Binance’s new Junior app aims to bring supervised crypto use to minors, prompting both praise for early education and criticism of child targeting.
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Binance has launched Binance Junior, a parent-controlled crypto app for users ages 6 to 17, in a move that sparked debate over introducing digital assets to minors.
The company Wednesday that Binance Junior is a standalone mobile app linked to a parent’s primary Binance account. The tool allows adults to deposit crypto, set spending and transfer limits and enable Earn products for their kids, depending on local regulations.
Binance framed the new product as a family-focused financial literacy tool. It mirrors traditional custodial accounts, where children can hold assets while parents remain the legal owners and control permissions.
The announcement sparked different reactions among community members, with some praising the move and others accusing the exchange of targeting children.
Binance Junior’s parental controls
Binance Junior as a custodial sub-account, which means that the parent’s verified identity underpins the entire setup.
The application allows parents to deposit funds from their main Binance account, move assets via onchain transfers and choose whether to allow their kids to enable the Junior Flexible Simple Earn feature, an interest-bearing product from Binance.
Teens aged 13 and above can also access Binance Pay to send and receive crypto to and from other Junior accounts or their parents, with daily limits set by the adult.
Binance said on the Binance Junior website that some features may be disabled based on users’ jurisdictions, highlighting that different laws may limit access to the products.
Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for more information, but had not received a response by publication.
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Community split over kids and crypto
Reaction from the crypto community was polarized.
One X user Binance for “targeting” kids, questioning whether the industry’s existing youth-focused marketing efforts were not already enough.
Another the move “crazy and irresponsible,” while a separate commenter that kids will become “exit liquidity.”
Not everyone was in agreement. One community member that introducing the next generation to crypto was “huge for real adoption,” praising the parental tools that came with the product.
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