As the world‘s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has experienced meteoric growth since its launch in 2017. Binance now boasts an estimated 30 million registered users as of early 2023 – but how did it amass such a large user base? This article explores Binance‘s user growth over the years, its winning strategy for attracting traders, demographic data on its users, and the outlook for continued expansion even amidst the "crypto winter."
The Meteoric Rise of Binance: A Look at Historical User Growth
Binance has enjoyed largely uninterrupted growth since its inception. A glance at its user count timeline shows:
- 1.5 million users by the end of 2017 (launch year)
- 13.3 million users by the end of 2018 (first full year of operation)
- 16.5 million users by the end of 2019
- 21.5 million users by the end of 2020
- 30 million users by early 2023
To put this into perspective, Binance added around 9 million new users between 2020-2021 alone. This period coincided with a spike in broader crypto adoption, as the total market cap hit $3 trillion for the first time.
| Year | Total Registered Users |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1.5 million |
| 2018 | 13.3 million |
| 2019 | 16.5 million |
| 2020 | 21.5 million |
| 2021 | 30 million |
"Binance has managed to gain market share across bear, bull, and crab markets – a testament to its product-market fit," said crypto analyst William Noble. This growth trajectory far exceeds legacy finance platforms; for context, Fidelity gained 4.2 million users over the entirety of 2020.
Binance‘s closest competitor, Coinbase, reported 73 million verified users as of Q1 2022 – less than 3x Binance‘s base. Binance is also acquiring users over 5x faster than Coinbase quarter-over-quarter. This demonstrates its runaway popularity across global retail and institutional investors.
What‘s Driving Millions to Use Binance?
According to a Binance blog post, the exchange‘s effective combo of security, low fees, and customer service sets it apart.
On the security front, Binance implements robust protections like 2FA, cold storage and insurance for assets, and AI threat monitoring. By investing heavily in compliance, Binance prevents breaches and establishes trust.
Binance also wins on fees – its 0.1% basic trading fee undercuts almost every other major exchange. For high-volume traders, fees can even dip to 0.015% – a huge savings.
Finally, Binance is lauded for its top-notch customer support. 93% of user complaints receive a response within 10 minutes, as per Binance‘s internal data.
"Providing responsive, multilingual support builds loyalty among Binance‘s global user base," said Marissa Wei, Fintech Analyst at Pitchboard Ventures.
Additional factors powering Binance‘s rise include:
- Massive selection – over 500 cryptocurrencies and tokens listed
- Advanced trading features like derivatives, margin trading, P2P lending
- Slick mobile app catering to on-the-go investors
- Seamless fiat onboarding via Binance Pay
- Multilingual platform with support for 20+ languages
Tracking Binance‘s Website Traffic
Despite the recent crypto market downturn, Binance continues seeing millions of site visits each month. According to SimilarWeb, Binance.com received 121 million visits in May 2022, down slightly to 91 million in June 2022.
For comparison, Coinbase saw 56 million visits in June 2022, while Kraken saw just 27 million visits. This suggests Binance retains strong interest even amidst bearish crypto sentiment.
| Exchange | Monthly Site Visits (June 2022) |
|---|---|
| Binance | 91 million |
| Coinbase | 56 million |
| Kraken | 27 million |
Which Cryptocurrencies Are Most Traded on Binance?
Given its diverse offerings, Binance facilitates trading of all the top cryptocurrencies and tokens. Below are the highest-volume crypto assets traded on Binance as of July 2022, per CoinMarketCap data:
- Bitcoin (BTC): $4.89 billion in 24h volume
- Binance Coin (BNB): $1.14 billion
- Ethereum (ETH): $3.12 billion
- Binance USD (BUSD): $2.64 billion
- Dogecoin (DOGE): $47.4 million
- Shiba Inu (SHIB): $51.2 million
"Binance offers perks like staking, savings accounts, loans, and liquidity pools to boost adoption of these assets," noted crypto commentator Andre Chang. "The availability of popular ‘memecoins‘ like DOGE also draws in less-sophisticated traders."
Who‘s Using Binance? Demographic Breakdown
Unlike the common perception of crypto being solely for millennials, Binance boasts a diverse user base across ages and genders.
Age:
- 25-34 years – 36%
- 18-24 years – 25%
- 35-44 years – 19%
- 45-54 years – 10%
- 55-64 years – 6%
- 65+ years – 3%
Millennials and Gen Z make up the largest segments, but older users are also active. "We‘re seeing significantly greater engagement among older demographics compared to the overall crypto market," said Lucas Tan, Co-Founder of CoinGecko.
Gender:
- Male – 72%
- Female – 28%
Again, Binance demonstrates broader appeal than crypto generally (15% female users). The gap is slowly narrowing as digital assets gain mainstream traction.
Geographically, Binance enjoys strong penetration in Asia, Africa, and Europe – especially in countries like Nigeria, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Outlook for Continued Growth
With the markets in disarray in 2022, is Binance‘s meteoric rise threatened? While some deceleration is probable, as the sector leader Binance is poised to weather the storm.
"Binance‘s scale, product breadth, and regulatory compliance put it in a strong position to capture the next wave of crypto growth," said Erica Stanford, CEO of Zero Hash. "While competitors have faltered, Binance has not faced solvency issues."
Once the market recovers, Binance should quickly regain momentum. Upcoming moves into NFTs, metaverse ventures, and decentralized finance will solidify Binance as the go-to portal for all things crypto. Ongoing global expansion and regulatory approval will also enable Binance to keep strengthening its grip worldwide.
Conclusion
Since launching in 2017, Binance has experienced exponential user growth to reach an estimated 30 million users today. Thanks to unbeatable security, low fees, and responsive customer service, Binance provides easy and safe access to crypto for millions globally.
Despite recent market turmoil, Binance remains poised to continue gaining market share across retail and institutional investors. As crypto gains mainstream traction over the coming decade, expect Binance to cement itself as the industry’s indispensable global infrastructure.
