Updated Rules checked 2026-10-17
If you only compare VIP 0 fees, MEXC is much cheaper than Binance. On USDT-margined futures, MEXC charges Maker 0% and Taker 0.02%, against Binance’s 0.02% / 0.05%; on major-coin spot, MEXC charges 0% / 0.05% and Binance 0.1% / 0.1%. On the same 10,000 USDT futures market order, Binance charges 5 USDT and MEXC 2 USDT. A referral code can’t close this gap: the official cap on Binance’s invitee rebate is 20%, and even after that the futures Taker fee is still 0.04%, twice MEXC’s.
Binance’s advantages are scale and tools. In the 2026-10-01 reserve snapshot, users held 688,572.68 BTC on Binance, about 168 times MEXC’s 4,106.57 BTC; Binance has more kinds of trading bots, and its copy trading covers spot too. For people who place orders through the API, MEXC has charged 0.06% / 0.08% since 2026-06-01, higher than Binance’s standard VIP 0 rates. On security, Binance’s last platform wallet hack was the theft of 7,000 BTC on 2019-05-07, covered in full by its SAFU fund; no major public incident of a MEXC platform wallet hack was found, but in 2025 MEXC froze about 3.1 million USD belonging to one trader, then apologized and unfroze the funds.
In short: choose MEXC if you trade futures with frequent market orders, or want to trade small-cap coins or use high leverage; choose Binance if you run programs through the API, want to copy spot trades, need bots other than grid bots, or want your funds on the largest platform. Neither offers a direct New Taiwan dollar (TWD) deposit channel, and Taiwan is not among the restricted regions listed in either exchange’s terms.
Sign up to Binance with the referral code KEVINWU and the exchange automatically refunds 20%, on both spot (including margin) and USDT-margined futures.
Sign up to MEXC with the referral code mexc-KEVINWU and the exchange automatically refunds 20%; the spot and futures rates are set separately.
Key points:
1. VIP 0 futures: Binance Maker 0.02%, Taker 0.05%, MEXC 0% / 0.02%; major-coin spot: Binance 0.1% / 0.1%, MEXC 0% / 0.05%.
2. BNB takes 25% off spot and 10% off USDT-margined futures; the MX deduction takes 20% off both spot and futures. With the discounts on, Binance’s futures Taker is 0.045% and MEXC’s 0.016%.
3. Binance’s futures rebate runs for 12 months from when you open a futures account (no limit if the referrer’s futures commission rate is 30% or more); MEXC publishes no term, but invited users can’t join MEXC’s VIP program.
4. Live USDT perpetual futures on 2026-10-17: Binance 525, up to 150x; MEXC 1,085, up to 500x on BTC and ETH. New Binance futures accounts are capped at 20x for the first 30 days.
5. From Binance to MEXC, BEP20 costs 0.01 USDT; the cheapest routes from MEXC to Binance are Plasma (0 USDT, minimum 10 USDT) and Avalanche C-Chain.
The information below was checked against official pages on 2026-10-17 (the data check date) and is provided for reference.
Binance vs MEXC: what’s the difference?
| Item | Binance | MEXC |
|---|---|---|
| Spot Maker / Taker (VIP 0) | 0.1% / 0.1% | 0% / 0.05% (major coins; Taker is 0.08% on 1,046 pairs and 0.2% on 171) |
| USDT-margined futures Maker / Taker (VIP 0) | 0.02% / 0.05% | 0% / 0.02% (896 contracts; others at 0.01% / 0.04%, 0.04% / 0.1% and so on) |
| Platform-token discount | BNB: 25% off spot (0.075%), 10% off USDT-margined futures (Taker 0.045%) | MX: 20% off both spot and futures (spot Taker 0.04%, futures Taker 0.016%) |
| Futures fees for API orders | The futures fee guide says rates depend on VIP level and lists no separate API rate | A separate 0.06% / 0.08% since 2026-06-01, with no rebate |
| Referral code rebate | 20% | 20% |
| Rebate duration and VIP | No term stated for spot; futures 12 months (no limit if the referrer’s commission is 30% or more); stops at VIP 3 or above | No term published officially; invited users can’t join the MEXC VIP program |
| Adding a referral code after sign-up | Within 30 days of sign-up, with no deposits or trades and no referrer, you can add one yourself | Within 30 days of sign-up, on a main account with no referrer yet, you can bind one yourself |
| Switching referrers | Not possible if you already have a referrer; with no referrer and a trading history, an affiliate can start a switch request | Can’t be changed or removed once bound |
| Identity verification | New users must complete “Verified” verification before depositing and trading | Officially, identity verification is required to use the products and services; two levels, Primary and Advanced |
| Unverified accounts | Older accounts are limited to withdrawals, order cancellation, closing positions and redemptions | May be unable to have deposits credited or to withdraw; daily withdrawals of 80 BTC at Primary, 200 BTC at Advanced |
| Restricted regions (terms) | US, Canada, the Netherlands and 6 sanctioned regions (2026-01-05 list); Taiwan not included | US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and others (2026-10-13 terms); Taiwan not included |
| TWD deposits | No TWD bank deposits; P2P has a TWD option, but on 2026-10-17 there were 0 USDT buy ads and 0 sell ads | The fiat currencies supported on P2P don’t include TWD (checked 2026-10-11) |
| Number of USDT perpetual futures | 525 (2026-10-17) | 1,085 (2026-10-17, including gold, silver and other contracts) |
| Maximum leverage | 150x on BTC and ETH; new futures accounts up to 20x for the first 30 days | 500x on BTC and ETH, 1,000x on gold and silver; 631 contracts capped at 20x |
| Funding settlement interval | 420 of 525 every 4 hours; BTC every 8 hours, with a cap and floor of ±0.3% | 508 of 1,085 every 4 hours; BTC every 8 hours, with a cap and floor of ±0.18% |
| Copy trading / grid | Futures and spot copy trading; spot grid, futures grid, DCA, rebalancing, TWAP, arbitrage | Futures copy trading (including AI traders); futures grid, spot grid, spot DCA |
| Copy trading profit share | Up to 30%, settled from a snapshot every Monday at 08:00; lead traders also get 10% of copiers’ trading fees | 10% by default, traders can apply to adjust it, up to 50% in private mode; settled daily |
| Cheapest USDT withdrawal network and fees | BEP20 0.01 USDT (minimum 2); TRC20 1.5, ERC20 0.4 | Plasma 0 USDT (minimum 10); BEP20 0.01 (minimum 0.2), TRC20 0.5, ERC20 0.094 |
| Proof of reserves (latest snapshot) | 2026-10-01: BTC 100.35%, ETH 100.0001%, USDT 103.88% | 2026-09-10: BTC 297%, ETH 111%, USDT 119%, verified by Hacken |
| Protection fund | SAFU 15,000 BTC | Guardian Fund of 100 million USDT plus 2,000 BTC (press release, late September 2026) |
| Major security incidents | 7,000 BTC stolen from a hot wallet on 2019-05-07, covered in full by SAFU | No major public incident of a platform wallet hack found (as of 2026-10-17); froze about 3.1 million USD of a user’s funds in 2025, later unfroze them and apologized |
Fee sources: Binance spot fee page, Binance futures fee guide (updated 2026-05-01), Binance guide to BNB fee discounts, MEXC futures calculation guide, MEXC fee overview, the MEXC announcement on MX fee discounts (the 50% discount for holding 500 MX is suspended, leaving only the 20% MX deduction) and the MEXC announcement on API futures fee updates. The fee distribution across MEXC’s trading pairs was tallied on 2026-10-17 from the MEXC spot API and the MEXC futures API. Contract counts, leverage and funding intervals were read the same day from the Binance futures API, the Binance funding rate settings API and the MEXC futures API, and they change as contracts are listed and delisted. Identity verification comes from the Binance identity verification guide and the MEXC KYC FAQ; the dates and sources for USDT withdrawal fees are in the transfer section below, and the sources for the other rows are given in the relevant sections.
How much do Binance and MEXC fees differ?
Say someone trades 200,000 USDT of USDT-margined futures and 20,000 USDT of major-coin spot each month, all at the official VIP 0 rates:
| Monthly fees (USDT) | Binance | Binance (BNB discount on) | MEXC | MEXC (MX deduction on) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Futures 200,000, all Taker | 100 | 90 | 40 | 32 |
| Spot 20,000, all Taker | 20 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Total (all Taker) | 120 | 105 | 50 | 40 |
| Total (all switched to Maker) | 60 | 51 | 0 | 0 |
The formula is trade value times the fee rate: futures on Binance cost 200,000 × 0.05% = 100 USDT, and on MEXC 200,000 × 0.02% = 40 USDT; spot on Binance costs 20,000 × 0.1% = 20 USDT, and on MEXC 20,000 × 0.05% = 10 USDT. When every order takes liquidity, Binance costs 70 USDT more per month, 2.4 times MEXC. With platform-token discounts on at both, the gap is still 65 USDT.
If every order is a Maker order, MEXC’s Maker fee is 0%, so you pay nothing at all. Binance’s futures Maker fee of 0.02% comes to 40 USDT, and since its spot Maker and Taker fees are both 0.1%, Maker orders save nothing on spot, which stays at 20 USDT. Both exchanges offer Maker-only orders: Binance calls it “Post Only” and MEXC calls it “Post-Only”; see Maker vs Taker fees explained for details. Futures fees are charged on position value, not on margin; leverage enlarges the position, and if the price moves against you, the position may be forcibly liquidated and you lose your margin.
Not every MEXC pair is this cheap
MEXC sets fees separately for each trading pair. According to the official API on 2026-10-17, only 220 of 1,789 spot pairs are at 0% / 0.05%; most small-cap coins are at 0% / 0.08% (1,046 pairs), 171 are at 0% / 0.2% and 247 are fee-free. That 0.2% is twice Binance’s rate. Of 1,085 USDT perpetual futures, 896 are at 0% / 0.02% and 103 are fee-free, but 62 are at 0.01% / 0.04% and 20 at 0.04% / 0.1%. Before trading a small-cap coin, check that pair’s fee on the trading page.
There are two more exceptions, pointing in opposite directions. First, MEXC futures orders placed through the API have been charged a separate 0.06% / 0.08% since 2026-06-01, without the web and app discounts and without rebates; both numbers are higher than Binance’s VIP 0 rates of 0.02% / 0.05%, so people who trade with programs can’t use the table above for comparison. Second, the MEXC announcement on new-user futures fees (2026-06-04) states that new users in Chinese-speaking regions and Malaysia who complete Advanced verification get a combined zero-fee allowance of up to 3 million USD on BTC, ETH and GOLD futures, and users in Taiwan are eligible too. Zero-fee trades carry no fee and therefore no rebate, and MEXC reserves the right to change or end the offer at any time.
How high would a Binance rebate need to be to match MEXC?
A referral rebate refunds part of the fees you actually paid, and both exchanges calculate it on net fees. You can work backward: Binance’s effective fee = 0.05% × (1 − rebate rate), and for it to equal MEXC’s fee, the rebate has to reach the thresholds in the table below.
| MEXC futures Taker used for comparison | MEXC effective fee | Minimum Binance rebate (without BNB) | Minimum Binance rebate (with BNB, 0.045%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard rate, no rebate | 0.02% | 60% | 55.6% |
| MX deduction on, no rebate | 0.016% | 68% | 64.4% |
The formula is 1 − MEXC effective fee ÷ Binance fee, for example 1 − 0.02 ÷ 0.05 = 60%. The official cap on Binance’s invitee rebate is 20%: for spot and margin it is stated in Binance Affiliate Program basics, and futures have also been capped at 20% since 2025-10-25 (Binance Referral Pro update announcement). In other words, no Binance referral code can bring the VIP 0 futures Taker fee below MEXC’s standard rate, so the reasons to choose Binance have to lie outside fees.
The two calculators below each use their exchange’s official futures Taker fee, with rebate rates synced with the exchanges; enter the 200,000 USDT from the example above in each to see the gap after rebates.
Calculator: Binance futures (Taker 0.05%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.05%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 5 USDT | 1 USDT | 4 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 50 USDT | 10 USDT | 40 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 500 USDT | 100 USDT | 400 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.05% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Sign up with this site’s Binance referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 20%, on both spot (including margin) and USDT-margined futures. Binance does not state officially whether the rebate is calculated on fees before or after the BNB discount.
Calculator: MEXC futures (Taker 0.02%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.02%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 2 USDT | 0.4 USDT | 1.6 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 20 USDT | 4 USDT | 16 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 200 USDT | 40 USDT | 160 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.02% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Sign up with this site’s MEXC referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 20%. MEXC states that rebates are calculated on net fees, so with the MX deduction on, they are based on the discounted amount you actually pay; Maker 0% and zero-fee trades carry no fee and therefore no rebate.
VIP status hardly changes the conclusion either. Binance VIP 1 requires holding 5 BNB first, plus 100,000 USD in assets or a trading volume requirement, and it only lowers the spot Maker fee (Binance VIP program update announcement); MEXC VIP 1 takes 10 million USDT a month, and invited users can’t join (MEXC VIP program upgrade announcement).
Other costs: funding fees are paid between longs and shorts and are not trading fees. Both exchanges settle every 8 hours by default, but most contracts don’t. According to the official APIs on 2026-10-17, 420 (80%) of Binance’s 525 USDT perpetual futures settle every 4 hours, against 508 (47%) of MEXC’s 1,085; for BTC contracts, the funding rate cap and floor per settlement are ±0.3% on Binance and ±0.18% on MEXC (Binance funding rate guide, MEXC funding rate guide). Binance charges an additional liquidation clearance fee on liquidated positions, 1.25% for BTCUSDT; MEXC’s liquidation guide factors a liquidation fee into the margin ratio, but the official pages I found don’t state the rate. For full fee rates, VIP tables and withdrawal fees, see Binance fees and MEXC fees; the way futures costs are calculated is in How futures fees are calculated, and you can try your own numbers in the perpetual futures cost calculator.
How do Binance and MEXC referral rebate rules differ?
On both, the exchange pays the rebate directly to the invitee, and both calculate it on net fees. The differences are in duration, VIP limits and how you add a referral code you missed:
| Rule | Binance | MEXC |
|---|---|---|
| Calculation basis | Net fees (after market maker rebates) | Net fees = fees − bonuses − deduction vouchers − other discounts; the amount after the MX deduction is what counts for the rebate |
| Markets covered | Spot (including margin) and USDT-margined futures | Spot and futures, with separate rates |
| Duration | No term stated for spot; futures 12 months from opening a futures account (no such limit if the referrer’s futures commission rate is 30% or more) | Not published officially |
| VIP limit | Stops at VIP 3 or above, resumes after dropping back to VIP 2 or below | Invited users can’t join the MEXC VIP program |
| Payout | Converted to USDC every hour and paid to the spot account within 6 hours | Paid before 09:00 (Taiwan time) the day after the trade |
| Trades with no rebate | Zero-fee trading pairs | Maker orders at 0%, zero-fee pairs, API orders, and fees covered by deduction vouchers or futures trial funds |
| Do copy trading fees count toward rebates? | Officially stated to count toward referral commissions | Not stated officially |
| Can you check your binding yourself? | No official lookup for invitees; you can check whether USDC rebates arrive in your spot account | Yes: My Invites → “My Referrer” shows your referrer |
| Adding a referral code | Within 30 days of sign-up, with no deposits or trades, no referrer, and identity details not used on another account in the past 180 days, you can add one on the binding page | Within 30 days of sign-up, on a main account with no referrer yet, you can bind one yourself; the referrer must have registered before you |
| Switching referrers | Not possible if you already have a referrer; with no referrer and a trading history, an affiliate can start a switch request (trading volume under 5,000 USD in the 90 days before submission, and 150,000 USD reached within 30 days after) | Can’t be changed or removed once bound |
| Deleting your account and re-registering | If you close an account and open a new one for referral benefits, commissions on the new account may be terminated | Not listed officially as a way to switch; accounts with total assets above 5 USDT can’t be deleted, and once deleted, neither the account nor its assets can be recovered |
Binance’s rules come from the Binance Referral Pro FAQ (updated 2026-08-05), the Binance affiliate switch FAQ (published 2026-09-28) and the Binance futures copy trading FAQ; MEXC’s rules come from the MEXC referral rules, the MEXC affiliate FAQ, the MEXC commission sharing announcement, the MEXC self-service referrer binding guide and the MEXC account deletion guide.
Both exchanges allow a 30-day window to add a code later, with different conditions. Binance requires that you haven’t deposited or traded yet, so only people who have signed up but not started using the account can add one. MEXC’s conditions say nothing about deposits or trades: on the self-service binding page, enter the referrer’s invitation code or UID to add it, and afterward you can confirm it under “My Referrer”. After 30 days, MEXC offers no channel at all; Binance, for older accounts with no referrer and modest trading volume, keeps the affiliate switch request open.
On duration, Binance’s futures rebate generally lasts only 12 months, counted from when you open a futures account; MEXC publishes no term, and the rule barring invited users from VIP doesn’t affect anyone trading less than 10 million USDT a month. For details, see Binance referral rebind, How to rebind a MEXC referral code and How to check whether you’ve bound a referral code; for choosing between fee vouchers and rebates, see Fee vouchers vs referral rebates.
Do Binance and MEXC require identity verification? What should users in Taiwan know?
Identity verification: in practice, both require you to verify first. Binance states that new users must complete “Verified” verification to use products such as deposits and trading, and older unverified accounts are limited to withdrawals. MEXC’s identity verification explainer states that “users must complete identity verification to access the relevant products and services provided by MEXC”, and unverified accounts may be blocked from having deposits credited or from withdrawing; Primary verification allows withdrawals of 80 BTC a day, Advanced 200 BTC. The number of accounts differs too: on Binance one person can have only one verified main account, while on MEXC the same person’s identity can verify up to 2 accounts. For the steps, see the Binance KYC guide and the MEXC identity verification guide.
TWD deposits and withdrawals: neither offers direct New Taiwan dollar bank deposits. Binance’s P2P currency menu includes TWD, but when the Binance P2P TWD market was checked on 2026-10-17, there were 0 USDT buy ads and 0 sell ads; the fiat currencies supported on MEXC P2P did not include TWD when checked on 2026-10-11. The practical route is the same for both: buy USDT with TWD on a local Taiwanese exchange (such as MAX or BitoPro), then transfer it to Binance or MEXC, and reverse the route to cash out. For fees on each network, see USDT withdrawal fees compared.
Regions and apps: Taiwan is not on Binance’s list of prohibited countries (updated 2026-01-05; it lists the US, Canada and the Netherlands, plus Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk), nor among the restricted regions in the MEXC Terms of Use (updated 2026-10-13). MEXC’s list is longer, including the US, the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and Kazakhstan, and the terms state that the list is subject to change. Binance’s list is short, but it also covers US citizens living abroad. When checked on 2026-10-17, both apps were available on the Taiwan App Store: the Binance app (developer Binance Switzerland AG) and the MEXC app (developer Onechain Technology Ltd), both with a Traditional Chinese interface. For the countries each exchange restricts, see Exchange restricted countries.
What does each of Binance and MEXC do best?
Binance‘s strengths are scale and its range of bots and copy trading. On 2026-10-17 it had 512 spot coins trading (Binance spot API).
- Copy trading: futures and spot copy trading. The futures copy trading profit share is up to 30%, taken from a snapshot of total profit and loss every Monday at 08:00, net of what has already been shared, with a minimum of 10 USDT; lead traders also get 10% of copiers’ trading fees (Binance lead trader benefits).
- Trading bots: spot grid, futures grid, DCA, rebalancing, TWAP and arbitrage (Binance trading bots).
- Other: Simple Earn, Launchpool, Launchpad and Binance Wallet.
MEXC‘s strengths are fees and breadth of choice. On 2026-10-17 it had 1,405 spot coins trading, 2.7 times Binance, and 1,085 USDT perpetual futures, more than twice Binance’s 525.
- Copy trading: futures copy trading, with AI traders you can copy as well (MEXC copy trading). The profit share is 10% by default, traders can apply to adjust it, and it goes up to 50% in private mode. The previous day is settled between 00:00 and 01:00 each day; profit share is frozen when a profitable trade is closed, and any excess frozen is returned. Apart from trading fees, funding fees and the profit share, there are no other charges (MEXC profit share rules).
- Trading bots: futures grid (long, short and neutral, starting from 10 USDT; MEXC futures grid), spot grid and spot DCA.
- Other: Earn (MEXC Earn), Launchpad, pre-market trading, gold, silver and US stock futures, DEX+ on-chain trading, and futures demo trading.
Futures leverage: according to official data read on 2026-10-17, only BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT on Binance go up to 150x, dropping to 100x once position value exceeds 300,000 USDT, and new futures accounts are capped at 20x across the board for the first 30 days (Binance USDT-margined futures leverage and margin guide). MEXC’s BTC and ETH go up to 500x and gold and silver to 1,000x, but 631 contracts (58%) are capped at 20x (MEXC risk limit guide). The higher the leverage, the closer the liquidation price: on MEXC BTC at 500x, a price move of about 0.1% against you triggers liquidation. Another difference is the default setting: all Binance futures default to cross margin. For setup steps, see the Binance futures guide and the MEXC futures guide.
Copy trading costs have to include trading fees. MEXC states that copy trades are placed as IOC limit orders (MEXC copy trading terms explained), so they pay the Taker fee. Copying a trader who makes 40 round trips a month with 1,000 USDT at 5x leverage, the fees come to 5,000 × 0.05% × 2 × 40 = 200 USDT on Binance and 80 USDT on MEXC. Binance’s advantages are that you can copy spot without leverage, and it officially states that copy trading fees count toward referral commissions; MEXC doesn’t state this. For the full calculation, see The cost of copy trading, and before picking a trader, read How to check a copy trader.
How do Binance and MEXC compare on proof of reserves and security?
Both publish proof of reserves every month, and both provide a Merkle tree so users can confirm their own accounts were included:
- Binance: snapshot at 00:00 (UTC) on the 1st of each month, verified with zk-SNARKs and covering 55 coins. The latest, on 2026-10-01: BTC 100.35%, ETH 100.0001%, USDT 103.88%, USDC 108.26%; user BTC 688,572.68 (Binance proof of reserves page, Binance account balance verification guide).
- MEXC: snapshot on 2026-09-10, BTC 297%, ETH 111%, USDT 119%, USDC 111%, with security firm Hacken as the third party; user BTC 4,106.57, platform holdings 12,202.13 BTC (MEXC proof of reserves, MEXC press release).
A high reserve ratio doesn’t mean a large scale: MEXC’s BTC reserve ratio is nearly 3 times Binance’s, yet its users’ BTC assets are only about 0.6% of Binance’s; Binance sits close to 100%, which means there isn’t much extra buffer. The major incidents at each exchange:
- Binance hack, 2019-05-07: hackers obtained a large number of users’ API keys and 2FA codes and withdrew 7,000 BTC from the BTC hot wallet. Binance announced that its SAFU fund would cover the loss in full, and deposits and withdrawals were suspended during the security review, which it estimated would take about a week (Binance security incident announcement).
- Binance guilty plea, 2023-11-21: Binance pleaded guilty in the US, with settlements with the Department of Justice, the Treasury and the CFTC totaling about 4.3 billion USD, and founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stepped down as CEO (US Department of Justice case page). This was a compliance case, not a loss of user assets.
- MEXC’s 2025 account freeze dispute: in July 2025, MEXC froze about 3.1 million USD belonging to one trader under its risk control rules. After the case became public, MEXC’s chief strategy officer apologized on 2025-10-31, said the funds had been unfrozen, and said a fast track for handling account issues would be set up (DL News). As of 2026-10-17, no major public incident of a MEXC platform wallet hack was found.
- Regulation in other regions: Japan’s Financial Services Agency has issued warnings to both exchanges for operating without registration, and in February 2025 it asked Apple and Google to remove MEXC and other apps in Japan (The Defiant); the Philippines blocked Binance in 2024 (Decrypt), and the unregistered platforms it named in August 2025 included MEXC (Cointelegraph).
On protection funds, Binance converted SAFU to 15,000 BTC on 2026-02-12 and says it will top it back up to 1 billion USD if its value falls below 800 million USD (The Block). MEXC’s Guardian Fund was set up with 100 million USD in June 2025, and a press release from late September 2026 says it now holds 100 million USDT plus 2,000 BTC (MEXC press release); MEXC also states that the Guardian Fund is a company commitment, not a statutory compensation scheme (MEXC security explainer). Dividing each protection fund’s BTC by the user BTC in the same exchange’s PoR gives about 2.18% for Binance and about 48.7% for MEXC. In absolute terms Binance’s fund is larger; relative to user assets, MEXC’s is higher. This ratio only gives a sense of scale; it is not a payout limit.
The types of risk differ too: on Binance, a platform hack paused withdrawals for everyone; on MEXC, individual accounts were frozen by risk controls, so holders of large accounts should read the risk control terms before trading on MEXC. Proof of reserves only reflects assets at the moment of the snapshot and is not deposit insurance; coins you won’t trade for a long time can be moved to a self-custody wallet. For the records of 13 exchanges side by side, see Exchange safety records and Proof of reserves comparison; full details on each exchange are in the Binance review and the MEXC review.
How do you move funds from Binance to MEXC? Which USDT network is cheapest?
There are no internal transfers between the two, so USDT has to go through an on-chain withdrawal; the fee is a fixed amount per withdrawal, charged by the sending exchange. The table below lists common networks on which both allow USDT withdrawals, in USDT, with each cell showing “fee (minimum withdrawal)”:
| Network | Withdrawing from Binance to MEXC (2026-10-17) | Withdrawing from MEXC to Binance (2026-10-12) |
|---|---|---|
| BEP20 (BNB Smart Chain) | 0.01 (minimum 2) | 0.01 (minimum 0.2) |
| Plasma | 0.012 (minimum 5) | 0 (minimum 10) |
| Avalanche C-Chain | 0.04 (minimum 5) | 0.000074 (minimum 4) |
| Optimism | 0.04 (minimum 3) | 0.0078 (minimum 3) |
| Polygon | 0.07 (minimum 5) | 0.0065 (minimum 5) |
| Aptos | 0.1 (minimum 3) | 0.1 (minimum 10) |
| TON | 0.3 (minimum 3) | 0.017 (minimum 8) |
| Solana | 0.3 (minimum 5) | 0.18 (minimum 10) |
| Arbitrum One | 0.4 (minimum 3) | 0.05 (minimum 1) |
| ERC20 | 0.4 (minimum 5) | 0.094 (minimum 8) |
| TRC20 | 1.5 (minimum 5) | 0.5 (minimum 2) |
Binance’s figures come from the Binance deposit and withdrawal fee page as read on 2026-10-17, and deposits on every network in the table were open that day; MEXC’s figures come from the MEXC fee overview as read on 2026-10-12. Withdrawal fees change with on-chain conditions, so go by the amount shown on the withdrawal page before you confirm, and check on the receiving exchange’s deposit page that deposits are open on that network.
From Binance to MEXC, BEP20 is cheapest: 0.01 USDT, with a minimum withdrawal of only 2 USDT. The other direction has more options: MEXC’s Plasma is free but requires at least 10 USDT, Avalanche C-Chain is almost free, and BEP20 is also 0.01 USDT. The biggest gap is on TRC20: 1.5 USDT out of Binance, 3 times MEXC’s 0.5 USDT. For a round trip, moving 1,000 USDT from Binance to MEXC and back costs 2 USDT in total over TRC20 both ways, or 0.02 USDT over BEP20.
- On the receiving exchange (MEXC, for example), open the deposit page, choose USDT, select the BEP20 network, and copy the deposit address for that network.
- On the sending exchange (Binance, for example), open the withdrawal page, choose USDT, paste the address, and select the same network, BNB Smart Chain (BEP20). If you choose the wrong network, the funds may be lost permanently.
- The first time you send to a new address, you can send a small amount first to confirm it arrives, then send the larger amount; a BEP20 test costs only an extra 0.01 USDT.
For the consequences of choosing the wrong network, see the Binance withdrawal fee guide. Referral rebates only refund trading fees, not withdrawal fees. For the full fees on every network at 13 exchanges, including the cheapest routes in and out of MAX and BitoPro, see USDT withdrawal fees compared.
Binance or MEXC: which should you choose?
- Beginners mainly buying major-coin spot: choose MEXC. Major coins such as BTC and ETH are Maker 0%, Taker 0.05%, while Binance charges 0.1%, or still 0.075% with BNB. If you forget a referral code, you can still bind one yourself within 30 days of sign-up, and the official conditions don’t require that you haven’t deposited yet.
- Futures traders who often place market orders: choose MEXC. Futures Taker is 0.02% against 0.05%; on 200,000 USDT of futures volume a month, MEXC charges 40 USDT and Binance 100 USDT, and even at the official rebate cap Binance can’t catch up.
- Running programs through the API: choose Binance. MEXC charges API futures a separate 0.06% / 0.08%, with no rebate; Binance’s futures fee guide says rates depend on VIP level and lists no separate API rate, and VIP 0 is 0.02% / 0.05%.
- Copy trading or bots: if you only want to copy spot without leverage, or want rebalancing, TWAP or arbitrage bots, choose Binance. If you’re copying a futures trader who trades often, choose MEXC: for the same 40 round trips, the fees are 40% of Binance’s.
- Trading small-cap coins or using high leverage: choose MEXC, which has more than twice as many spot coins and perpetual futures as Binance. But check that pair’s fee first: spot at 0.2% and futures at 0.1% cost more than Binance.
- Prioritizing platform scale and holding funds longer: choose Binance. Its users’ BTC assets are about 168 times MEXC’s, and when it was hacked, SAFU covered the loss in full; MEXC has no hack record, but it has had disputes over freezing individual accounts.
Many traders open accounts on both: futures and small-cap coins on low-fee MEXC, and spot copy trading, bots and larger funds on Binance, which also spreads the risk of a single platform pausing withdrawals or freezing accounts. Moving USDT between them over BEP20 costs next to nothing.
What should you watch for when moving from Binance to MEXC (or the other way)?
- Sign up and enter the referral code before moving money: enter the referral code for the new account on the sign-up page. If you miss it on MEXC, you still have 30 days to bind one yourself; on Binance, you have to add it before you deposit or trade, so if you’re moving from MEXC to Binance, confirm the binding before depositing.
- Complete identity verification on the new account first: both require verification for normal deposits and trading, so don’t rush to send large amounts before you’re approved.
- Close positions and cancel orders on the old account first: funds in Earn products and bots also have to be redeemed or stopped before you can withdraw them.
- Choose the right network: Binance to MEXC over BEP20 (0.01 USDT), MEXC to Binance over BEP20, Avalanche C-Chain or Plasma. For small amounts, watch the minimum withdrawal: MEXC’s Plasma requires at least 10 USDT.
- Reconfigure your futures settings: new Binance futures accounts are capped at 20x for the first 30 days and default to cross margin, so high-leverage strategies brought over from MEXC need adjusting first.
You don’t need to delete the old account; you can keep both. Deleting an account and opening a new one is not an officially recognized way to switch referrers either.
How the data in this article was checked
Fee rates and referral rules were checked against both exchanges’ official help centers between 2026-10-11 and 10-17. Trading pairs, fee distribution, leverage, funding intervals and Binance withdrawal fees are figures read from the official APIs on 2026-10-17, and MEXC withdrawal fees are from 2026-10-12; incidents were cross-checked against official announcements and news reports. How this site compiles its data is explained in Rebate data methodology, and the disclosure for referral links is in Referral and rebate disclosure.
FAQ
Which has lower fees, Binance or MEXC?
MEXC, on both futures and major-coin spot. At VIP 0, MEXC futures are Maker 0%, Taker 0.02%, against Binance’s 0.02% / 0.05%; spot is 0% / 0.05% on MEXC and 0.1% / 0.1% on Binance. With 200,000 USDT of futures plus 20,000 USDT of spot a month, all as Taker, MEXC charges 50 USDT and Binance 120 USDT. The exceptions are MEXC’s API futures (0.06% / 0.08%), some small-cap spot pairs (Taker 0.2%) and a few futures contracts (Taker 0.1%), which cost more than Binance.
Can I use Binance and MEXC at the same time?
Yes. They are separate companies, so you just sign up and verify your identity on each. Handle the referral codes separately; moving USDT between them over BEP20 costs 0.01 USDT in either direction.
Should users in Taiwan choose Binance or MEXC?
The conditions for using them in Taiwan are about the same, so the choice comes down to how you trade: MEXC for mainly futures and small-cap coins, Binance for API trading, spot copy trading, bots and large funds. Taiwan is not among the restricted regions listed in either exchange’s terms, neither offers direct New Taiwan dollar deposits, and both apps are on the Taiwan App Store; for both, you deposit by buying USDT on a local Taiwanese exchange first and transferring it over.
Which is safer, Binance or MEXC?
Neither can be called absolutely safe; their records are of different kinds. Binance lost 7,000 BTC to a hack on 2019-05-07, covered in full by SAFU. As of 2026-10-17, no major public incident of a MEXC platform wallet hack was found, but in 2025 MEXC froze about 3.1 million USD belonging to one trader, then apologized and unfroze it. On reserves, Binance’s 2026-10-01 snapshot shows BTC at 100.35%, and MEXC’s 2026-09-10 snapshot shows BTC at 297%.
Which pays a bigger referral rebate?
For current rates, see the comparison table and calculators above, which show them in sync with the exchanges; even after rebates, MEXC still costs less for the same trading volume. Binance would have to refund 60% to match MEXC’s 0.02% without any rebate, but the official cap on Binance’s invitee rebate is 20%. On the rules, Binance’s futures rebate generally lasts only 12 months and stops at VIP 3 or above; MEXC publishes no term, invited users can’t join MEXC VIP, and Maker 0% orders earn no rebate.
I’ve already signed up. Can I still add a referral code?
Both have a 30-day window, with different conditions. Binance requires that you’re within 30 days of sign-up, haven’t deposited or traded, and have no referrer; accounts that have traded but have no referrer can go through a switch request started by an affiliate. MEXC requires that you’re within 30 days of sign-up, on a main account, with no referrer yet, and the referrer must have registered before you; once bound, it can’t be changed.
What is the maximum futures leverage on Binance and MEXC?
On Binance, BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT go up to 150x, and new futures accounts are capped at 20x for the first 30 days; on MEXC, BTC and ETH go up to 500x, but most contracts are capped at 20x (2026-10-17). The larger the position, the lower the leverage available.
Which network should I use to send USDT from Binance to MEXC?
Use BEP20: Binance charges 0.01 USDT, with a minimum withdrawal of 2 USDT (2026-10-17). From MEXC back to Binance, BEP20 is also 0.01 USDT, and Avalanche C-Chain and Plasma are cheaper, but Plasma requires at least 10 USDT (2026-10-12). TRC20 costs 1.5 USDT out of Binance, so it’s best avoided.
To sign up directly, see Binance referral code and MEXC referral code; fee details are in Binance fees and MEXC fees; if you already have an account, the rebinding rules are in Binance referral rebind and How to rebind a MEXC referral code. Effective fees after rebates at each exchange are compiled in Exchange fees after referral rebates, how much a rebate can save in a year is in How much can a referral rebate save?, and which exchanges charge the lowest fees is in Lowest-fee crypto exchanges; for referral codes and rebates at other exchanges, see Crypto exchange referral codes. To compare other pairs, see Binance vs OKX, Binance vs Bybit, Binance vs Bitget, Binance vs Gate, OKX vs MEXC, Bitget vs MEXC, Bybit vs MEXC and MEXC vs Gate.