holding cryptocurrencies. With Gemini Earn, you can earn up to 7.4% APY on select coins, such as DAI, Dogecoin, and the Gemini Dollar (a stable coin tied to the price of the USD).
Gemini even has a handy calculator to help you figure out how much you will earn in APY over the next few years based on the coin you are holding and how much of it you have.
10. PayPal
Did you know that you can buy cryptocurrency on PayPal using your PayPal balance? It’s available to anyone in the US with a PayPal account.
Unlike Binance, it is available in 49 states. The only state not supported is Hawaii.
Buying crypto with PayPal is a good option for complete beginners. It is much more user friendly and does not really involve a learning curve, unlike Binance, making it a better option for new crypto users.
You can buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin on PayPal.
The downside of buying crypto on PayPal is that you can not withdraw the crypto to a private wallet. You are not in full control of the keys.
Nevertheless, you can sell your crypto at any time after you have made a profit, with the money going straight back into your PayPal balance.
Another cool thing about buying crypto on PayPal is that you can start with just $1. That’s the minimum purchase, and it lowers the bar even more for newbies who would like to earn some money with crypto.
11. Coinmama
Coinmama, unlike Binance, is available in the UK and most US states, except Hawaii and New York.
It is an incredibly easy to use website for buying and selling Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Here are the currencies it supports:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Ethereum
- Ethereum Classic
- Dogecoin
- Litecoin
- Cardano
- Tezos
- Ripple
To buy or sell crypto, you will need a private wallet. You can buy with a bank transfer, card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay, and Coinmama will send the crypto straight to your wallet.
12. CEX.IO
CEX.IO is the final Binance alternative on our list. Unlike Binance, it is available in the UK and most US states.
It also has the benefit of providing lower fees for credit and debit card purchases with Visa or Mastercard. Binance charges 3.5% or $10 per credit or debit card purchase, whichever is higher.
On the other hand, CEX.IO only charges 2.99% for Visa and Mastercard purchases. You also get 50% off deposits of the British Pound when using their special card.
In addition, unlike Binance, CEX.IO offers free withdrawals if you use ACH or Advcash to withdraw USD.
Wrapping It Up: What Is The Best Binance Alternative?
In my opinion, Coinbase & Coinbase Pro are the best alternatives to Binance.
If you are looking for a quick and simple way to buy crypto, stick with Coinbase. For more advanced trading with low fees, sign up for Coinbase Pro, or use them in conjunction for the full Coinbase experience.
