Finding a trustworthy cryptocurrency exchange to deposit your funds and start trading is the hardest part of becoming a crypto trader or investor. With hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges out there, finding the one that best fits your needs can be challenging.
Today, let’s compare two prominent exchanges in the crypto market: Poloniex and Binance. Poloniex is a US-based exchange that offers spot and futures trading. In contrast, Binance Futures is one of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency space, with a combined high trading volume of over $150 billion per day.
So, which cryptocurrency exchange should you choose and why? Let’s find out.
Supported Cryptocurrencies: Poloniex vs. Binance
Poloniex and Binance both have many cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and trading pairs. Hence, you will get a lot of variety on both exchanges.
- Binance
With over 500 cryptocurrencies, Binance currently has one of the largest pools of digital assets available for trading and investing. The exchange also has its native token: Binance Coin (BNB).
Binance offers a comprehensive range of trading products to choose from. It supports traditional cryptocurrency exchange, classic spot trading, margin trading, and strategy trading. It also has derivatives: Futures, Vanilla Options, and Leveraged Tokens.
Additionally, Binance provides staking, Pool, Visa card, crypto loans, liquid swap, and wallet features.
- Poloniex
At the time of writing, Poloniex lists over 250 cryptocurrency assets. These include everything from renowned cryptocurrencies to newly listed tokens. Poloniex supports three types of trading: Spot, Margin, and Futures trading. The exchange has its native token: TRX.
It also has a lending section where you can lend your crypto to earn interest.
Verdict: Binance is the winner, as it has more cryptocurrencies and products than Poloniex.
Poloniex vs. Binance: Trading Fees and Withdrawal Fees
Both Poloniex and Binance follow a market maker/taker fee model and have a tiered fee structure. Let’s compare the trading fees and withdrawal fees charged by the two exchanges.
Poloniex
Poloniex has six trading tiers, depending on the 30d trading volume and TRX balance. Users with a 30d trading volume of less than $50k and a TRX balance of less than $49 are in the first tier. Once you cross $50k in trading volume and $49 in TRX balance, you’ll enter the second tier.
After the second tier, your tier will increase based on your 30d trading volume only. For instance, users with a 30d trading volume of over $50 million are in the final tier.
The spot market maker/taker fee is 0.145%/0.155% for Tier-1 traders and 0.02%/0.1% for Tier 6 traders. You can get an additional discount if you use the TRX token for transactions.
Poloniex has three more tiers:
- Poloniex Plus Silver
- Poloniex Plus Gold
- Poloniex Market Maker
You need to apply manually to enter these tiers.
For futures trading, the market maker/taker fee is set to 0.01%/0.075%. Besides, Poloniex charges a margin interest fee if you trade using leverage. The fee depends on the leverage used and the type of contract.
Poloniex doesn’t charge a deposit fee, though there is a withdrawal fee depending on the asset you withdraw.
Binance
Binance also has a market maker-taker fee structure. It has ten fee levels: VIP 0 to VIP 10. Users with a 30d trade volume of less than 50 BTC and a BNB balance of less than 50 BNB are in the first tier. Similarly, users with a 30d volume of over 150,000 BTC and a BNB balance of 11,000 BNB are in the last tier.
The spot market/taker fee is 0.1%/0.1% for VIP 0 traders and 0.02%/0.04% for VIP 9 traders.
Binance offers two types of futures: USDT-M Futures and COIN-M Futures. The market/maker fee ranges from 0.0200%/0.0400% to 0.0000%/0.0170% for USDT-M Futures and from 0.0100%/0.0500% to -0.0090%/0.0240% for COIN-M Futures.
Binance doesn’t charge a deposit fee; however, there is a withdrawal fee that is unique for each cryptocurrency.
Verdict: It’s a tie. Though Binance charges lower fees, it has a complex fee structure. Poloniex has a simple and easy-to-understand fee structure.
Account Funding Methods
Poloniex and Binance both accept fiat currencies for depositing funds.
Binance accepts a wide range of payment methods, depending on the currency you want to deposit. For depositing USD, SWIFT bank transfer, credit/debit card, P2P trading, and third-party payment options are available. For EUR deposits, you can also use a cash balance.
Additionally, you can fund your account directly using cryptocurrencies.
Poloniex also accepts multiple payment methods. You can deposit fiat currency using the following methods: Poloniex wallet, Visa, Mastercard, ApplePay, and bank transfers.
Verdict: It’s a tie, as both Poloniex and Binance allow you to add funds to your account using a wide range of fiat money deposit methods.
Poloniex vs. Binance: Margin Trading
Poloniex and Binance both support margin trading. Also known as leveraged trading, margin trading allows you to buy assets worth more than your initial margin. For example, 3x leverage means you can buy assets 3x worth more than your initial margin.
Poloniex offers a flat 2.5x leverage on margin trading for all assets. Currently, margin trading against USDT is available for seven assets: BTC, ETH, TRX, XRP, XMR, BCH, and BCHSV.
Binance offers margin trading on about a hundred cryptocurrency assets. The leverage ranges from 3x to 10x, depending on the asset you trade. For example, you get a 10x leverage on BTC, 5x on CAKE, and 3x on CFX.
Verdict: Binance is the winner, as it offers higher leverage and more pairs for margin & futures trading.
Binance vs. Poloniex: Mobile Apps
Mobile trading is on the rise, as many crypto users prefer mobile phones to invest and trade in crypto. Both Poloniex and Binance provide mobile apps that offer a seamless mobile trading experience.
Poloniex has a mobile app for both Android and iOS. The app has a 4.5/5 rating on both platforms. The mobile app comes with all the features available in the desktop version. You can open an account, verify your account, and place buy/sell orders from the app.
Binance also has an app for both Android and iOS platforms. It has a 4.5/5 rating on Android and a 4.7/5 rating on iOS. The Binance app has all the features and functionalities you see in the desktop version. Hence, you can open an account, add funds, place orders, withdraw funds, and more from the mobile app.
Verdict: It’s a tie, as both Poloniex and Binance have a mobile app that offers outstanding features and user experience.
Opening Account, Account Verification, and Account Limits
Opening an account is easy on both Poloniex and Binance. Let’s compare the account opening procedures and ID verification requirements on the two exchanges.
Poloniex
To open an account on Poloniex, visit the Poloniex website homepage and click on Sign Up. A registration form will open. Enter your email address, password, and referral code (optional), and click on Sign Up.
Poloniex doesn’t have mandatory KYC requirements, though there are some limits imposed on unverified users. Unverified users can only withdraw up to $50,000 per day, while verified users can withdraw up to a million dollars a day. Verified users also get access to custom withdrawal limits, margin trading, and other features.
Binance
Binance also offers a seamless account registration process. Visit the Binance website and click on Register on the top right corner of the homepage. A registration form will appear, asking you to enter your email/phone number, password, and referral ID (optional).
Binance also doesn’t have mandatory KYC requirements, though there are some limitations for non-KYC users. For instance, unverified users can withdraw up to 0.6 BTC only. Furthermore, they can use only up to 20x leverage compared to 125x for verified users.
Verdict: It’s a tie, as both the exchanges have optional KYC requirements.
Ease Of Use & Interface
Poloniex and Binance have institutional-grade crypto trading platforms that offer top-notch features and performance. Let’s run a head-to-head comparison of the trading platforms of Poloniex and Binance.
- Poloniex
Poloniex has a simple, user-friendly trading terminal. It has a chart visualization system powered by TradingView. The charting system has all the features available in TradingView, such as multiple time frames, chart types, drawing tools, and indicators.
The trading terminal has a section consisting of the Order Book and Market Trades. These sections help you analyze the market sentiment and depth and place long and short trades.
Poloniex has a simple order form that allows you to place buy and sell orders. The platform supports four order types: Limit, Market, Stop Limit, and Stop Market. The bottom of the terminal has an assets overview section that lets you see your current and past orders.
Poloniex also has Trollbox, which is a live community chat platform where you can interact with platform users from around the world.
- Binance
Binance has one of the most comprehensive cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world. It has three platforms: Convert, Classic, and Advanced.
Convert is an exchange portal where you can exchange cryptocurrencies.
Classic is a user-friendly trading terminal with all the essential features needed to trade crypto. It comprises Binance’s proprietary charting system that includes various chart types, indicators, time frames, and other features.
The trading platform has features like Order Book, Market Trades, Market Activities, and Tickers.
The terminal has an intuitive order form that allows you to place Limit, Market, Stop-Limit, Stop Market, and OCO orders. The bottom of the terminal has the assets overview section where you can track your current and previous orders.
The Advanced terminal is similar to the Classic terminal, apart from a few changes. For starters, it has a charting system powered by TradingView. Hence, you can choose whether you want to use the proprietary charting system of Binance or TradingView.
Additionally, the Advanced version allows you to manage your assets. You can deposit, transfer, and withdraw assets right directly from the trading terminal. Apart from these features, it has all the features available in the Classic version.
Verdict: It’s a tie, as both Poloniex and Binance have top-notch trading platforms. Poloniex is ideal for beginners, whereas Binance is geared towards beginner and pro traders.
Security Features
Security is one of the most critical factors to consider before registering on a crypto exchange. Poloniex and Binance both implement best-in-class security features to create a secure trading environment for their traders. Let’s look at the security measures taken by the two exchanges.
Poloniex
Before proceeding, you must know that Poloniex was hacked once in 2014 when over 12% of its Bitcoin supply was stolen. There hasn’t been a security incident on the platform after that. Moreover, the company paid back every user who lost money due to the incident.
Coming to security, Poloniex is a US-based company, and hence, it is fully compliant with the US SEC regulations and take security seriously. It implements all the essential security features, such as:
- Cold storage wallets for offline fund storage
- Two-factor authentication
- IP allowlisting
- SSL encryption
Besides, Poloniex allows up to $50k daily withdrawals only for unverified users to ensure protection against money laundering.
Binance
Despite being hacked once in 2019, Binance remains one of the most secure cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It implements leading-edge security features to create risk-free trading and investing experience for its users.
Some security features offered by Bitcoin are:
- Address management and withdrawal address whitelist to limit withdrawal wallets
- Cold-storage offline wallet for fund security
- Multi-factor authentication
- Secure asset fund
- IP whitelisting and SSL encryption
Binance also requires KYC for daily withdrawals over 0.6 BTC to prevent money laundering.
Customer Support
Customer support is another essential factor to consider when looking for a cryptocurrency exchange. Let’s compare the customer support offered by the two exchanges.
- Poloniex
It’ll be harsh to say that Poloniex has poor customer support, but it will rank lower than other crypto exchanges in the support department. It only provides support by email, and the team could take a few hours to respond.
On the positive side, Poloniex has a comprehensive help section where they provide articles, blog posts, and FAQs on various common topics. You can refer to this section for instant help.
- Binance
The support offered by Binance is quite similar to Poloniex. It has a vast knowledge base and help center where you can find articles and guides on almost every topic.
If you need more help, you can visit the trading support tickets section of the crypto platform and access the live chat box to talk to the support team. Contrarily, you can also send them an email if your issue is more comprehensive. The response times on Binance are quicker.
Verdict: Binance is the winner because it offers more support options and has faster response times.
- Is Poloniex Safe?
Poloniex is one of the safest cryptocurrency exchanges out there. It is based in the US and regulated by the US SEC, making it highly secure. It has recorded no security breaches since 2014 and offers a safe user experience.
- Is Binance Safe?
Binance implements all the security features in the crypto world to provide a safe experience to its users. However, Binance has been hacked once, so consult your financial advisor before using it.
Conclusion: Binance vs. Poloniex Exchange Comparison
Binance and Polonies are both amazing cryptocurrency exchanges, offering a wide range of features and options to choose from. Binance has the highest trading volume in the crypto industry and lists almost all digital currencies in the market.
Poloniex users get a security advantage, as the exchange is one of the safest platforms in the crypto community and provides a secure, user-friendly interface.
Overall, you can choose any exchange you want as per your needs.
Here is How Binance & Poloniex Compares To Other Crypto Exchanges
- Binance vs Luno
- Binance vs Swftx
- Binance vs Uniswap
- Binance vs Huobi
- Binance vs Wazirx
- Poloniex vs Kraken
