Over the weekend, Binance and Coinbase were accused of charging millionaire fees for listing tokens, sparking a debate over listing requirements, exchange rivalry, and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Several industry figures have spoken out about the matter, including Justin Sun, Brian Armstrong and Changpeng Zhao, who denied the claims on Monday.
Binance Vs. Controversy over Coinbase’s listing fees
Two of the world’s largest centralized exchanges (CEXs), Binance and Coin basefaced backlash over allegations of millionaire fee requirements for token listings. On Thursday, Moonrock Capital CEO Simon Dedic shared his concerns about the listing requirements of some CEXs.
In an X post, Dedic explained that he recently spoke with a Tier 1 project that earned nearly nine figures. The project’s team said they received a listing offer from Binance after “wasting more than a year of due diligence” on the exchange.
Nevertheless, the crypto stock exchange reportedly asking for 15% of the token’s supply to secure the listing. Dedic expressed concern about “paying $50-100 million just for a CEX listing,” as this would be prohibitively expensive for most projects, and the donated token supply is “the biggest reason for bleeding charts.”
Moonrock Capital's CEO raises concerns about listing requirements. Source: Simon on X
Many community members debated whether the listing fee requirement should change. One user argued that if a project wanted to be distributed in a CEX, he ‘would have to pay’ for it.
However, controversy arose when Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong responded to Dedic’s X-post. Armstrong apparently joked to 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 company for a listing fee multiple times. According to the post, Coinbase asked for up to $300 million from Sonic Labs, while Binance charged $0 for the project.
Backing Cronje, Tron founder Justin Sun shared a similar story. Sun stated that Coinbase’s claims were “simply not true” as the CEX had required them to pay 500 million TRX, worth approximately $80 million, and “required a $250 million deposit of BTC into Coinbase Custody to verify their performance improve.”
Sun’s comments fueled the ongoing debate, with many users questioning his claim. Others suggested that his experience with Binance might differ from other projects as the listing took place years ago.
Binance co-founders deny the allegations
On Monday, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, thanked Sun for his support. The former CEO noted the importance of validation from someone running two competing exchanges. However, he expressed concern about “quote attacks” within the sector.
Zhao responds to listing fee allegations. Source: CZ on X
Zhao urged his colleagues to reduce these attacks and asked teams to work on their projects to secure a stock market listing instead of focusing on the exchanges. Furthermore, he emphasized that “Bitcoin has never paid listing fees.” Sun agreed with CZ, saying: “Focusing on construction projects and Bitcoin is what really matters.”
Also Yi He, co-founder and Chief Customer Service Officer at Binance refused the accusations and called them FUD:
FUD will never go away, but it makes us stronger. Gossip is easy to come by and business competition is always full of darkness; When you understand the rules of how the world works, you will no longer be easily influenced by rumors and you will have the ability to think independently.
She explained that a project will not be listed on the fair if it does not pass the screening process, and that the fair does not charge a “so-called 20%” fee. Yi He also noted that the exchange’s listing rules are “transparent and clear,” including the airdrop rules for Binance’s Launchpool. Ultimately, she urged the community to investigate if controversy arises.
Binance Coin (BNB) trades at $560 in the three-day chart. Source: BNBUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com