When was Binance launched?
Binance's exchange launch date is July 14, 2017. Its original notice, published on July 11, scheduled the exchange to open at 12:00 Beijing time on July 14. Those are two different dates: the announcement date and the stated opening date.
Beijing time is UTC+8, so the scheduled opening corresponds to 04:00 UTC on July 14. A screenshot showing July 11 at the top of the notice should not be used to claim the exchange began trading that day. This guide separates the launch from later token and blockchain milestones.
Who founded Binance, and how did it begin?
Binance identifies Changpeng Zhao, often called CZ, as its founder and Yi He as a co-founder. The company's 2023 account of its background describes a team with exchange-software experience building a crypto-to-crypto spot exchange in 2017. Binance's own 2022 announcement separately identifies Yi He's co-founder role.
These are company sources for the founding account. They are useful evidence for names and chronology, but promotional statements about market leadership should not be treated as independent verification. A founding story also does not establish today's licensing, custody arrangements or service availability.
- Binance's 2023 account of its founding and early exchange ↗
- Binance's 2022 announcement identifying co-founder Yi He ↗
Binance, BNB and BNB Chain are not the same thing
Binance is an exchange business and associated services. BNB is a crypto asset. BNB Chain refers to blockchain infrastructure. When a headline uses one of these names, identify which entity, token or network it actually concerns.
BNB Chain's historical account describes BNB beginning as an Ethereum ERC-20 token in 2017, moving to Binance Chain in April 2019, and being used by the later Smart Chain. Its September 1, 2020 launch announcement explains the parallel smart-contract network. Those events did not all happen when the exchange opened in July 2017.
This chronology is not a token-transfer instruction. Historical token formats and old migration notices may no longer describe supported deposit routes. For any current transfer, check the exact asset and network supported by both sender and recipient.
A short timeline with the events kept separate
July 11, 2017: the exchange publishes its launch notice. July 14, 2017: the scheduled exchange opening. In 2017: BNB initially exists as an ERC-20 token. April 2019: Binance Chain is launched. September 1, 2020: Binance Smart Chain's mainnet launch is announced. February 2022: the BNB Chain naming announcement describes the ecosystem's development.
Read each entry with its scope. An exchange launch is not a blockchain genesis event; a network launch is not proof of a new company registration; and a brand change does not automatically change a user's account terms. Keeping these boundaries clear prevents errors when comparing crypto businesses.
What does Binance's age tell you about using it today?
A launch date establishes history, not a current safety score. If you are evaluating a service, separate its age from the entity serving your jurisdiction, permitted products, fees, withdrawal rules and who controls signing keys. This historical guide does not certify any current regulatory status.
The same distinction applies to related products. Holding a token is not automatically ownership of an exchange business. Using a blockchain does not necessarily require an exchange account. A P2P marketplace involves a different settlement workflow from placing a spot order.
Practice: check a crypto company's launch-date claim
Take the claim 'Binance launched on July 11, 2017 because that is the date on its announcement.' Open the original notice, separate the publication timestamp from the event stated in the body, and preserve the timezone. The supported exchange-opening date is July 14.
Repeat this method for another platform: find the original announcement, identify what actually launched, distinguish a planned date from evidence of availability, and avoid using a later anniversary article as your only source. If the records disagree, explain the disagreement instead of inventing precision.
For this page, the original launch notice is the strongest date evidence; later company and network documents answer the different founding and infrastructure questions. No account signup or purchase is needed to complete the exercise.
Sources & further reading
- Binance's July 11, 2017 exchange launch announcement
- Binance's 2023 account of its founding and early exchange
- Binance's 2022 announcement identifying co-founder Yi He
- BNB Chain: 2017 token, 2019 chain and 2022 naming history
- BNB Chain: September 1, 2020 Smart Chain launch
Educational content. Examples are illustrative. Protocols, products and rules can change; consult the linked documentation for current details.