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Binance vs Bybit
Both are large offshore exchanges closed to US residents, and both do spot and derivatives. The difference is what each was built around.
Both links below are affiliate links — what that means. It does not change what is written here; every entry carries a drawback for the same reason.
Short answer
Choose Binance if…You want the deepest spot books and the widest product range, and you value liquidity above interface.
Visit Binance →Choose Bybit if…Derivatives are your main activity. The trading interface assumes you are managing positions rather than making a first purchase, and it shows.
Visit Bybit →Side by side
| What is being compared | Binance | Bybit |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2017 | 2018 |
| Based / registered | No single headquarters; regional entities, with a licensed presence in Dubai and France | Dubai, with a UAE licence |
| Who holds the assets | Custodial — Binance holds the keys | Custodial |
| Identity verification | Required for withdrawals and most features | Required for most features |
| Available to US residents | Not available. US residents are redirected to Binance.US, a separate company that does not operate in every state | No — Bybit lists the United States among excluded jurisdictions |
| Products |
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What each one is actually good at
BinanceThe deepest order books in the industry — on major pairs the slippage on a large order is smaller here than anywhere else, which for size matters more than the headline fee.
Worth knowing. Pleaded guilty to US anti-money-laundering charges in November 2023 and paid a multi-billion-dollar settlement, with a compliance monitor imposed. The scale is a double-edged thing: enormous liquidity, and a company regulators watch closely.
BybitDerivatives are its centre of gravity rather than an add-on, and the trading interface reflects that — it is built for someone managing positions, not someone making a first purchase.
Worth knowing. Suffered a very large hot-wallet theft in February 2025 and covered customer losses, which is the outcome you want but not an event you want. Treat any exchange balance as a trading float, not storage.
What about the fees?
We do not print a fee table, and the reason is not laziness. Fee schedules change without notice — Kraken rebuilt its tier system in July 2026 — and a stale number on a page that earns from its links is worse than no number at all. So here are both live schedules, from the source:
Once you have both numbers, the trading fee calculator turns them into what a year of your actual trading would cost — which is the number that decides this, not the headline rate.
Before you commit
Availability changes. Regulators bar platforms, platforms withdraw from markets, and this page was last checked on 2026-08-05 — confirm on the platform’s own terms that it serves your country before you sign up.
And whichever you pick: an exchange balance is a trading float, not storage. Anything you are not actively trading belongs in a wallet you hold the keys to.