The answer is clear: binance.com and binance.us are not the same company. The former is the Binance international site headquartered in the Cayman Islands (Binance Holdings); the latter is an independent US company, BAM Trading Services, registered in Delaware. They share a brand, but ownership, accounts, assets, and compliance licenses are completely separate. The vast majority of Chinese users should register on the binance.com international site.
To access the Binance international site, use the official entries below: Binance Official Site Binance Official App iOS Install Guide. All three links point to the binance.com international system — this is the version mainland Chinese users need.
1. The Fundamental Relationship
binance.com Is the International Main Site
binance.com is Binance's earliest main site, launched in July 2017, covering global users except those in the US. Registered users currently exceed 250 million, and daily trading volume has long ranked first globally. This site was founded in 2017 by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). Headquarters have shifted over the years, and the current operating entity is Binance Holdings registered in the Cayman Islands.
binance.us Is the US-Only Site
binance.us is an independent platform launched in September 2019 specifically for US users, operated by BAM Trading Services Inc., headquartered in Delaware, USA. It holds the US FinCEN MSB license and money transmitter licenses from various states, meeting US regulatory compliance requirements. Registered users number around 13 million — only 5% of the international site's scale.
The Ownership Relationship
When BAM Trading was established, it used the Binance brand and some underlying technology through a technology licensing agreement, but its ownership structure is independent. After 2023, the Binance international site fully divested any equity ties to BAM — the two are now completely parallel companies that simply share a brand name. US users are BAM's customers, and other users are Binance Holdings' customers.
2. Functional Differences
Massive Gap in the Number of Coins
binance.com supports over 1,400 spot trading pairs, with an extremely fast pace of new coin listings, and you can find all sorts of small-cap tokens. Due to pressure from the US SEC, binance.us has delisted a batch of tokens including XRP, SOL, ADA, ALGO, MATIC, and currently supports only around 150 spot trading pairs — mostly mainstream coins, with almost no small coins.
Futures and Options
This is the biggest feature gap. binance.com offers a full product suite including perpetual contracts, delivery contracts, European-style options, savings, Launchpad, NFT trading, and more. binance.us has no futures trading at all — spot only, and not even margin trading is offered. For users who want derivatives, binance.us is completely unsuitable.
Fiat Channels
binance.com supports a large variety of fiat currencies — CNY, EUR, JPY, HKD, SGD, and over 50 fiat currencies can be deposited and withdrawn via P2P or third-party channels. binance.us supports only USD, and deposits/withdrawals must be tied to a local US bank account — extremely unfriendly to Chinese users.
3. Core Difference Comparison
The table below intuitively presents the main differences between the two sites:
| Dimension | binance.com International | binance.us US Site |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Entity | Binance Holdings | BAM Trading Services |
| Place of Registration | Cayman Islands | Delaware, USA |
| Launch Date | 2017-07 | 2019-09 |
| Registered Users | 250M+ | 13M |
| Spot Pairs | 1400+ | About 150 |
| Futures Trading | Supported | Not supported |
| Options Trading | Supported | Not supported |
| Launchpad | Yes | No |
| Fiat Currencies | 50+ | USD only |
| Service Region | Except US | US only |
| Chinese Users | Can register | Cannot register |
| KYC Requirement | Basic | Strict (SSN) |
4. Which Should Chinese Users Choose?
Do Not Register on binance.us
Chinese users cannot register on binance.us at all, because its registration process mandates a US Social Security Number (SSN), a US driver's license or state ID, and a US local address — none of which Chinese citizens possess. Even if you bypass registration with technical means, you cannot complete KYC, and the account will be frozen.
Register on the binance.com International Site
The correct choice for Chinese users (including mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) is to register on the binance.com international site. The international site accepts mainland Chinese passports as valid identification (for some features), and HK/Macau/Taiwan users can use local resident IDs. After registering, you can use P2P to buy USDT with CNY and then enter spot or futures trading.
Can the Two Accounts Be Linked?
No. A binance.com account is completely invalid on binance.us, and vice versa. If you move from China to the US, you need to first withdraw assets to your own wallet, then register fresh on binance.us, and then deposit the assets over. There's an "asset migration" process in between — accounts cannot be merged.
5. FAQ
I'm in China — How Can I Tell Which Site I Registered On?
Look at the browser address bar. If it shows binance.com, it's the international site; if it shows binance.us, it's the US site. The international site's App icon is a yellow diamond on a black background; the US site's App icon differs slightly and is visually distinguishable. The Binance international version Chinese users download from the App Store is the international site.
Can US Residents Use binance.com?
No. Per the 2023 settlement between Binance and US regulators, binance.com blocks US users through multiple methods including IP addresses, device fingerprints, and KYC nationality. Once identified, the account is frozen and assets can only be withdrawn, not traded. US residents can only use binance.us.
Are Assets Across the Two Sites Calculated Together?
No. The international site's VIP tier is based on its own 30-day trading volume, and the US site has a separate independent VIP system. To obtain VIP fee discounts, you must meet the threshold on one site — trading volumes from both sides cannot be added together.
Why Are They Often Reported Together in the Media?
Because of the shared brand, outsiders easily confuse them. Especially in the 2023 SEC lawsuit against Binance, both the US site and the international site were named as defendants, and media reports often didn't distinguish them, creating the illusion that they're "one company." Legally, US regulators do treat them as related entities, but daily operations are independent.
Do binance.us's Recent Issues Affect binance.com?
There's some spillover effect but not direct. binance.us has shrunk significantly since 2023, but the international binance.com business is not directly affected by US regulators, and coins, features, and users continue steady growth. For Chinese users, only keeping an eye on the international site's developments is enough.
Android: direct APK install. iOS: requires overseas Apple ID
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