Binance leads crypto fintechs in market valuation, growing to be worth over $62 billion in less than seven years. Coinbase is the closest to Binance, holding just over $47.5 billion. Ripple and Kraken hold third and fourth positions with valuations of $11billion and $10.8 billion, respectively.
Binance rakes up interest from the crypto community
Binance’s market valuation currently stands at $62 billion, beating Coinbase’s $47.5 billion, making it the number one crypto fintech in 2024.
The platform began operations in 2017, earning just about 1.5 million users at the end of the year. However, by 2018, the exchange had already racked up about 13.3 million users and 16.5 million in 2019.Â
In 2020, the largest cryptocurrency exchange added another 5 million users, culminating in a 1333% rise from 2017. Six months into 2024, the platform already had 200 million registered users.Â
In Q1 2024, the platform’s mobile application saw over 6.3 million downloads, ahead of its closest competitor, Revolut, by over 21%. Not to mention, the exchange still had the highest 24-hour trading volume, trading over $13.26 billion by September 25, 2024.
Trailing it is Coinbase, trading $1.65 billion, about eight times less than Binance. OKX and Bybit followed, with 24-hour trading volumes of $2.02 billion and $4.58 billion, respectively.
Moreover, Binance’s trade volume market share is 43.8%, while the cumulative market share of all the other crypto exchanges is 56.2%.
Binance had to deal with SEC lawsuit in 2023
The Securities and Exchanges Commission filed a lawsuit against the centralized exchange in June 2023. The regulator accused the platform of falsely representing its trading volumes, misappropriating users’ funds, and misleading investors about market surveillance controls. Binance also came under fire for trading some crypto tokens the regulator had termed unregistered securities.
Changpeng Zhao, the exchange’s founder, was not left unscathed either. The SEC alleged he allowed money laundering on his platform to aid criminal participants. In November 2023, the platform agreed to settle, paying $4.3 billion for its illicit financial breaches.Â
Zhao also pleaded guilty to all charges and received a four-month sentence at a California correctional facility. However, he was released on September 27th, two days ahead of his scheduled release date this Sunday, September 29.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) and Binance’s BNB token fell slightly since the start of the trading day after Zhao’s early release from custody yesterday.
According to a recent Forbes report, Zhao owns 64% of the total BNB supply, which valued the entrepreneur at $61 billion in June 2024 and made him the world’s 24th richest person at the time. Zhao’s significant ownership of Binance’s native currency raised concerns about the token’s centralization when the report was published.
