Over the weekend, Binance and Coinbase were accused of charging millionaire fees for token listings, sparking a discussion about listing requirements, stock market rivalry, and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Several industry figures have spoken out 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 largest centralized exchanges (CEXs), Binance and Coinbase, have faced backlash following allegations that millionaire fees are being demanded for listing tokens. On Thursday, Moonrock Capital CEO Simon Dedic raised concerns about the listing requirements of certain CEXs.
In an X post, Dedic explained that he recently talked about a Tier 1 project that brought in nearly nine figures. The project team explained that it received a listing offer from Binance after “wasting over a year of due diligence” with the exchange.
Nonetheless, the crypto exchange reportedly requested 15% of the token supply to secure the listing. Dedic expressed concern about “paying $50-100 million just for a CEX listing” as this would be unaffordable for most projects, and the supply of donated tokens is “the main reason for chart bleeding” .
Moonrock Capital's CEO raises concerns about listing requirements. Source: Simon on X
Many community members have questioned whether the registration fee requirements should change. One user argued that if a project wanted to be distributed in a CEX, it should “have to pay for it.”
However, controversy arose when Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong responded to Dedic’s X-rated post. Armstrong apparently attacked 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 listing fees on several occasions. According to the post, Coinbase requested up to $300 million from Sonic Labs, while Binance charged the project $0.
Supporting Cronje, Tron founder Justin Sun shared a similar story. Sun said Coinbase’s claims were “simply false” as CEX asked them to pay 500 million TRX, worth around $80 million, and “required a BTC deposit of 250 million dollars in Coinbase Custody to improve their performance.
Sun’s remarks fueled the ongoing discussion, with many users questioning his claims. Others have suggested that its experience with Binance might differ from other projects because the listing happened years ago.
Binance co-founders deny allegations
On Monday, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, thanked Sun for his support. The former CEO stressed the importance of validation from someone who runs two competing exchanges. However, he expressed his concern about “quotation attacks” within the sector.
Zhao responds to listing fee allegations. Source: CZ on X
Zhao urged his peers to curb these attacks and asked teams to work on their projects to get a listing instead of focusing on trading. Additionally, he emphasized that “Bitcoin has never paid a listing fee.” Sun agreed with CZ, saying: “What really matters is focusing on construction projects and Bitcoin.
Yi He, co-founder and director of customer service at Binance, also denied the allegations, calling them FUD:
FUD will never go away, but it makes us stronger. Gossip easily generates traffic, and business competition is always full of dark sides; 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 if it does not pass the selection process and that the exchange 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 Launchpool. Ultimately, she urged the community to do research when 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
