Pacifica vs Binance

Pacifica or Binance: which to use

Pacifica vs Binance is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Pacifica you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 1.5 bp maker and 4 bp taker and up to 50x. Binance requires verified identity to deposit or trade, holds your funds in an account, and charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker on crypto perps, with up to 150x. As of 1 October 2026 Binance lists 783 active perps, 213 of them real-world asset perps, while Pacifica lists 77. Custody, ID and the market count are the main differences.

How each exchange is built

Pacifica is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana. You trade from a self-custody wallet. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

Binance is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

Both match orders on a central limit order book, so the difference for you is custody and onboarding. On Pacifica your wallet holds the funds. On Binance you deposit into an account and trade from it.

Fees and what they mean

Pacifica's base tier is 1.5 bp maker and 4 bp taker, per Pacifica's fee page. Binance's is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker on crypto perps, per Binance's fee page. Binance's stock and commodity perps (TradFi perps) charge regular users 0 maker and 0.04% taker, "until further notice" (Binance announcement, checked 29 September 2026).

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Pacifica, 10 bp on Binance's crypto perps. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 1.5 bp on Pacifica and 2 bp on Binance.

The fee is only part of a trade's cost. The rest is slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, which grows with size. The cost table above adds both at each size, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Pacifica lists 77 active perps, 24 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Binance lists 783, 213 of them real-world assets. If you want a long tail of coins or many stock and commodity perps in one place, the count matters.

Binance allows up to 150x and Pacifica up to 50x on their highest-leverage markets; most markets allow less. A Binance futures account under 30 days old is capped at 20x.

Pacifica pays funding every hour on every market. Binance pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times, so check a market's interval before you hold a position. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Pacifica asks for no ID. It blocks the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines and sanctioned countries. Binance requires verified KYC to deposit or trade.

Tokens and points

Pacifica has no token yet, and as of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was "Active". Pacifica runs no vault that arb.sh tracks. Binance's token is $BNB. You can follow points programs and token launches on one page.

Reading the numbers on this page

Pacifica publishes open interest as longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. Binance publishes one side. For the same positions Pacifica's figure reads about twice as large, so the open interest row and chart above are not a like-for-like comparison of size.

Binance publishes no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so that row and chart show Pacifica alone, as DefiLlama's figure for the exchange.

Which one fits you

• Pick Pacifica if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID.
• Pick Pacifica if you trade crypto perps with market orders: 4 bp taker against 5 bp.
• Pick Pacifica if you want every market on an hourly funding schedule.
• Pick Pacifica if you want to follow its active points program, since it has no token yet.
• Pick Binance if you prefer an exchange account and accept identity verification.
• Pick Binance if you want stocks and commodities next to your crypto, at 0 maker and 0.04% taker for regular users.
• Pick Binance if you need more than 50x, once your account is past its first 30 days.