How to Buy BNB – Beginners Guide

Binance Coin (BNB) is the fuel for the BNB Chain, two blockchains that work together to offer lower-cost transactions when compared to Ethereum.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to buy BNB and where to buy BNB as well as whether BNB could make a good investment for your crypto portfolio.

How to Buy Binance Coin

Several well-established exchanges offer BNB, including MEXC and the Binance exchange itself. We’ll use MEXC in this example because the exchange offers no-fee spot trades and a simple sign-up process.

Step 1. Visit MEXC and tap the sign-up button.

Provide an email address and then choose a password. MEXC will send a confirmation code to the email address you provided.

Step 2. Verify your identity.

To comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations, MEXC requires identity verification before you can use certain features on the exchange, such as connecting a bank account or debit card to fund your account through MEXC.

ID verification also lifts restrictions on withdrawal amounts.

To complete KYC identity verification, follow the instructions. MEXC offers a customized walkthrough based on your location. KYC is not available for US residents.

• Basic KYC raises your daily withdrawal limits to 80 BTC or equivalent value.
• Advanced KYC raises withdrawal limits to 200 BTC or equivalent value.

Step 3. Make a deposit.

In the example below, we use a third-party payment method to buy USDT, a stablecoin equivalent to USD. As an alternative, you can link a bank account (KYC required). You can also transfer crypto from another exchange if you have crypto elsewhere you want to trade.

In this example, funding fees cost about 4%.

Step 4. Search for BNB.

Select “Spot” from the top menu, then use the search bar to find BNB. If you funded your account with USDT, you’ll want the BNB/USDT pair.

Step 5. Buy BNB.

At the bottom of the trading screen, select a limit order or a market order.

• Limit orders let you set the price but can take longer to fill.
• Market orders are executed immediately at the market price.

For example, we chose a market order, shown below.

Next, choose the amount you want to invest and then tap the buy button.

That’s how to invest in BNB using MEXC.

MEXC will store your BNB on the exchange for you, but you can also move your BNB to a self-custody wallet, which we’ll discuss in a bit.

Where to Buy BNB – Best Exchanges

Several leading exchanges offer BNB for trading. Coinbase and MEXC make solid choices based on their low trading costs and wide selection of cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase

Coinbase prides itself as one of the biggest crypto trading platforms in the world. 

Founded in 2012, Coinbase supports buying and selling of a wide range of cryptocurrencies with a rigorous listing process.

Like others on this list, Coinbase allows copy trading to help those without a vast market knowledge learn the strategies of successful traders. 

When it comes to security, Coinbase ticks all the right boxes. It embraces a host of advanced and industry-standard features like password protection, two-factor authentication, and multi-signature logins, amongst others to deliver a secure trading experience. 

Another major aspect of Coinbase that has contributed to its viral appeal is its simple and UX interface which makes it easy for both beginners and experienced users to fully maximize its features. 

Above all, Coinbase is trusted by over 89 million users across the globe. At press time, BNB is not tradable on the exchange but it might happen soon.

MEXC

Founded in 2018, the Seychelles-based MEXC exchange offers BNB alongside more than 1,700 other cryptocurrencies, one of the largest selections you’ll find anywhere.

The exchange provides multiple ways to trade.

• Spot trading: Buy BNB to hold or trade.
• Perpetual futures: Make trades based on the future price of BNB or other coins without taking delivery when you close your trade.

MEXC also offers several features to help newer traders get their sea legs.

• Demo trading: Practice futures trading with a live-price demo account. BNB is not supported in demo trades, but MEXC offers BNB/USDT trading for live trades.
• Copy Trading: You don’t have to be an expert trader with MEXC. Instead, you can copy the futures trades of successful traders on the platform.

Binance

The BNB token was launched by Binance in 2017 as an Ethereum-compatible token and still plays a key role in the BNB Chain today.

Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world based on trading volume and offers BNB as well as more than 350 other cryptocurrencies.

However, BNB plays a special role in Binance, where traders can earn a 25% discount on trading fees by paying trading fees with BNB. Additionally, the exchange can convert your “dust” left over from other trades to BNB at no charge.

Like MEXC, Binance also offers a demo account for futures trading and copy trading. The platform provides trading bots as well, pre-programmed or customizable apps that trade according to the rules you define.

In contrast to MEXC, Binance provides more funding options in many parts of the world world.

Fees are higher than MEXC’s zero-fee spot trades but still quite low at just 0.1% for spot trades.

Best Wallet for BNB – Best Wallet

If you want to move your BNB to a self-custody crypto wallet, you can choose from several options, including software wallets like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Best Wallet — or hardware crypto wallets like Ledger.

Best Wallet is our top pick for storing BNB based on easy setup and support for smart-contract blockchains, including BNB Chain.

The mobile-based wallet provides secure storage for BNB and BNB ecosystem tokens as well as Ethereum and Polygon support. A built-in decentralized exchange lets you swap tokens easily, automatically routing your trade to the pools with the best liquidity to get the lowest prices.

Best Wallet is available now, but the six-phase project roadmap reveals several new features planned for the future, including staking to earn yields, cross-chain swaps, and airdrops (free tokens).

What Is Binance Coin Used For?

Binance Coin (BNB) is the fuel for the BNB Chain, which is two blockchains that work together.

• The BNB Beacon Chain, formerly called the Binance Chain, is used for chain staking and voting.
• The BNB Smart Chain, formerly called the Binance Smart Chain, is the smart contract capable chain that runs decentralized apps, such as lending protocols and decentralized exchanges.

Smart Contracts

Let’s say you want to lend some BNB on Venus, a popular decentralized lending app on BNB Chain. Currently, BNB pays a 51% yield on the app because borrowing demand is high. Rates fluctuate based on lending supply and borrowing demand.

To use this smart contract, you’d need some BNB to lend, but you also need BNB to execute the transaction. BNB works as “fuel” for the network, paying for computing power on the network.

BNB Chain brings lower fees compared to Ethereum. So you can execute this contract for pennies worth of BNB, leaving more to lend and earn a yield.

Staking

Proof-of-stake blockchains like BNB use crypto as pledged collateral to validate blockchain transactions. In exchange for pledging their crypto, stakers can earn a yield paid in BNB.

The BNB Chain uses 21 validators that earn staking rewards, but the protocol also supports delegated proof of stake (DPoS), which means you can delegate your BNB to an approved validator to earn a proportional share of staking rewards.

Platforms like Binance or Stater Labs can help automate the staking process, making it easy to get started earning yields up to 4% or higher.

Purchases

You can also use BNB to pay for everyday purchases if you use Binance Pay, a mobile app that supports more than 70 cryptocurrencies, including BNB. Alternatively, you can convert part of your holding as needed to make purchases.

Some crypto investors only use yields for purchases, leaving the principal investment to continue earning.

Buying with crypto brings a unique advantage if crypto prices are rising. A dollar is always a dollar, but crypto can be worth more in a rising market, stretching your buying power.

Is BNB a Good Investment?

Historically speaking, BNB has rewarded early investors with spectacular returns. It had one of the best ICOs, where BNB sold for $0.15. As of this writing, Binance Coin trades for more than $300.

But like the finance ads say, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

BNB has several bullish reasons to consider an investment – but also comes with risks to weigh.

Deflationary Supply of BNB

BNB’s initial supply was 200 million tokens, which were distributed through an ICO as well as distributions to angel investors and founding team members.

For some time, Binance dedicated 20% of its profits to buying BNB and burning the purchased tokens by sending them to an unrecoverable address. However, as of December 2021, BNB Smart Chain now burns BNB tokens automatically until it reaches a supply of 100 million tokens.

Because BNB is the fuel for the BNB Chain and used as a currency for purchases of other assets, like NFTs, a reduced supply could lead to an increase in price for BNB. This, of course, hinges on demand.

Currently, the supply for BNB is about 151 million compared to an initial supply of 200 million.

Low Transaction Costs

BNB Smart Chain launched as a fork of the Ethereum code. This means that BNB Smart Chain can host applications that work on Ethereum, making it easy to port Ethereum-compatible projects to the chain.

However, BNB handles validation differently than Ethereum, which allows the chain to process transactions faster and often at about a tenth of the cost compared to Ethereum.

Low transaction costs remain a draw for the chain, particularly in decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions where smart-contract complexity can lead to costlier network fees.

Availability – Where to Invest in BNB?

Several large exchanges don’t offer BNB at all. For example, neither Coinbase nor Kraken supports BNB trading. BNB is the second largest smart-contract blockchain by market cap; the fact that large exchanges choose not to offer BNB creates cause for concern.

Fewer trading platforms could affect the price of BNB and the ability to trade easily. The question of how to buy BNB could instead become where to buy Binance Coin if more exchanges follow suit.

Reasons behind exchange decisions not to support BNB may be due to not wanting to support a competing exchange. Or they may involve regulatory concerns, covered next.

Regulatory Concerns

On several occasions, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) named BNB as an unregistered security. By contrast, a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is considered a digital commodity by the SEC.

Lawsuits or even prosecutions by government agencies could imperil assets like BNB.

• In June 2023, the SEC named BNB and several other crypto assets as securities, filing a civil lawsuit against Binance.
• In December 2023, the US Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Binance, simultaneously filing charges against Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and former CEO.

While Binance agreed to pay $4.3 to settle the charges, the long-term effects on the company and the BNB Chain it launched remain unknown.

Flat TVL

Reduced supply of BNB could prove promising for future prices. However, it’s also important to consider the health of the ecosystem.

Total Value Locked (TVL) on BNB Smart Chain is down significantly from its highs in 2021 when the crypto market hit all-time highs. Recent months show a flat trend.

In large part, the BNB TVL decline represents reduced prices for assets in smart contracts, although Abitrum and Base, low-cost Layer 2 chains that compete with BNB Smart Chain, show a recent uptrend.

BNB Price Predictions

Crypto investments come with the hopes of price appreciation. BNB’s shrinking supply could put some of the more optimistic predictions within easier reach.

Binance surveyed its users about BNB’s future price. Here’s what they collectively predict:

• 2023: $ 311.15
• 2024: $ 326.71
• 2025: $ 343.04
• 2026: $ 360.20
• 2030: $ 437.82

The 2023 prediction is on the money.

Akash Girimath, a crypto analyst at FXStreet, sees a potential retest of the $400 level.

CoinCodex based its Binance Coin price predictions on historical price movements and Bitcoin halving cycles that typically affect the entire crypto market.

CoinCodex offered the following possibilities:

• 2025 range: $ 469.79 to $ 1,000.25
• 2030 Range: $ 888.77 to $ 1,087.78

Our own Techopedia BNB price predictions fall on the more conservative side but still see potential significant returns over the long term.

Of note, BNB hit an all-time high of $690.93 in 2021 before the auto-burn went into effect (reducing supply further).

Conclusion

In this guide, we discussed how to buy BNB and where to buy BNB, but also explored potential reasons to invest and risks to consider. A decreasing supply of BNB could prove bullish for prices, although it’s important to consider regulatory risk and market share as well.

If you decide a BNB investment fits your long-term goals, Coinbase offers a low-cost way to get started. The Coinbase exchange features powerful tools, including staking.

References

• https://www.bnbchain.org/en/staking
• https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/what-is-bnb-auto-burn
• https://bscscan.com/address/0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dead
• https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2023/comp-pr2023-101.pdf
• https://www.justice.gov/criminal/case/united-states-v-binance-holdings-limited-dba-binancecom
• https://www.justice.gov/criminal/case/united-states-v-changpeng-zhao
• https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/binance-ceo-steps-crypto-platform-hit-4-billion-fines-rcna126071
• https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/binance-coin-price-forecast-bnb-buying-opportunity-before-400-202312280528
• https://coincodex.com/crypto/binance-coin/price-prediction/

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