Over the weekend, Binance and Coinbase were accused of asking for millionaire fees for token listing, igniting a discussion about listing requirements, exchange rivalry, and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Several industry figures weighed in on the matter, including Justin Sun, Brian Armstrong, and Changpeng Zhao, who denied the claims on Monday.
Binance Vs. Coinbase Listing Fee Controversy
Two of the world’s biggest centralized exchanges (CEXs), Binance and Coinbase, faced backlash over allegations of millionaire fee requirements for token listing. On Thursday, Moonrock Capital’s CEO, Simon Dedic, shared his concerns regarding some CEXs’ listing requirements.
In an X post, Dedic explained that he recently spoke to a Tier 1 project that raised nearly nine figures. The project’s team detailed that they received a list offer from Binance after “wasting over a yr of due diligence” with the exchange.
Nonetheless, the crypto exchange allegedly requested 15% of the token’s supply to secure the listing. Dedic expressed his concern about “paying $50-100M only for a CEX listing,” as it could be unaffordable for many projects, and the donated token supply is “the most important reason for bleeding charts.”
Moonrock Capital's CEO raises concerns about listing requirements. Source: Simon on X
Many community members discussed whether the listing fee requirement needed to alter. One user argued that if a project desired to be distributed in a CEX, they need to “must pay for it.”
Nevertheless, controversy arose when Coinbase’s co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong replied to Dedic’s X post. Armstrong seemingly took a jab at Binance by stating that asset listings on Coinbase were free.
Sonic Labs’ founder, Andre Cronje, refuted Armstrong’s claim and revealed that the exchange allegedly asked the corporate for a list fee several times. Per the post, Coinbase requested as much as $300 million from Sonic Labs, while Binance charged the project $0.
Backing Cronje, Tron’s founder Justin Sun shared an analogous story. Sun declared that Coinbase’s claims were “simply not true,” because the CEX had required them to pay 500 million TRX, price around $80 million, and “demanded a $250 million BTC deposit in Coinbase Custody to spice up their performance.”
Sun’s remarks fueled the continuing discussion, with many users questioning his claim. Others suggested that his experience with Binance might differ from other projects because the listing happened years ago.
Binance Co-Founders Deny The Allegations
On Monday, Changpeng Zhao, also generally known as CZ, thanked Sun for his support. The previous CEO noted the importance of the validation from someone who runs two competing exchanges. Nevertheless, he expressed his concern concerning the “quote attacks” inside the industry.
Zhao responds to listing fee allegations. Source: CZ on X
Zhao urged his peers to cut back these attacks and asked teams to work on their projects to secure a list as a substitute of specializing in the exchanges. Furthermore, he highlighted that “Bitcoin never paid any listing fees.” Sun agreed with CZ, stating, “Specializing in constructing projects and Bitcoin is what truly matters.”
Yi He, co-founder and Chief Customer Service Officer at Binance, also denied the allegations, calling them FUD:
FUD won’t ever go away, however it makes us stronger. Gossip is simple to get traffic, and business competition is all the time stuffed with dark sides; If you understand the foundations of how the world works, you’ll not be easily swayed by rumors, and you’ll have the flexibility to think independently.
She explained that a project won’t get listed if it doesn’t pass the screening process, and the exchange doesn’t charge a “so-called 20%” fee. Yi He also remarked that the exchange’s listing rules are “transparent and clear,” including the airdrop rules for Binance’s Launchpool. Ultimately, she urged the community to do their research when controversy sparks.
Binance Coin (BNB) trades at $560 within the three-day chart. Source: BNBUSDT on TradingView
Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com