The largest crypto exchange by volume: the deepest bitcoin liquidity anywhere, the lowest headline spot fee of any major platform, and quarterly proof of reserves, under a settled US case and an independent monitor.
Japan's most established exchange, deeply wired into the domestic banking system, with a beginner screen whose spread costs far more than its order book.
No verdict: both exchanges score 4.2 out of 5 on our rubric, so the rows below decide by what you need.
Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.
| Fact | Binance | bitFlyer |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Published fees | From 0.1% spot, maker and taker | Lightning 0.01% to 0.15% |
| Maker fee | 0.1% at the base tier, falling with 30-day volume and BNB holdings | Tiered from 0.01 to 0.15 percent on Lightning |
| Taker fee | 0.1% at the base tier, falling with 30-day volume and BNB holdings | Tiered from 0.01 to 0.15 percent on Lightning |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | No |
| Payment rails supported | 42 | 1 |
| Countries ranked in | 181 | 1 |
| Ranks first in | 100 | 0 |
| Countries shared | 1 | 1 |
| Security record | 10 dated events, 2 incidents, latest 2026-06-25 | No record on file |
| Founded | 2017 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Not stated | Tokyo, Japan |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-12 | 2026-08-23 |
Each country guide ranks its own roster on published fees, security record and local payment support, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
| Country | Status | Binance ranks | bitFlyer ranks | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Legal | #5 | #3 |
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. 1 of the 2 carry no dated record on our reviews yet.
Failed to obtain a MiCA licence and stopped serving EU clients
Abu Dhabi regulator licensed the main Binance.com platform
Pricing failure forced liquidations, 283 million dollars repaid
No verdict: both exchanges score 4.2 out of 5 on our rubric, so the rows below decide by what you need. The rating weighs published fees, security record and local payment support; the table above sets each beside the other so you can check the score against the facts.
Binance: From 0.1% spot, maker and taker. bitFlyer: Lightning 0.01% to 0.15%. Those are each platform's published headline rates; card purchases and instant-buy widgets cost more than the order book on both, and each review carries the full schedule.
Both are ranked in our guides for Japan. Binance is ranked in 181 countries in all and bitFlyer in 1; each country guide ranks its own roster, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
Binance carries 2 incidents among 10 dated events, the latest on 2025-10-10: Pricing failure forced liquidations, 283 million dollars repaid. bitFlyer carries no dated security record on our review yet, a gap in our records rather than a clean bill. Both reviews list every event with its source.
Binance: required; identity verification is mandatory for all users; there is no unverified tier.. bitFlyer: required.
The full reviews: Binance and bitFlyer, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head Binance or bitFlyer appears in.
Japan