The data suggests a single headline can reshape how the market thinks about exchange size. When Crypto.com announced an 80 million user milestone, many people treated that number like a new benchmark for the whole industry. That moment forced a closer look at how exchanges report users, what “having an account” actually means, and how Binance’s user count should be interpreted going forward.
Why the 80M Figure Reoriented Expectations for Exchange Size
Crypto.com’s announcement landed as a clear, attention-grabbing datapoint. For many retail observers, a seven-figure or eight-figure user number is an easy shorthand for “this exchange is large.” The data suggests that such public milestones create new reference points: if one exchange publicly claims tens of millions of users, people start asking why other exchanges don’t show similar numbers.
Analysis reveals three immediate effects of a headline like “80M users.” First, scrutiny increases: journalists, analysts, and competitors begin parsing how that number was calculated. Second, comparisons become more public and less technical: social media threads ask “How many users does Binance have?” in plain language. Third, user perception and trust can shift simply because a brand appears massive and mainstream.
Evidence indicates this is not unique to crypto. In fintech and tech more broadly, public user milestones are marketing tools and trust signals. What changed with Crypto.com’s announcement is the timing and scale: it happened as regulators and retail investors were paying closer attention to exchange practices. That made the underlying question unavoidable: how many people truly use Binance?
5 Key Metrics That Determine an Exchange’s True User Base
When someone asks “how many people use Binance?” a single number won’t capture reality. The user base can be sliced in several ways. Here are the components you need to understand to make a meaningful comparison.
- Registered accounts - Total sign-ups. This is the easiest metric for companies to report, and the one most headlines quote. It’s inclusive of dormant, duplicate, and test accounts. KYC-verified users - Accounts that completed identity checks. These are more likely to be real humans with access to fiat on-ramps and higher limits. Monthly active users (MAU) - Users who log in or transact within a month. MAU measures current engagement rather than lifetime sign-ups. Daily active users (DAU) - Users active on a given day. DAU is useful for gauging intensity and stickiness. Trading participants vs passive holders - Some users are active traders; others hold assets for custody or staking. Trading volume per user varies dramatically across these groups.
Comparison across exchanges should use the same metric. A headline that quotes “registered accounts” will always make an exchange look navigating low fee trading platforms larger than one that emphasizes MAU or KYC-verified users. The data suggests the most informative comparisons use MAU and verified counts, paired with on-chain flow and volume metrics.
Why Public Figures from Binance Often Don’t Tell the Full Story
Binance is a special case because it has been both the largest exchange by reported volume and the most scrutinized. The company has at times published big aggregate numbers, but an announcement of “X million users” masks several realities.
First, duplicate accounts and sub-accounts inflate registered totals. Many institutional traders operate multiple accounts for strategy segmentation and compliance. Retail users sometimes create secondary accounts for promotions or to test products. These inflate “registered” numbers without increasing the number of real people using the service.
Second, the difference between accounts and active users can be large. A short thought experiment clarifies this: imagine Exchange A reports 100 million registered accounts but only 3 million MAU. Exchange B reports 20 million registered accounts and 5 million MAU. Which is actually more relevant to advertisers, service partners, or market observers? The data suggests MAU matters far more for engagement and revenue analysis.
Third, the route to an account varies. Some users sign up to access a one-time token sale or promotional reward and then never return. Others route funds through multiple platforms to move assets. That activity counts toward certain exchange metrics but doesn’t indicate a long-term user relationship.
Analysis reveals that reported trading volumes also need context. Wash trading, off-exchange settlement, and routing to liquidity pools can all make an exchange’s reported volume look higher than the economic activity supported by a given user base. Evidence indicates that combining volume, MAU, and verified-user counts gives a more accurate picture of real usage.
Case Examples and Expert Insights on Reconciling Reported and Real Users
Evidence indicates that analysts use a blend of data points to estimate active user populations. Here are concrete examples and insights professionals rely on:
Example 1: App downloads vs active sessions
App stores report download totals, which many take as a user proxy. Yet downloads overcount. People reinstall apps, download for research, or install across devices. Expert analysts look for active session metrics from app analytics firms, which show how many devices open the app daily or monthly. In many cases, daily sessions are a fraction of lifetime downloads.
Example 2: Web traffic and unique visitors
Services like SimilarWeb and Alexa estimate site visits and unique visitors. These can be compared to reported account totals. If an exchange claims 200 million accounts but web traffic only supports a few million monthly visitors, that raises questions about how the account figure was calculated. The data suggests cross-checking traffic with account announcements is a practical sanity check.
Expert insight: triangulation is the standard method
Industry analysts I’ve spoken with say triangulation is the only reliable path. That means combining on-chain fund flows, order-book depth, reported volumes, app analytics, web traffic, and third-party reports on KYC verifications. When multiple independent signals point in the same direction, confidence grows. When they diverge, you should be skeptical of headline totals.
How to Judge Exchanges Beyond Headline User Counts
The difference between “registered users” and “people who actually use the platform” matters for risk assessment, partnership decisions, and investment analysis. Here’s a synthesis of what matters and how to interpret the mix.
Analysis reveals that three clusters of indicators give the clearest picture:
- Engagement indicators - MAU, DAU, average session length, and number of transactions per active user. These show whether users return and transact. Trust and compliance indicators - KYC-verified counts, proof-of-reserves transparency, and regulatory filings. These show where an exchange stands with regulators and big counterparties. Economic indicators - Net flow of fiat and crypto on-chain, realized trading volume after removing wash patterns, and average revenue per user. These show the financial scale behind the user base.
The data suggests that an exchange with a lower registered account count but higher MAU, verified user share, and net inflows is more valuable and more robust than one with a higher headline user number but weak engagement and outflows.
A simple contrast clarifies this: an exchange with 80M registered users and 3M MAU contrasts with an exchange that reports 30M registered users and 6M MAU. The latter likely has more committed users and higher ongoing liquidity per active account, which is what matters in trading and custody contexts.
7 Steps You Can Use to Estimate Real User Activity on Binance or Any Major Exchange
Here are concrete, measurable steps you can take when you want to move from headline numbers to a grounded estimate of an exchange’s real user base.
Collect reported numbers - Gather the exchange’s announcements about registered users, verified accounts, and any MAU or DAU figures. Companies sometimes publish these in blog posts or investor materials. Check app analytics - Use app store download counts and third-party app analytics to estimate active sessions and daily opens. The ratio of sessions to downloads helps indicate engagement. Analyze web traffic - Use SimilarWeb or comparable services to estimate unique monthly visitors and session metrics. Compare these to reported MAU. Measure on-chain flows - Track net inflows and outflows of major assets to the exchange’s main addresses or clusters. High net inflows track with active custody users. Compare trading volumes to active user proxies - Divide adjusted volume (filtered for likely wash trading) by estimated MAU to get volume per active user. Outliers suggest volume inflation or a small number of heavy traders. Look for third-party confirmations - Audit reports, regulatory filings, and industry research firms sometimes publish KYC-verified counts or reserve checks. Use those numbers to validate internal estimates. Run scenario modeling - Create low, medium, and high estimates. A conservative model might assume 5-10% of registered accounts are monthly active; a more generous one might assume 15-25% depending on evidence from traffic and sessions.The data suggests that using multiple, independent indicators will significantly narrow your estimate range and surface red flags. Thought experiments help: imagine 100 million registered accounts but only 1% MAU versus 10% MAU. The difference in daily liquidity and risk profile is massive, even though the headline total is the same.
Practical Tips for Non-Analysts Who Just Want a Quick Read on Size
If you’re not running a full analysis, use these quick signals to form a reasonable judgment:
- Favor MAU or verified-user claims over raw registered totals. Check recent news about regulatory actions, as enforcement can depress active user counts quickly. Look at fiat on-ramps and banking partnerships, since easy fiat flows attract and retain retail users. Watch app rankings and social engagement: high engagement coupled with high downloads is a strong signal of real usage.
Evidence indicates that a tech-savvy analyst will err on the side of engagement metrics for decision-making, not headline account totals.
Final Takeaways: What Crypto.com’s Announcement Taught Us About Binance and the Industry
Crypto.com’s 80M+ milestone cracked open a conversation that was overdue. It forced a clearer distinction between registered users and active, verified customers. The data suggests that when comparing Binance to any other exchange, you should ask: which metric are they using? Analysis reveals that the most meaningful comparisons rely on MAU, KYC-verified counts, and adjusted trading volume rather than raw account totals.
For people trying to understand “how many people use Binance,” the best approach is triangulation. Combine app analytics, web traffic, on-chain flows, and any public verification reports. Thought experiments that imagine different MAU-to-registered ratios help clarify the stakes: an exchange with many dormant accounts can still look huge while offering much weaker liquidity and engagement than a smaller, active platform.
At a practical level, if you must make decisions based on size - for custody, trading, or partnership - insist on engagement metrics and third-party verification. Those are the measures that separate a headline from a reliable signal about how many people truly use an exchange in a meaningful way.