Bittrex vs Binance: Which Crypto Exchange is Right for You

Fees

Both Bittrex and Binance charge some of the lowest fees in the industry for trading between different cryptocurrencies. However, Binance has Bittrex beat if you’re mainly interested in the cost of trading over all other factors.

Today, Bittrex charges a fee of 0.25% on all trades, but Binance only charges 0.10% on trades. Additionally, users of Binance Coin (BNB) are able to gain access to even lower fees of 0.05%. Of course, it should be noted that using BNB carries its own set of risks in that the user could end up losing value due to the altcoin’s high price volatility while it used for staking or making payments.

Features

The original versions of Bittrex and Binance both worked in a similar manner. They were both exchanges focused on bitcoin and altcoins that did not have any attachment to the traditional banking system. This allowed these exchanges to achieve a sufficient level of regulatory arbitrage at the time, but recently, regulators have become more serious about making sure cryptocurrency exchanges are tracking the use of their platforms for illicit purposes. For Bittrex, this has meant implementing more stringent anti-money laundering policies, while also integrating with the U.S. banking system. Binance took the approach of setting up a separate exchange platform specifically built for U.S. customers, known as Binance.us. That said, the original Binance platform can still be used by Americans, as long as they don’t have a need for connecting their bank account to the exchange.

Both of these platforms also offer trading via mobile phones, which means users are able to trade cryptocurrencies from basically anywhere they can get an internet connection on their iPhone, Android, or other mobile device.

This is where most of the similarities end in terms of features. While Bittrex is mainly focused on offering a trading platform, Binance has branched out to a wide variety of different cryptocurrency-related services over the years. In addition to accessing the base trading platform, Binance users are also able to enjoy P2P trading, get a debit card attached to their Binance account, purchase crypto assets via a debit card or credit card, trade derivatives, earn interest on their crypto assets, borrow money against their crypto holdings, join a mining pool, and much more.

Additionally, Binance has launched two blockchain networks in the form of Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain. They also have their own proprietary token in the form of BNB.

Speed

If you are already operating in the world of cryptocurrency, then you will likely find that you are able to use Binance with less friction than if you try to use Bittrex. This is because Binance and Bittrex take different approaches to regulation. With Binance, you’re actually able to trade up to 2 BTC per day without handing over much information about yourself. Obviously, you can also get around these restrictions by creating multiple accounts too (as long as you’re able to convince Binance that you don’t have multiple accounts on their platform).

Due to Bittrex’s integration with the traditional financial system, it can take a bit longer to get started in some situations where there are issues verifying your identity. But of course, you’re usually going to have to go through this verification process somewhere if you want to get involved in the cryptocurrency market. Unless you’re getting your bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a P2P manner, you’ll have to share information about yourself at the entry and exit points of the cryptocurrency realm.

In short, you may want to become a crypto native if you’re worried about speed, and Binance is still a platform that allows you to operate without much restriction if you’re interested in sticking with crypto assets and not interacting with the traditional financial system, which has many onerous regulations involved with it.

Security

If you’re worried about security more than anything else, then you’re always going to face problems when interacting with centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. This is because these exchanges usually require you to hand over control of your coins to a third party (the exchange). While decentralized and non-custodial exchange options aren’t far away, the reality is most of the action still occurs on centralized platforms for now.

In terms of their security setups, there isn’t much different between Bittrex and Binance. However, Bittrex should be seen as the better option in this category due to the fact that the base platform has never been hacked. Binance, on the other hand, has faced numerous security incidents over the years. That said, these security incidents have not led to loss of funds for Binance users due to the exchange’s ability to bail them out.

Currencies

Binance supports many more coins and trading pairs than Bittrex. This should come as no surprise, as Binance has made its name in the industry over the years by supporting as many coins as possible as soon as possible.

The differences in the number of coins offered by both platforms may again come down to the regulatory environments in which both exchanges operate. Bittrex faces more regulatory scrutiny due to their connection to the traditional financial system, so they may be a bit more cautious when it comes to which coins they decide to list on their platform. There are likely to be many more coins that end up being illegitimate from a regulatory perspective or just outright scams listed on Binance than on Bittrex, so this is sort of a double-edged sword.

Trading

In terms of trading power, these two platforms are mostly equal. While there isn’t much difference in terms of how the trading platforms operate at the base layer, it should be noted that Binance still has many more offerings when it comes to the various ways in which users can decide to trade. Binance allows users to trade via a variety of different user interfaces that fit users with different levels of trading expertise. If you’re looking to trade derivatives, both platforms have you covered.

However, as mentioned previously, Binance will have this functionality for more coins and tokens than what is available on Bittrex.

User Friendliness

There are two different ways you can look at the differences between Bittrex and Binance when it comes to ease of use and simplicity.

First, Bittrex may be a simpler interface for some users because it allows you to interact with the traditional banking system in the United States. So, for users in the United States who only want to use one platform for all of their cryptocurrency trading needs, Bittrex may be the simpler option.

On the other hand, Binance has created a variety of user interfaces that can be used to interact with its base trading platform. This means anyone from a first-time trader to someone who has been trading online for decades will be able to get exactly what they need out of the platform.

At the end of the day, the level of ease of use offered by a platform really depends on the specific features desired by the individual trader.