Why do you need a Binance.us wallet? You don’t, but you probably will need some kind of centralized wallet such as coinbase or Binance.us, which are the largest two.
First, these wallets are one of the fastest ways to cash out of Crypto. Metamask is a fine wallet, but you may still have to go to a government-approved wallet like Binance to cash out, and some banks will not let you deposit directly into Metamask.
Second, some popular coins are listed on Binance.us or Coinbase.com but not on Uniswap or Sushiswap.
Finally, you can hold US dollars in these wallets and buy the coins directly without swapping first. So even though you may be able to swap on Metamask, it may be simpler to have a Binance.us or Coinbase wallet. Note that Binance.us is a separate company from Binance.com, which is Chinese-owned. Binance.us is a subsidiary operated by a U.S. team and abiding by its KYC regulations.
How do you know which wallet you need for which coin? Again, just go to Coingecko.com, search for the name of the coin, and then scroll down to see the exchanges. Binance.us is one of the major ones.
It’s actually pretty easy to set up your wallet by following the prompts, so we’ve just put a list of “what you need to know” here, so you can be prepared:
- If you live in the U.S. one you want is Binance.us, so don’t make a mistake
- Not all states are supported.
Also, please note that as of May 2021 Binance did not support an incredibly strange group of states:
Connecticut
Hawaii
Idaho
Louisiana
New York
Texas
Vermont
If your state is not on this list, go to Binance.us and start following the prompts.
- The process can be lengthy. It takes about an hour. You will be able to change your password, so you don’t have to worry about the seed words. Government ID is required, and you will be asked to shoot it from the camera on the Binance.us page, so you will need to be able to manipulate your device to take a picture in which the text is legible and not hidden by glare. You will not be able to upload a screenshot. You will also be asked to upload Proof of address – must be a PDF, not a photo or screenshot. Bank Statements are probably the easiest to download.
Hmmm, you say. The same banks they are trying to disrupt? Yes, the same banks!
They asked for a second address, again, a downloadable PDF. Another easy one is your Schwab or another stock account. Oh, the irony!
Note that sometimes the approval comes through without a second proof of address. Simply log- in the next day and it may be approved.
- Now that have an account, you can fund your wallet.
– Log in to your Binance.US account at https://www.binance.us/en/login
– Under the Wallet tab, click Deposit.
– At the dropdown menu, make sure to select USD as the deposit coin, this is a stable coin, which means it is tied to the U.S. dollar and cashes out in U.S. dollars basically 1:1.
– Enter the USD amount that you want to deposit and choose the ACH account that you wish to deposit from, then click “Continue.”
– Verify the details from the pop-up dialog and click Confirm to complete the transaction.
One nice feature is that Binance.us is already fully integrated with a number of large banks, so you may be able to log in to your bank (such as Bank of America) directly on the Binance.us page, using an app integration called Plaid.
There is a seven -day hold, but only on the money that you transfer over, and Plaid also takes a small fee.
Next, download the Binance.us app to your phone. This step will save time later because if you are transferring coins from a mobile-only app, you can cut and paste to send to Binance address directly from your phone.
- Buy and sell coins from the list, or add coins.
On the Buy/sell area of the app, you can find most coins that are listed on exchanges or add them.
Once you have a Binance.us wallet, you will find that making trades and cashing out is much simpler, so it’s worth the time to set it up and reasonably safe. Note, however, that Binance.us is highly regulated, so make sure you do not make multiple attempts to log in or exchange large sums with foreign addresses. Binance.us has a track record of disabling accounts and your funds may be frozen if you send to countries that are sanctioned or ban crypto, or send suspiciously large amounts.
Now, take a look at the Cryptionary to make sure you understand all of the terms.