Binance Introduces Bespoke Service for Ultra High-Net-Worth Crypto Investors

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has unveiled a new VIP offering aimed at the ultra high-net-worth (UHNW) market segment, dubbed Binance Prestige, the company said on Wednesday.

Binance Prestige addresses the specific needs of family offices, private funds and other asset allocators seeking a high-touch, professional approach to digital asset management. The new ultra-wealthy service suite compliments Binance Wealth, which was launched by the exchange about a year ago, catering to advisors and wealth managers for the mass affluent market.

Over half of wealth management professionals now see digital assets as key for client engagement, up from 44% last year, according to an Avaloq survey. Helping wealthy clients as they begin investing in crypto, particularly in places like Asia or in the Middle East, has become one of the fastest growing segments within the digital asset industry, according to Catherine Chen, head of Binance VIP and Institutional.

“We see family offices and investors with a more traditional background that are very curious about crypto and who expect the type of support and services they get in traditional finance,” Chen said in an interview. “A repeated pain-point for wealthy yet cautious investors is having to jump through multiple hoops to become a crypto client, rather than being guided directly with the type of hand-holding these sort of investors expect.”

Binance currently provides special VIP Holder accounts which investors qualify for by having over $500k to trade on the exchange and an appropriate number of BNB tokens. Within the VIP Holder account system are four categories, with four being the highest net worth.

There is no set minimum size of asset holding required to qualify for Binance Prestige, Chen said, but the service will likely be catering to investors with as much as $10 million in assets at their disposal, broadly in line with the level of funds required to open a private banking account.

Binance Prestige essentially builds on that highest level of net worth VIP bracket with six core service pillars to provide comprehensive end-to-end coverage: onboarding, fiat access, structured products, capital financing, custody, insights and reporting, according to Wednesday's press release.

Going forward, the exchange is also looking at how areas like inheritance planning could be incorporated within the Binance Prestige service.

“Ultimately, what we want to do is strike a balance,” Chen said. “So while we do offer a high-touch service at Binance, at the end of the day, we're still not a bank. Like, we won't set up the Trust for the client, for example. What we would do is to ensure the clients are aware of all the tools available that can help them achieve their investment goal or their financial planning goal in crypto.”