Binance.US Raises $200 Million Funding Round At $4.5 Billion Valuation

The U.S. branch of the leading global crypto exchange, Binance, has raised $200 million with a valuation of $4.5 billion.

The latest, over $200 million funding round values Binance US, the cryptocurrency exchange affiliated with the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, at $4.5 billion. Various VCs and crypto-native firms, including Circle Ventures, VanEck, and Foundation Capital, participated in the round.

The round comes seven months after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in August that Binance.US had expected to close funding shortly from “reputable investors.” At the time, the then CEO of Binance.US, Brian Brooks, left the exchange just after three months of joining, reportedly after a failed $100 million funding effort.

The newly raised capital planned to be used by the exchange to improve its spot trading platform, develop a new products, and support marketing and education initiatives.

Binance US CEO Brian Shroder commented:

“When you look at Coinbase retail users, on average, they are being charged 1.5%, sometimes up to 3%. For the same users transacting and trading on Binance.US, we are charging 0.1%. We are going to educate people on these price differences.” 

Binance.US currently offers crypto spot trading services to retail and institutional clients. The exchange was launched in 2019 and is now available in 45 US states and eight territories. It plans to offer its services across all US states and territories.

In terms of trading volumes, Binance.US is far behind its rival Coinbase. The exchange had a trading volume of over $9 billion last month compared to Coinbase’s over $81 billion.

Binance US operates separately from the global Binance exchange for complying with legal regulations in the US.