Dapps are software applications that run across a network of computers, purportedly without the possibility of interference or downtime, while smart contracts are binding agreements, which are written as lines of code and can therefore automatically enforce their own clauses. Ether is used to process transactions on the network, including those automated by dapps and smart contracts.
Decentralization is a primary tenet of cryptocurrency. Whereas most currencies are backed by a central bank — the U.S. dollar, for example, is backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government — cryptocurrencies are maintained and valued by their users.

That can mean serious savings for investors, especially compared to some other exchanges. For example, if you want to buy $100 worth of Bitcoin on Coinbase, you’d actually end up with about $96.51 in Bitcoin, after fees. On Binance.US, you’d still have $99.99 to purchase Bitcoin after accounting for the 0.1% fee.
The funding was intended as the first step towards a future IPO, which Binance still claims is on the cards. Notably, Brooks lost out on the Coinbase IPO when he left to join the OCC. When he took on the OCC role in April 2020, he received $4.6 million for canceling his Coinbase options contract. Just a year later, the stock owned by Paul Grewal, his Coinbase replacement, was worth $300 million when Coinbase was listed.