Is Binance safe?

No MiCA authorization found Evidence 90%Red flag: criminal plea in the last five years, score capped at 60

Rigor score of the evidence we could verify

Key facts

What the sources say

MiCANot foundApplication pending or none found

Italian residentsNoRegistry check pending

Proof of reservesPublisheddetails not verified

Spot fees (base tier)0.1% / 0.1%maker / taker

Score breakdown

Where the points come from

Regulation0 / 25

No MiCA authorization found; application pending or none

Transparency6 / 10

Proof of reserves published: yes; Independent party: none named; Liabilities included: not verified (unscored); Report date not verified (unscored)

Security record8 / 20

Worst incident in the last five years scored: 8 of 20

Compliance record5 / 25

2 regulator or court action(s) in the window; reports from press only are shown but not scored

Costs10 / 10

Spot taker 0.1% at the published base tier

Track record

Incidents and regulator actions

Security incidents

2022-10-06 BSC Token Hub cross-chain bridge exploit: about 2 million BNB (~USD 570 million at the time) minted/withdrawn via a smart contract bug; BSC block production paused. Outcome: Binance froze about USD 7 million; about USD 100 million reported unrecovered; CEO stated 'Your funds are safe'. Ownership of stolen BNB not stated by source. source

Regulator and court actions

2023-11-21 US Department of Justice (with CFTC, FinCEN, OFAC resolutions): Binance Holdings Limited pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations, failure to register as money transmitting business and IEEPA violations; founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective AML program. Outcome: Total financial penalty USD 4,316,126,163 (forfeiture 2,510,650,588 + fine 1,805,475,575); three-year compliance monitor. Official source Criminal plea or conviction source
2025-05-29 US SEC: SEC civil suit filed June 2023 against Binance and Zhao (alleging inflated trading volumes, diversion of customer funds, unregistered securities). Outcome: Dismissed with prejudice by joint stipulation; SEC cited discretion and policy. PRESS REPORT ONLY · official text not found · NOT SCORED source

Limits

What we could not verify

Not verified: live OAM register entry; current Binance legal entity serving Italy; Binance futures base fees; PoR auditor/date/liabilities; any events after 31/08/2026; other regulatory actions (e.g. France, other jurisdictions) not searched; other licenses not searched.

Facts are as of 7 Oct 2026. Searches are not exhaustive. If something here is wrong or out of date, send a correction with a source: corrections policy. Education only, not investment advice.

Sources

[1] ESMA interim MiCA CASP register (CSV) accessed 2026-10-07
[2] Finanza Digitale - Binance lascia Italia accessed 2026-10-07
[3] US DOJ - Binance and CEO plead guilty accessed 2026-10-07
[4] Finance Magnates - SEC dropped lawsuit against Binance accessed 2026-10-07
[5] Binance proof of reserves accessed 2026-10-07
[6] Binance fee schedule accessed 2026-10-07
[7] NBC News - Binance $570M hack accessed 2026-10-07
[8] The Block - Binance Italy OAM 2022 accessed 2026-10-07
[9] Teleborsa - Binance stop UE 1 luglio accessed 2026-10-07

Questions

Common questions about Binance

Is Binance safe?

We do not give a yes or no, because safety depends on what you need to protect and on facts that change. In our Edition 0 audit Binance scored 32 out of 100 with 90% of the evidence verified. A red flag caps the score at 60. We found 1 security incident in the last five years and 1 regulator or court action that was not dismissed. Read the sources on this page before you deposit.

Does Binance publish proof of reserves?

Yes. Compare all exchanges: proof of reserves compared.

Is Binance authorized under MiCA?

We found no MiCA authorization in our search. See all exchanges: MiCA authorized exchanges.

What are Binance's spot trading fees?

Base tier spot fees are 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker.

Can Italian residents use Binance?

Accepts Italian residents: No. The registry check is pending.