What Is Binance Coin (BNB)?
Let me tell you directly: Binance Coin is the cryptocurrency issued by the Binance exchange, and it trades under the BNB symbol. As of May 2024, Binance Exchange ranks as the second largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, according to Coinmarketcap, with a daily trading volume of $11.8 billion. Meanwhile, Binance Coin itself saw a 24-hour trading volume of $1.45 billion.
Key Takeaways
Here's what you need to know upfront. Binance Coin is the cryptocurrency from the Binance exchange, trading as BNB. Every quarter, Binance takes one-fifth of its profits to buy back and permanently destroy, or 'burn,' BNB from its treasury. It started in 2017 as a utility token for cheaper trading fees, but now it covers payments on Binance Chain, travel bookings, entertainment, online services, and financial tools. Right now, BNB has a market cap over $87 billion, placing it behind only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Tether.
Warning
You should be aware of this: On November 21, 2023, Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. They agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement, Zhao stepped down as CEO and paid $50 million personally. Then, on April 30, 2024, Zhao got a four-month prison sentence and a $200 million fine for failing to comply with U.S. anti-money laundering laws. As of May 11, 2024, Binance is still running and popular as a crypto exchange.
Understanding Binance Coin (BNB)
The Binance blockchain is based on Ethereum and uses BNB as its native token. It launched via an initial coin offering (ICO) in July 2017, with a hard cap of 200 million BNB tokens. In that ICO, 10% or 20 million tokens went to angel investors, 40% or 80 million to the founding team, and the remaining 50% or 100 million to participants.
Nearly half of the ICO funds were allocated for Binance branding and marketing, while about one-third went toward building the platform and upgrading the ecosystem.
Biggest Cryptos
On May 11, 2024, BNB stood as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, trailing only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Tether.
Binance Coin Burning
Every quarter, Binance uses one-fifth of its profits to repurchase and burn BNB from its treasury, permanently removing them from circulation.
These burns happen regularly. The most recent one as of May 2024 was on April 24, where Binance burned 1.94 million BNB, worth $670.78 million. That marked their 27th quarterly burn.
Binance Coin Uses and Support
BNB began in 2017 as a way to get discounted trading fees. Since then, its applications have grown across many platforms. You can use it to pay transaction fees on Binance.com, Binance DEX, and Binance Chain.
It also works for payments at places like Monetha and HTC; booking travel through TravelbyBit, Trip.io, and Travala.com; entertainment like buying music or game rewards; online services via BitTorrent, Canva, or Storm; and financial needs, such as loans on ETHLend or investments on Moeda.
Binance Smart Chain
As of May 2024, the Binance Smart Chain handles up to 3.5 million daily transactions, which is more than double Ethereum's all-time high, though it's down from its own peak of over 32.6 million in December 2023.
You can use BNB to invest in ICOs via Binance’s Launchpad. The exchange lists new cryptocurrencies, offering a smooth trading marketplace for both established and emerging tokens.
Is Binance Coin a Good Buy?
That depends on your preferences, risk tolerance, outlook, and goals. I recommend consulting a financial advisor to see if BNB fits your portfolio.
What Is a Binance Coin?
BNB is Binance's cryptocurrency for on-chain transactions. You can also use it to buy goods and services from participating vendors.
Will Binance Coin Reach $10,000?
Predicting any asset's future price is tough due to countless influencing factors. It's possible BNB could hit $10,000, but it's equally possible it drops to zero.
The Bottom Line
Binance Coin (BNB) is the native token for Binance's blockchain. Like other cryptocurrencies, you can use it globally to pay for products and services.
