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.
Lightning-native app for buying bitcoin and sending it anywhere instantly, with no added fee on transfers.
Strike rates higher on our rubric: 4.6 against 4.2 for Binance.
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 | Strike |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.2 | 4.6 (favoured on this row) |
| Published fees | From 0.1% spot, maker and taker | Fee shown before you confirm |
| Maker fee | 0.1% at the base tier, falling with 30-day volume and BNB holdings | Not published |
| Taker fee | 0.1% at the base tier, falling with 30-day volume and BNB holdings | Not published |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | Yes |
| Payment rails supported | 42 | 4 |
| Countries ranked in | 181 | 2 |
| Ranks first in | 100 | 1 |
| Countries shared | 1 | 1 |
| Security record | 10 dated events, 2 incidents, latest 2026-06-25 | 8 dated events, 1 incident, latest 2026-06-30 |
| Founded | 2017 | Not stated |
| Headquarters | Not stated | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-12 | 2026-08-12 |
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 | Strike ranks | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | Legal | #2 | #1 |
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. Every exchange ranked here carries one.
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
Strike Europe authorised under MiCA by the Maltese regulator
NYDFS granted Strike a BitLicense and a money transmitter licence
Withdrawals can now be locked behind passkey or hardware key 2FA
Strike rates higher on our rubric: 4.6 against 4.2 for Binance. 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. Strike: Fee shown before you confirm. 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 El Salvador. Binance is ranked in 181 countries in all and Strike in 2; 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. Strike carries 1 incident among 8 dated events, the latest on 2023-10-30: Customer email list leaked, denied by Strike, then admitted. Both reviews list every event with its source.
Binance: required; identity verification is mandatory for all users; there is no unverified tier.. Strike: required; identity verification is required to use the app; requirements vary by country..
The full reviews: Binance and Strike, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head Binance or Strike appears in.
El Salvador