15 Differences Between Gemini and Binance

What are the differences between Gemini and Binance? You will need to know the differences in the way of operation and the offers of Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, and Gemini, one of the most popular exchanges that focus more on security, to know which is best for you.

This article will help you a lot in that aspect and know which among the two favors the traders who deal in high volumes, which is the best in terms of regulatory compliance, and to know a lot of different aspects to make an informed decision.

Binance offers its users a wide and diverse range of cryptocurrencies to choose from for trading and investing. You will find more than a hundred different types of Altcoins as well to invest on this platform.

It also allows them to make payments with more than a few payment methods which include both bank wire transfers and credit card payments.

Binance is considered to be one of the most liquid crypto exchanges that offer its users a margin of up to 10 times.

On the other hand, Gemini is also one of the most reliable crypto platforms that allow crypto trading and charges reasonably low fees for it from the users.

It also supports quite a long list of coins for the users to choose from, including some of the top Altcoins. However, there are lots of different areas in which it differs from Binance.

Reading this article all through will enable you to know about them all and determine which is safer and more suitable for your crypto trading needs.

15 Differences Between Gemini and Binance

Differences Between Gemini and Binance 

There are lots of crypto exchanges out there and Binance and Gemini feature on the top of the list in terms of popularity and functionality.

Both have a lot to offer to the crypto traders, both new and experienced, and you will not be disappointed if you choose one of them.

However, this does not mean these platforms are similar in all respects. Here are some of the main features of these two platforms that differ from one another.

Go through them to gain more knowledge and also read the ‘Which is better’ section of this article to know which among the two will best serve your purposes.

1. Company Information

Binance was founded in 2017 with its head office located in Malta. It was founded by Changpeng Zhao.

On the other hand, Gemini was founded in 2015 with its head office in the United States by the Winklevoss twins.

2. Payment Methods

The payment methods supported by Gemini include Bitcoin payments, Etana, credit card, MasterCard, Visa, Wire Transfer, and Silvergate Bank Transfer.

In comparison, the payments of Binance include ADVcash, ACH transfer, Banxa, Bitcoin payments, Etana, Flutterwave, Credit Card, Google Pay, PIX Payment, Paybis, PayID, Simplex, Samsung Pay, Vietcombank Transfer, wire transfer, MasterCard, and Visa.

3. Coin Support

Gemini supports a number of different coins such as ADA, AAV, ATOM, AMP BTC, BCH, BAT, BNT, BAL, BRD, COMP, CRV, CSP, DOGE, DOT, DAI, ETH, EOS, ENJ, FXC, FIL, GRT, GNT, KEEP, KNC, LTC, LINK, LRC, LOOM, MKR, MANA, NMR, OMG, OXT, PAXG, REN, SOL, SNX, STORJ, SKL, SAND, TBTC, UNI, UMA, WBTC, WNXM, XRP,  XLM, XTZ, YFI, ZEC, ZRX, and 1INCH.

As for Binance, the coins supported include ADA, ALGO, ATOM, BTC, BNB, BUSD, BCH, BAND, BAT, COMP, DOGE, DASH, DAI, ETH, ENJ, EGLD, EOS, ETC, FIL, HBAR, HNT, IOTA, ICX, KNC, LINK, LTC, MANA, MATIC, MKR, NEO, NANO, ONE, ONT, OMG, OXT, PAXG, QTUM, RVN, REP, SOL, STORJ, SHIB, THETA, USDT, UNI, USDC, VET, VTHO, WAVES, WBTC, XLM, XTZ,  ZIL, ZEC, ZEN, and ZRX.

4. Availability

People from all over the world can access the Binance platform though there are some restrictions, especially in the UK. The main platform of Binance is not accessible by the residents of the US for whom Binance has designed a dedicated platform Binance.US.

However, Binance.US is not available in all of the fifty US states. It is not available in:

  • Connecticut
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Louisiana
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Vermont and
  • Washington

Gemini, on the other hand, is available in several countries such as the United States, Canada, Cayman Islands, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Guernsey, Hungary, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Jersey, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand,   Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Honk Kong, India, Philippines, Singapore, Israel, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan, Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Vietnam, and South Africa.

5. Security

In terms of security, Gemini offers much better security than the Binance platform.

A for Binance the security features include:

  • Two-Factor Authentication
  • Address white list
  • Email confirmation for withdrawals and
  • SAFU or Secure Asset Fund for Users

However, Binance does not have any strict regulatory measures and even allows the American customers to trade on the platform without any sort of anti-money laundering restrictions or a proper Know Your Customer verification of the users.

As for Gemini, the security features include:

  • Geographically distributed and air-gapped cold storage
  • FIPS 140-2 Level 3 or higher protection and insurance of the small amount of funds stored online
  • Two-Factor Authentication
  • Address Allow listing
  • Rate limiting
  • Encryption
  • Multiple Signatories and
  • Controlled Facilities
Read Also:  8 Differences Between Fiat vs Crypto Market

The platform follows extreme regulatory policy for utmost compliance to stay ahead of the others, especially Binance, in terms of security. They are strictly regulated as a Limited Liability Trust Company under the New York Banking Law.

6. Fees

Binance charges much lower fees in comparison to Gemini. In fact, it is the fact that this platform allows its users to trade at such a low cost that has resulted in its exponential growth and meteoric rise in popularity.

You will find that their trading fees are probably the lowest in the entire crypto space. Both the maker and taker fees are low at 0.1%, which can be lowered even further by using its native token BNB or as and when the monthly trading volume of the user increases.

On the other hand, the trading fees of Gemini start at a much higher rate than Binance which is at 0.35%. This makes trading on Gemini much more expensive than trading on Binance.

7. Notable Features

Some of the notable features of Gemini help especially those individual users who have a high net worth as well as the institutions. The platform seems to offer additional convenience to the users based in the United States.

The platform allows the US users to make instant deposits from a bank account to start trading right away. This is a huge plus to the traders.

Also, the Gemini credit card offers a Bitcoin-denominated rewards program which helps in attracting new users towards the platform much more easily.

On the other hand, Binance seems to be pushing itself more towards the DeFi realm of crypto. The Binance Smart Chain is a notable feature that has all the potential to offer a tough competition to the most popular smart contracts platforms such as Ethereum.

Apart from that, the native BNB token of the platform allows the users to reduce the fees they need to pay to trade on this platform which is a huge plus to them.

8. Signup Process

The signup process of Gemini is pretty simple and much similar to the signup process of any other crypto exchange. All you have to do is:

  • Click on the “Sign Up” button on the homepage of the website to create an account with them
  • Provide the basic information such as your name and email along with a new password
  • Activate the account with the code sent by the verification mail to your email address
  • Provide some more personal information such as your residing address and social security number
  • Provide a few documents such as a utility bill and a copy of the driver’s license for complete verification of the account.

On the other hand, the signup process on Binance.US is pretty much the same as that of Gemini. However, for the main platform, it works a bit differently after creating your account by providing your email address along with a password.

You can start trading crypto coins with the deposits you made without requiring you to go through identity verification. However, withdrawals will be limited to 2 Bitcoin per day if your account is not verified.

And, in case any suspicious activity is noticed, your funds may be locked and identity verification may be required in that case.

9. Earning Interest

Users of both these platforms can earn interest by staking. As for Binance, these rewards are offered on a limited number of coins that you can stake with the Binance.US.

The rates offered usually vary depending on the type of coin staked and are usually estimated to be within 0.5% to 10%. Though the type of coins offered is changed frequently by the Binance platform, normally the coins supported are:

  • ONE
  • QTUM
  • EOS
  • XTZ Staking
  • ATOM Staking
  • Vechain Staking Rewards and
  • ALGO Staking

The platform also supports DeFi Staking and Locked Staking for its international users. Potentially, Locked Staking offers a much higher rate of interest rates in exchange for depositing the coins for a fixed term which may be anything from 15, 30, 60, and up to 90 days.

The rate of interest starts at 1.49% and can be as high as 33.12%. The rate applicable is determined on the basis of the type of coin as well as the fixed period chosen. The platform allows 11 DeFi staking and 64 locked staking.

As for Gemini, the platform also allows the users to earn interest by staking their coins. They can use almost any of the crypto coins that this platform supports for trading.

The rate of interest offered by Gemini usually varies from 1.51% to 8.05%. For example, on BTC the rate of interest is 1.49% APY, on ETH it is 2.05% APY, on DAI it is 7.55% APY, on DOGE it is 3.78% APY, on BCH it is 4.29% APY, and on GUSD the rate of interest offered is the highest at 8.05% APY.

10. Rewards Cards

The international users of the Binance platform are allowed to access the Binance Visa card. This card charges no fees and allows them to earn cashback of up to 8% on qualified and approved purchases.

The users can also hold their crypto assets in the Binance Funding Wallet and spend them as and when required.

The US customers are not allowed to use this card from Binance which is typically available in countries namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, all arranged alphabetically.

As for the Gemini reward cards, it was launched recently. This MasterCard credit card offers the users cashback within the range of 1% and 3% on purchases made in real time.

Read Also:  9 Differences Between Coinmama and Binance

This reward is offered on any type of cryptocurrency that is supported by Gemini. The users can manage this card very easily by using the Gemini app and they will not have to pay an annual fee for holding it.

The good thing about this card is that it will allow the US residents of all US states to have instant access to this customizable metal card.

11. Unique Payment Features

There are different and unique payment features offered by these two platforms. On Binance, you can use the Mobile Pay feature if you are outside the US which will allow you to access Binance Pay.

This is actually a contactless mobile service that allows the investors to send and receive crypto coins from other users. The funds stored in the Binance Pay wallet can be spent in person or online.

This supports several different crypto coins such as ADA, ATOM, BTC, BNB, BUSD, BCH, DASH, DOGE, DOT, ETH, ETC, EOS, EGLD, FRONT, FIL, HBAR, LTC, LINK, MATIC, NEO, ONE, PAX, QTUM, STRAX, SXP, TUSD, TRX, UNI, USDC, USDT, VET, WRX, XRP, XMR, XTZ, XLM, and ZEC.

On the other hand, the unique Gemini Pay feature allows the users to spend their crypto coins at more than 30000 retail establishments all over the United States. This feature however is available in the US only.

12. Wallet

As for the wallets, the Gemini wallet allows the users to store their crypto assets safely in it. Since this supports both hot and cold wallets, the users can store their assets both offline and online according to their wishes and needs.

Also, these funds are insured and protected against theft of digital assets. This means that if at all someone somehow manages to steal your crypto coins, there is a high possibility that you will be reimbursed.

If you choose to store your crypto assets offline for the sake of a greater degree of safety and security, you can use the controlled and geographically distributed facilities.

The Gemini Custody allows you to do that and also provides insurance for $200 million, which is the highest insurance cover provided by any crypto custodian. If you wish to trade with these funds you can use the Gemini Instant Trade feature.

As for Binance, it allows the users to store their crypto assets directly on the platform since they do not offer a dedicated wallet service to their users. In fact, they recommended using Trust Wallet for that matter to keep the funds safe.

13. Additional Features

Here are a few additional features of these two platforms that are worth considering and will also help you to differentiate between these two crypto platforms.

As for Binance, these features include:

  • Crypto-backed Loans with LTVs up to 65% and for a varying tenure of 7, 14, 30, 90, and 180 periods. These loans come with a margin call set at 75% and liquidation at 83% Loan to Value and with no penalties if you make an early repayment. However, these loans are not available in the United States.
  • Liquid Swap via the Automated Market Maker or AMM platform is a feature that allows the users to make larger transactions at lower fees and more stable prices.
  • A Smart Pool which enables the crypto miners to earn rewards for working together as a member of a large mining group in the proportion of their participation.
  • Brave Widget is actually an internet browser that can be used by the traders to trade their crypto with complete protection of their data.
  • P2P trading feature which allows the users to trade crypto coins among them and pay no fees for it. They simply have to set their prices and wait for someone else on the platform to fulfill the buy or sell order.
  • NFT Trading feature that supports the creation, buying and selling of NFTs which can also be won through the Mystery Box Playground. However, this feature is not available on the Binance.US platform.
  • Binance Futures is a feature that will allow the users to trade a particular type of coins at a leverage, the rate of which can be as high as 125 times.

As for Gemini, the additional features include Gemini Clearing which allows the users to settle crypto trades made off exchange more safely and securely.

It also comes with its unique Gemini Active Trader feature which is an advanced version that can be used by the serious users who want to make some sophisticated trades making the best use of the wide range of trading options offered.

14. The Pros and Cons

As for Gemini, the advantages offered by this platform to its users include providing a sandbox account and quite an intuitive website.

Apart from that, one of the good things about this website is that it does not charge any fees from its users for deposits and withdrawals.

However, you should keep in mind that not many countries are accepted and account creation can be an issue in that case, and the trading fees of this platform are quite high.

On the other hand, Binance charges quite low fees from its users for trading crypto coins on this platform. It also offers a lot of crypto coins to choose from and trade with and a website that is quite easy to use.

However, in the case of customer support, the platform does not offer any phone support.

15. Few Other Differences

These differences are also good to know about. These may look to be very insignificant but, on the contrary, it will help a lot in making a choice between Gemini and Binance.

Read Also:  5 Differences Between Blockchain and Bitcoin

As for customer support, Gemini seems to lag behind Binance since it offers support to its customers through email only. In comparison, the users of Binance can avail themselves of a variety of options to get customer support such as live chat, Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Facebook, Weibo, Instagram, VK, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

In terms of the trading options offered by the two platforms, Gemini does not offer any futures or derivatives but Binance, in comparison, not only offers these both options but also supports margin trading with 20x leverage.

And, as for the fees for trading on these platforms, Gemini charges 0.25% but that of Binance charges within the range of 0.012% and 0.10%. Talking about the fees, Gemini does not charge anything for withdrawals from its users but Binance does.

Which is Better – Gemini or Binance?

Now that you know about the differences between these two crypto platforms, you may wonder which among the two will be better for you to go with.

It will be absolutely wrong to say that anyone among Binance and Gemini will be a good choice because every crypto trader in the world has different needs and situations that ask for different solutions.

Therefore, whether Binance or Gemini is the right crypto platform for you will depend on a variety of aspects.

To make the right choice you will need to compare the features and functionalities of these two platforms with your trading needs and then make your final selection based on your personal preference.

Here are a few points that you should keep in mind while going ahead with it to ease the process.

First, you should remember that both these platforms are not primarily focused to make their respective platform extremely beginner-friendly, but they surely are focused to make the platform easy to use.

The users of both these platforms can use their mobile apps which come with good features that are easy to understand and navigate even by the newcomers to the crypto space.

This attracts the general audience much more since they can stay connected to the crypto market on the go.

If you make your choice in terms of security, you must know that the security of Gemini is excellent and has not been hacked to date.

In comparison, the security offered by Binance is okay of sorts and has been hacked before on 7 May 2019, though the users were compensated for their losses incurred.

Next, you should consider the fees of the two exchanges while choosing one of them.

This is very important because it is the fees charged by the respective crypto exchanges that may result in an increase in the cost of a particular coin much above its actual value.

This means that, if you are going to trade frequently, this will eat away your profits.

Therefore, in this aspect, Binance will be a much better choice since it charges some of the lowest fees for trading in comparison to all non-commission-free crypto exchanges in this space.

Though Gemini charges quite low fees for trading as compared to other popular crypto exchanges, it is not as low as the fees charged by Binance, or even Binance.US for that matter.

If you make your choice based on location and you stay in the US, Gemini should be your option since it is one of the best crypto exchanges designed for the Americans and the features incorporated in it are especially targeted at them.

Most importantly, Gemini should be the best and a safer choice for those traders who are worried about the legal aspects and future of crypto assets, especially in the United States.

Binance, on the other hand, is designed for everyone else, including international traders, to use since its features will be too good and useful to ignore.

Apart from margin trading, it offers a lot of trading pairs, a proprietary token, and has little requirements for its KYC verification process.

Another good reason to choose Binance is that it offers high liquidity which means that the users will experience little or no price fluctuations related to trade.

In a nutshell, Binance is a platform to choose by those crypto traders and investors who are looking for low and competitive trading fees, a good track record, a P2P trading option, a secure asset fund, and does not reside in the US.

It is not a suitable platform for new and inexperienced traders since the features may be quite intimidating and for those who want exceptional customer service with fast response.

As for Gemini, it is good for those users who are looking for a beginner-friendly platform, robust security, more features, government compliance, and reside in the United States.

However, it is not a good platform to choose if you are looking for a margin trading option, a fast withdrawal process, and low trading fees.

Conclusion

With lots of crypto exchanges out there, it will be really difficult for you to pick the right one. Even if you are given only two options, Gemini and Binance, you will need an article like this to know the differences between them to make a choice.