Last Update: 21 February 2025
A. How to interpret this Risk Warning
All capitalised terms used in this Risk Warning that are defined in the Binance Terms of Use (the “Terms of Use”, which includes any Product Terms (as defined in the Terms of Use)), have the same meaning and construction as in the Terms of Use.
B. Binance Services
In line with our commitments to compliance and user protection, this Risk Warning provides you with information about some of the key risks associated with Binance Services. Each Binance Service has its own distinct risks. This Risk Warning provides a general description of some of the risks that may arise when you use Binance Services.
This Risk Warning does not explain all of the risks or how such risks relate to your personal circumstances. It is important that you fully understand the risks involved before making a decision to use Binance Services and you should also read the relevant terms applicable to the specific Binance Service. By using the Binance Services and entering into any Transactions, you agree that you assume all of the related risks.
C. No Personal Advice
We do not provide personal advice in relation to Binance Services. We sometimes provide factual information, information about transaction procedures and information about the potential risks. However, any decision to use Binance Services is made by you. No communication or information provided to you by Binance is intended as, or shall be considered or construed as, investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other sort of advice. You are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, investment strategy or related transaction is appropriate for you according to your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances and risk tolerance.
D. No Monitoring
Binance is not your broker, intermediary, agent, or advisor and has no fiduciary relationship or obligation to you in connection with any trades or other decisions or activities undertaken by you using Binance Services. We do not monitor whether your use of Binance Services is consistent with your financial goals and objectives. It is up to you to assess whether any activity that you engage in through the Binance Services is appropriate given your financial position and risk appetite.
E. No Tax, Regulatory or Legal Advice
You have sole responsibility for determining what taxes you might be liable to, how and when they apply, and meeting such tax obligations, when transacting through the Binance Services. It is your responsibility to report and pay any taxes that may arise from entering into a Transaction by using the Binance Services, and you acknowledge that Binance does not provide legal or tax advice in relation to these transactions. If you have any doubts about your tax status or obligations when using Binance Services, or with respect to the Digital Assets held to the credit of your Binance account, you are encouraged to seek independent advice.
You acknowledge that, when, where and as required by Applicable Law, Binance shall report information regarding your transactions, transfers, distributions or payments to tax or other public authorities. Similarly, when, where and as required by Applicable Law, Binance shall withhold taxes related to your transactions, transfers, distributions or payments. Applicable Lawscould also prompt Binance to request that you provide additional tax information, status, certificates or documentation or other information. You acknowledge that failure to comply with these requests within the specified timeframe, may result in taxes withheld by Binance, to be remitted to tax authorities as defined by Applicable Law. You are encouraged to seek professional and personal tax advice regarding the above and before entering into any Transaction.
F. Market Risks
An investment in Digital Assets carries significant risk. The value of an investment and any returns can go up or down, and you may lose all or part of your investment and not get back the amount you had invested. If you are new to Digital Assets, consider investing only a small amount. Only invest what you can afford to lose. It is important to do your own research to understand the risks of investing in Digital Assets. To learn more about Digital Assets, please refer to https://academy.binance.com/en.
Digital Asset trading is speculative, prices are volatile and market movements are difficult to predict. Supply and demand for Digital Assets can change rapidly without warning and can be affected by a variety of factors which may not be predictable, including regulation, general economic trends and developments in the Digital Asset ecosystem. All investments in Digital Assets carry the risk of loss.
Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Binance does not in any way guarantee or provide any assurance about the performance or market price of Digital Assets or products available through the Binance Services.
The Digital Asset industry is subject to systemic and systematic risk. Systemic and systematic risks are both threats to the Digital Asset markets and economy, but the cause of these risks and the approaches for managing them are different. Systemic risk is the risk that a company or industry-level risk could trigger a major collapse. Systematic risk is the risk inherent to the entire market, which can be economic, sociopolitical, technological, or natural in origin. These risks can affect the prices of Digital Assets.
Blockchain technology is a relatively new technology that is evolving rapidly and is likely to be subject to continued technological development. The future development and growth of the Digital Asset industry is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to predict and evaluate. Similarly, the sustainability of Digital Asset networks may also be affected by a range of different factors. All such factors may impact the value of a Digital Asset.
Negative perceptions about Digital Assets may reduce the confidence of investors in the industry and result in greater volatility of the prices in Digital Assets, including possibly a significant depreciation in value. Any events that trigger negative publicity in respect of Digital Asset markets may therefore have an adverse impact on the value of any investment in Digital Assets.
G. Counterparty Risk
You may be exposed to counterparty risk in various circumstances when using Binance Services. This may include, without limitation, if a market maker or liquidity provider faces issues which could result in slippage or an inability to execute trades; failures by or disputes with payment processors which may delay deposit and withdrawal transactions; borrowers defaulting on their repayment obligations which may delay the redemption of deposits from certain products.
In such other exceptional circumstances, your holdings and your ability to transact or deal with your holdings, may be adversely affected which may result in a range of outcomes including, without limitation, transactions not completing as expected, trading costs being irrecoverable, loss of profits, inability to acquire or dispose of assets at the desired time or price.
H. Liquidity risk
Digital Asset prices on the secondary market are driven by supply and demand and may be highly volatile. Digital Assets may have limited liquidity which may make it difficult or impossible for you to sell or exit a position when you wish to do so. This may occur at any time, including at times of rapid price movements.
I. Fees & Charges
Our fees and charges are set out here. Binance may, in its discretion, update the fees & charges from time to time. Please be aware of all fees and charges that apply to you, because such fees and charges will affect the returns you generate from using Binance Services.
J. Availability Risk
While we aim to deliver a seamless user experience, we cannot guarantee that the Binance Services will be available at any particular time or that Binance Services will not be subject to unplanned service outages or network congestion. It may not be possible for you to buy, sell, transfer, send or receive Digital Assets when you wish to do so.
There are legal requirements in various countries which may restrict the products and services that Binance can lawfully provide. Accordingly, some products and services and/or certain functionality within the Platform, including but not limited to fiat services, may not be available or may be restricted in certain jurisdictions or regions or to certain Users and any Binance campaigns, user competitions or other promotions will not be open to (and are not targeted at or intended for) Users to whom restrictions apply. Users are responsible for informing themselves about, and observing any restrictions and/or requirements imposed with respect to, the access to and use of the Platform and the Binance Services in each jurisdiction from which the Platform and the Binance Services are accessed by or on behalf of the User. Binance reserves the right to modify such restrictions or impose additional restrictions with respect to the access to and use of the Platform and/or the Binance Services from time to time in its sole discretion without notification.
K. Third Party Risk
Third parties, such as payment providers, custodians, and banking partners may be involved in the provision of Binance Services. You may be subject to the terms & conditions of these third parties.,Unless expressly provided otherwise, Binance will not be responsible for any loss that may be incurred by you as a result of or arising from the services provided by such third parties.
L. Security Risk
The nature of Digital Assets exposes them to an increased risk of cyberattack. While Binance uses all reasonable efforts to safeguard Digital Assets and protect the Platform from cyberattack, it is not possible for any exchange to eliminate security risks entirely. There can be no guarantee that systems in place to mitigate cybersecurity threats will always be effective to prevent improper access to the Platform and Digital Assets.
You are responsible for keeping your Binance Account information safe, and you shall be responsible for all the Transactions under your Binance Account, whether you authorised them or not. Transactions in Digital Assets may be irreversible, and losses due to fraudulent or unauthorised transactions may not be recoverable.
M. Risks related to Digital Assets
Given the nature of Digital Assets and their underlying technologies, there are a number of intrinsic risks, including but not limited to:
a. faults, defects, hacks, exploits, errors, protocol failures or unforeseen circumstances occurring in respect of a Digital Asset or the technologies or economic systems on which the Digital Asset rely;
b. transactions in Digital Assets being irreversible. Consequently, losses due to fraudulent or accidental transactions may not be recoverable;
c. technological developments leading to the obsolescence of a Digital Asset;
d. network delays causing transactions to not be settled on the scheduled delivery date;
e. attacks on the protocol or technologies on which a Digital Asset depends;
f. a hard fork may occur if Digital Asset developers suggest changes to a particular Digital Asset software and the updated software is not compatible with the original software and a sufficient number (but not necessarily a majority) of users and minors elect not to migrate to the updated software. This would result in two versions of Digital Asset networks running in parallel and a split of the blockchain underlying the Digital Asset network, which could impact the demand of the Digital Asset and adversely impact the price of the Digital Asset;
g. certain addresses on the blockchain networks hold a significant amount of the currently outstanding asset on that network. If one of these addresses were to exit their positions, this may result in volatility that could adversely affect the price of that asset;
h. if anyone gains control of over 51% of the computing power (hash rate) used by a blockchain network, they could use their majority share to double spend their Digital Assets. Whilst the risk of this occurring for networks with wider adoption is remote, if such a “51% attack” were to be successful, this would significantly erode trust in public blockchain networks (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) to store value and serve as a means of exchange, which may significantly decrease the value of Digital Assets;
i. Digital Assets are subject to the risk of fraud or cyber attacks;
j. Digital Assets purchased and held in an account with Binance are not covered by any external investor compensation, customer asset protection, deposit protection, insurance or other similar schemes; and
k. new risks may arise from investing in new types of Digital Assets or market participants’ engagement in more complex transaction strategies. Digital Assets and the Digital Asset market is subject to speculative interest, rapid price swings and uncertainty.
N. Monitoring Risks
Digital Asset markets are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rapid price changes may occur at any time, including outside of normal business hours.
O. Communication Risks
When you communicate with us via electronic communication, you should be aware that electronic communications can fail, can be delayed, may not be secure and/or may not reach the intended destination.
P. Currency
Currency exchange fluctuations may impact your gains and losses.
Q. Legal and Regulatory Risks
Most Digital Assets operate without a central authority and are generally not backed by any government or authority. Changes in laws and regulations may materially affect the value of Digital Assets. This risk is unpredictable and may vary from market to market.
Further, Digital Assets may not be considered “property” under Applicable Laws in some jurisdictions. This may affect the nature and enforceability of your interest in the Digital Assets.
Legislative and regulatory changes may adversely affect or restrict (as applicable) the use, transfer, exchange and value of Digital Assets, as well as the provision of the Binance Services in certain jurisdictions. Legislative and regulatory changes may occur quickly and without prior notice.
R. Simple Earn Risk
To the extent that Simple Earn Assets deposited by users are loaned to Binance Affiliates or clients of Binance Group Entities, including under Margin and Loan products, these loaned assets are subject to the risk that the borrowing party will be unable or unwilling to repay the borrowed assets. Binance takes various precautions to minimise this counterparty risk of borrowers defaulting, including (a) conducting due diligence on prospective borrowers under Margin and Loan products and (b) requiring borrowers under Margin and Loan products to provide collateral as security for the repayment obligation. In addition, a vast majority of the Loans and Margin loans that are funded by Simple Earn Assets are overcollateralised, meaning that the borrowing client is required to provide collateral having a value that is greater than the amount of the loan. Further, Binance and Binance Affiliates maintain an insurance fund that is available to cover losses that would otherwise be incurred by Binance when a user’s Margin balance is insufficient to cover the user’s debt obligation to Binance. Details of the insurance fund are available here: https://www.binance.com/en/margin/insurance-fund.
Binance’s ability to return your Simple Earn Assets may be adversely affected or delayed if a significant number of borrowers (including under Margin and Loan products) default on the obligation to repay borrowed assets to Binance, the collateral held by or for the benefit of Binance is insufficient to cover the outstanding loan amount and outstanding debts cannot be recovered from the insurance fund.
In extreme and exceptional circumstances, Binance may have insufficient liquid assets readily available to satisfy requests to redeem Simple Earn Assets in a timely manner as a result of various different other factors including, without limitation, concentrated exposure to the performance of a particular Digital Asset, a particular borrowing client or a particular depositor. Binance has processes in place to monitor and minimise liquidity risk and concentration risk. This includes, for example, limiting the maximum amount that an individual borrower is able to borrow and limiting the maximum amount that a user can subscribe to Simple Earn Offers. These controls limit Binance’s exposure to the risk of default of any particular borrower and also limit Binance’s dependency on the deposits of any particular user for liquidity. In addition, for each Digital Asset, there is a maximum percentage of Simple Earn Assets that can be made available for lending, which is determined based on the volatility, liquidity and market capitalisation of the relevant Digital Asset.
Digital Assets that are deployed in on-chain staking will be subject to a number of risks, including the risk of protocol penalties (known as “slashing”) which result in the forfeiture of some or all of the Digital Assets that are staked. Slashing is designed to discourage network validators from engaging in dishonest, malicious or other inappropriate activity and may occur due to errors in smart contracts, misbehaviour of validators, or mistakes during block production. Slashing is very rare. For example, only 0.04% of the over 500,000 Ethereum validators ever experienced a slashing event, according to data from February 2023. While Binance takes all reasonable precautions to avoid slashing and will wish to compensate users as far as possible (acting at its own discretion) to replace Digital Assets lost to slashing penalties if they do occur, so that you should not experience any loss even in the event of slashing, in some rare situations it is possible you could lose some or all of your Staked Assets. This would include situations where slashing is the result of a hack, your own actions or other extreme events.
Binance may run promotional campaigns from time to time that are sponsored by partner projects including short-term Simple Earn product offerings with higher APRs to benefit users. These higher rates may be temporary and you should consider whether the relevant offer still meets your needs once the interest rate reverts to its normal level when the promotion period expires.
Although Binance takes all reasonable precautions to minimise the risks described in this Risk Warning and to safeguard the return of Simple Earn Assets to users in accordance with the Simple Earn Terms, in extreme and exceptional circumstances Binance may not have sufficient assets readily available to return Simple Earn Assets to users in a timely manner. This could result in users losing some or all of their Simple Earn Assets or experiencing a delay in the return of all or some Simple Earn Assets to users. These exceptional circumstances could arise, for example, following a catastrophic hack or technical failure, a significant number of borrowers to whom loans have been granted under Margin and Loan products defaulting at the same time, depletion of the insurance fund, extreme market volatility, network delays or disruptions, systemic risk or other black swan events that affect the cryptocurrency market as a whole.
S. ETH Staking Risks
Staking involves a risk of protocol penalties, also known as “slashing”, designed to disincentive dishonest and malicious validator activity, where some or all of a validator’s staked Digital Assets are forfeited as a penalty. Slashing can occur due to errors in smart contracts, misbehaviour of validators, or mistakes during block production. Slashing is very rare, with only 0.04% of the over 500,000 Ethereum va