Binance is two things
1) A cryptocurrency exchange that allows you to trade different cryptocurrencies and
2) A really annoying word to type because it constantly auto-corrects to Finance.
Let’s focus on the former. Binance is a fairly young company, founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao and originally headquartered in China. It quickly became the website to go to for purchasing and exchanging cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency (it only exists online) and can be used to buy goods and services. The most well known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, with just one Bitcoin valued at around 55K. Dogecoin is another cryptocurrency that has been in the news a lot lately. There are more then 4,000 cryptocurrencies with varying values from mere fractions of a penny to tens of thousands of dollars.
You can buy and sell most of these cryptocurrencies on Binance which totes itself as the world’s largest crypto exchange. In April 2021 they introduced stock tokens so you can also access traditional stock markets through their platform. Tesla (TSLA) will be the first stock token to debut on Binance.
Other popular cryptocurrency sties are Coinbase, Gemini, BlockFi, Kraken, Robinhood, and eToro. A lot of people like Coinbase, but Binance does offer lower fees per transaction and is very user-friendly. If you are planning on doing a lot of active buying and selling, then Binance is the better bet.