Binance marked its ninth anniversary on Tuesday, revealing that about 43% of all cryptocurrency owners now use the exchange, according to its own data. The company reported a registered user base of 323 million across over 100 countries and cumulative trading volume exceeding $156 trillion since its July 2017 launch. Binance derived the 43% figure by comparing its user count to an industry estimate of 741 million crypto owners worldwide, though all numbers are self-reported and unverified.
A Super App Vision
The anniversary doubled as a promotion for Binance's "financial super app" strategy, which aims to combine stocks, savings, payments, and market access in one platform. Over the past year, the exchange has moved into traditional finance, launching direct US equities trading in June and tokenized US securities called bStocks on BNB Chain. Binance claims the tokenized products reached $100 million in assets under management within two weeks, while its direct-stock offering hit $1 billion in a month.
Co-CEO Richard Teng stated, "Users deserve access to global markets, and we intend to give it to them." Fellow Co-CEO Yi He, appointed in December 2025, described the shift as transformative, saying, "That is not just growth. It is a shift in how the world accesses finance. We are only at the beginning."
Regulatory Shadows
The celebration occurs against a backdrop of regulatory troubles. Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to US money-laundering and sanctions violations, paying a $4.3 billion penalty and accepting an independent compliance monitor. Founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down and was later pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in October 2025.