binance.com and binance.us are not the same thing. They are two independent legal entities serving users in different regions, and their accounts and assets are not interchangeable. The vast majority of Chinese-speaking users should use binance.com — click Binance Official Site for the entrance, download the Binance Official App for mobile, and iOS users can refer to the iOS Install Guide. Many newcomers see "binance.us is also official" and assume the two sites share accounts, only to register and deposit onto the wrong platform. Below we clarify the core differences between the two.
1. Backstory of Each
binance.com is the global Binance exchange founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in 2017. In its early years, its headquarters moved between Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malta, and the Cayman Islands, and today the main entity is based in Dubai, UAE. Its target audience is users globally except the United States.
binance.us was established in September 2019 as an independent US entity created specifically to comply with the US regulatory environment. It is operated by BAM Trading Services and serves residents of the United States. The Binance parent company holds a partial stake but does not directly operate US.
This is why US users visiting binance.com are told "not available in your region" — Binance hasn't blacklisted you; Americans are simply required to use binance.us.
2. Legal Entity Comparison
| Comparison | binance.com | binance.us |
|---|---|---|
| Place of registration | Cayman Islands / UAE | Delaware, USA |
| Operating entity | Binance Holdings Ltd. | BAM Trading Services Inc. |
| Regulators | Dubai VARA, France AMF, etc. | US FinCEN, state-level MSB licenses |
| Service area | 180+ countries globally | US only (some states excluded) |
| License type | Offshore virtual asset licenses | MSB money service business |
| KYC standard | International AML/KYC | US Bank Secrecy Act compliant |
The two do not share a customer database. When you register, account information from one can't be looked up on the other.
3. Account System Differences
The biggest practical difference is that accounts are not interchangeable:
- An account registered on binance.com cannot log in to binance.us.
- An account registered on binance.us cannot log in to binance.com.
- The two accounts must go through KYC separately, with separate bank-card and phone-number bindings.
- Assets are held separately and cannot be transferred directly.
If you want to move coins from binance.com to binance.us, you can only do so via on-chain withdrawal — just like sending to a stranger's address, and you'll pay on-chain fees.
4. Differences in Coins and Products
Number of Coins
- binance.com: around 350+ coins, new coins listed quickly, and almost every mainstream and secondary coin is available.
- binance.us: around 150 coins. New coins need to pass US compliance review before listing, so the pace is slow.
Trading Products
| Product | binance.com | binance.us |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | Supported | Supported |
| Margin spot | Supported (up to 10x) | Not supported |
| USDT-M futures | Up to 125x | Not supported |
| Coin-M futures | Up to 125x | Not supported |
| Options | Supported | Not supported |
| Dual Investment | Supported | Not supported |
| Launchpad subscriptions | Supported | Not supported |
| Earn products | Hundreds of products | Staking only |
| C2C fiat trading | Supported (100+ fiat) | USD ACH/wire only |
| NFT | Supported | Not supported |
US regulators classify many crypto derivatives as securities, so binance.us is essentially spot-only.
Fees
- binance.com: base fee 0.1%, with 25% off when paying with BNB (down to 0.075%).
- binance.us: base fee 0.1%, with the same 25% BNB discount, but ACH deposits are free.
US users can very conveniently deposit USD directly via ACH or wire transfer, which is binance.us's advantage.
5. Who Should Use binance.us
Only people who meet all of the following conditions must use binance.us:
- Are US citizens or green-card holders.
- Reside primarily within the United States.
- Hold a US bank account.
- Need to deposit USD fiat.
- Only do spot trading, not derivatives.
If you are a visiting scholar, student, or short-term business traveler in the US without US residency status, you can continue to use binance.com.
6. Who Should Use binance.com
- Users in Chinese-speaking regions (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.)
- Users in Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America
- Anyone who needs to trade futures, options, or margin
- Anyone who needs to trade long-tail altcoins
- Anyone who needs to deposit via C2C local fiat
- Anyone who wants a wide variety of coins
Simply put: unless you are in the US with US residency status, use binance.com.
7. Technical Architecture Comparison
Although the branding and UI look similar, the underlying stacks are actually two independent systems:
| Technical dimension | binance.com | binance.us |
|---|---|---|
| Matching engine | In-house high-frequency WebSocket engine | Independent US-compliant engine |
| Data centers | Tokyo, Frankfurt, Singapore | Virginia, Oregon (US) |
| API domain | api.binance.com | api.binance.us |
| Order books | Fully independent | Fully independent |
| Depth | Roughly 10-20x binance.us | More active during US market hours |
This also explains why the two sites have slight price differences, and for low-liquidity coins the spread can reach 0.5%.
8. Common Misconceptions
Misconception 1: binance.us is a "stand-in" Binance spun up after the SEC lawsuit. Reality: binance.us was established back in 2019, well before any of those lawsuits. It was created precisely to serve US users compliantly.
Misconception 2: Registering on binance.us requires a US passport. Reality: it requires a US Social Security Number (SSN) and proof of US residential address. Green-card holders can register too; US citizenship is not required.
Misconception 3: I can VPN to a US IP and use binance.us. Reality: during KYC, you'll be asked for an SSN and proof of US address. Fake addresses won't pass review, and even if they somehow did, withdrawals would be frozen.
Misconception 4: When binance.com closed for US users, their assets were wiped out. Reality: during the 2019 transition, Binance officially provided a 90-day relocation period, during which US users could withdraw to their own wallets or migrate to binance.us. Any remaining US accounts have long since been cleaned up.
9. FAQ
Q1: I'm in mainland China — which should I use? A: Use binance.com. Mainland China is not one of Binance's officially served regions, but technically you can still register an account. For specific compliance questions, please follow local laws.
Q2: Is BNB on the two sites the same token? A: Yes, it's the same. BNB is a token issued on Binance Chain, and on-chain assets are unified globally. Both sites trade the same BNB, but the price on each platform is determined by its own order book.
Q3: Can I directly transfer BTC from my binance.com account to binance.us? A: You cannot transfer "directly" — you must go via on-chain withdrawal. Initiate a BTC withdrawal on binance.com → enter binance.us's BTC deposit address as the recipient → wait for on-chain confirmations → the funds arrive. Network fees apply, about 0.0002 BTC.
Q4: Are the binance.us app and the binance.com app the same app? A: No, they are two different apps. On Google Play, binance.us has its own standalone app. The binance.com app can only be downloaded from the official site (international version).
Q5: Does binance.us have a Chinese interface? A: binance.us by default only offers English and Spanish. There is no Chinese, since its target audience is US residents and Chinese support isn't needed.
10. Summary
binance.com is the global main site, serving the vast majority of users outside the US, and provides the full set of spot, futures, and Earn products. binance.us is an independent US-compliant entity that only serves US residents — with fewer features, fewer coins, but convenient fiat deposits. The two sites' accounts, assets, and products are all independent. Chinese-speaking users should use binance.com. Never assume that because of the "us" suffix it's just a "US branch" of the same company and casually register there.