Dear Binance.US Customers,
Six months ago, I wrote a letter outlining the 2022 focus areas for Binance.US, which centered on our tireless commitment to build the most customer-centric organization in the industry. Since publishing that letter, we have seen the world change dramatically, prompting fears of an economic recession that has catapulted the industry into a crypto winter. Yet our commitment to customers has not wavered. These events - and the uncertainty attached to them - have only further amplified the need to continue to foster trust between Binance.US and our customers by providing them with a best-in-class customer experience. So, six months into the year, what progress have we made on this front?
Expanded Our Customer Service Team and Tools, Improving Customer Experience.
We have reduced the overall response times for customers by >90%, and reduced resolution times by >85%. We have taken critical actions to improve customer experience by doubling the size of our customer service team and introducing a 24/7 live chat functionality. We also worked hard to solicit and understand critical customer feedback which, in turn, has helped us better train our customer service agents and elevate the overall customer experience.
While these are significant improvements, we still have a long way to go. We have high standards for our customer experience, and the bar simply is not being met the way I believe it should be. As we continue to move forward, our focus for the remainder of the year will be on vastly improving the customer onboarding experience as well as ongoing efforts to reduce (and even eliminate) defects in our product. We have many more improvements in the pipeline to ensure that we are the most customer-centric platform in the industry.
Commitment to Low (and now ZERO) Fees.
Since we launched in 2019, we’ve always worked hard to provide our customers with the lowest fees in the industry. A few weeks ago, we took that a step further and became the first US crypto exchange to eliminate spot trading fees on several Bitcoin pairs for all customers. We see this as an opportunity to revolutionize the way fees are approached in the industry, increase accessibility to crypto, and better support the market and our customers in a time of need. This is only the beginning.
Diversified Digital Assets.
Our commitment to providing the lowest fees can only be achieved through our ongoing efforts to provide the most diversified and exclusive selection of digital assets. In April, we hit a milestone of 100 token listings, and we’re adding digital assets to our platform every week. We currently list 120 tokens, doubling what we began the year with, and offer 240+ trading pairs and 3,000+ convert trading pairs. We are dedicated to continuing to grow our selection of digital assets and providing more access to our customers.
New Product Offerings, including Staking.
Delivering the best customer experience is effectively achieved by implementing customer feedback into our products and services. One example of this is our recent Convert Small Balances to BNB feature, which was one of the most requested product updates from our customers.
We also recently launched our new staking product, which offers some of the highest APYs among US crypto exchanges, with some rates ranging between 12%–18% on tokens. For reference, customers can stake Cosmos (ATOM) with a 12% yield on Binance.US, compared to only 5% yield on Coinbase. Amid this crypto winter, we wanted to make sure we are not only creating the best products and services, but products and services that align to our mission of empowering customers to do more with their money.
We have more exciting product updates and services in the pipeline.
Maintaining a Fully Compliant and Secure Platform.
Our compliance-first mindset means we strive to meet, and even exceed, U.S. regulations and industry standards. Earning the trust of our customers begins with how we operate as a business. This year alone, we made significant investments in our Compliance program and doubled the size of our Compliance team - including the addition of highly experienced Compliance professionals with tech, finance and crypto backgrounds - to ensure we are implementing the best processes, products, and services to protect and better serve our customers. For example, we recently co-launched Chainabuse with TRM Labs, a first of its kind community-powered scam reporting platform. We have also partnered with a number of other market participants in joining TRUST, an industry-driven solution designed to comply with the Travel Rule.
Additionally, we continue to build stronger relationships with regulators and law enforcement and advocate for legislation that will benefit both our customers and allow the broader crypto economy to continue to innovate and flourish. As we continue to foster these relationships, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure we are operationally compliant across the United States. In the last six months alone, we have obtained five new state and territory Money Transmitter Licenses, making us fully operational in 46 states, as well as in Puerto Rico. We’re working hard and making progress toward obtaining licenses in the remaining four states, and we look forward to welcoming even more new customers to our platform.
Looking Ahead
While it is a customer’s choice to decide what and when to buy and sell, we want to facilitate a seamless experience on our platform. This is why we are on a mission to empower everyone to be able to do more with their money. Even amid times of uncertainty, our mission guides us forward because we fundamentally believe in the future of the crypto economy and the freedom and the opportunity it can bring to everyone - including those underserved by the traditional financial system.
The financial services industry has seen more mainstream adoption of crypto in the last two years than ever before. I recognize that, for many of our customers, this might be their first crypto winter, which may raise doubts about the future of crypto in general. At Binance.US, while our volumes are up even in this crypto winter, we still see immense opportunity to continue innovating and delivering more value to customers in the form of even greater products and services to our millions of customers. As a business, we are committed to raising the bar on what customers can expect from Binance.US while building confidence in the future of crypto overall. Onwards we go.
Brian Shroder
President & CEO, Binance.US
