Less than 24 hours after a Base builder publicly slammed Binance\u2019s alleged listing policy on X, sparking a heated debate in the crypto community, Coinbase<\/a> yesterday unexpectedly announced plans to list BNB. Though it\u2019s no longer Binance\u2019s official platform token, BNB \u2014 originally Binance Coin \u2014 was developed by the exchange, and remains a key asset in its ecosystem. <\/p>\n The drama began on Tuesday, Oct. 14, when CJ Hetherington, the co-founder and CEO of Base prediction market Limitless, shared what he said were Binance listing terms in an X post<\/a>. The post alleges that Binance \u2014 the world\u2019s largest centralized exchange (CEX) by trading volume \u2014 asked for roughly 8% of his project\u2019s token supply, broken into allocations for airdrops, liquidity and other marketing activations, for listing on Binance\u2019s Alpha platform, as well as a $2 million security deposit in BNB for spot listing. <\/p>\n The revelation on social media \u2014 which Limitless\u2019 CEO later clarified was not under an NDA \u2014 set off a flurry of copy-and-paste posts and screenshots across X. It didn\u2019t take long for an official Binance account to respond as well. In an X post, which was later deleted amid community backlash, but not before screenshots<\/a> were posted, the exchange\u2019s customer support account said it \u201cdoes not charge listing fees,\u201d and that the CEX \u201cdoes not profit from its listing process.\u201d <\/p>\n The official Binance support post also claimed that token allocations for listing end up being distributed to Binance users via airdrops and marketing campaigns, and that refundable deposits exist only as a safeguard against short-term exploitation.<\/p>\n However, the X post also provided contradictory statements, saying that the listing deal Hetherington had posted was allegedly proposed by Binance, but later accusing Hetherington of \u201cillegal and unauthorised disclosure of confidential communications with Binace.\u201d The X post also threatened to take legal action against the Limitless CEO.<\/p>\n That quick denial with legal threats from the CEX triggered a wave of testimony and counterclaims across the crypto community, including from high-profile industry figures.<\/p>\n Mike Dudas, founder of 6th Man Ventures and co-founder of The Block, asserted on X<\/a> that he had encountered \u201cbinance tge listing proposals of the EXACT same nature of cj’s at limitless in the past month.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeffy Yu, founder of O Media, also weighed in<\/a>, saying Binance had asked for $1 million in cash to list his token. He also noted that Bybit had demanded a substantial amount of tokens plus $250,000, so the team chose Kraken, which requested \u201c$100-200k on top of token supply.\u201d<\/p>\n However, some, like the now well-known trader<\/a> James Wynn, called<\/a> the wave of accusations a \u201ccoordinated FUD attack\u201d aimed at Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao \u2014 better known in the industry as CZ.<\/p>\n Cecilia Hsueh, chief strategy officer at fellow exchange MEXC, provided insight into her company\u2019s listing practices. In an X post<\/a>, she acknowledged that MEXC charges a listing fee, but emphasized that it is relatively small, “probably the lowest among top CEXs,” and primarily allocated to helping projects promote their launch, though she didn\u2019t disclose the figures.<\/p>\n Decentralized rivals were quick to seize the moment. Hyperliquid, the largest decentralized perpetuals exchange, which has recently been clashing<\/a> with Binance-linked DEX Aster over perps trading volume dominance, highlighted<\/a> its permissionless listings and emphasized a \u201cno listing fee\u201d model to contrast itself with Binance \u2014 without referring to the CEX directly. <\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take long for CZ to weigh in on the uproar, and his participation arguably only added fuel to the fire.<\/p>\n In an X post<\/a>, the Binance founder called Hetherington a \u201closer,\u201d adding that he \u201cdidn’t even know who he [Hetherington] was until he posted this fake image saying I blocked him.\u201d<\/p>\n In another X post<\/a> the following day, CZ \u2014 who stepped down as Binance\u2019s CEO in 2023, as part of a settlement with U.S. regulators<\/a> \u2014 argued that strong projects shouldn\u2019t have to chase exchanges for listings.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your project is strong, exchanges will race to list your coin. If you have to beg an exchange to list, then… You need to ask yourself why, and who is providing value to whom,\u201d Zhao wrote.<\/p>\n Zhao\u2019s post directly responded to an X user YazanXBT, who had chimed<\/a> in on an X post by Coinbase\u2019s head of Base, Jesse Pollak<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pollak had argued<\/a> that \u201cit should cost 0% to be listed on an exchange,\u201d in response to Hetherington\u2019s initial tweet with the listing terms. However, as multiple X users pointed out, Coinbase has at least historically been accused of charging exorbitant fees<\/a> to list a token, including by prominent DeFi founder Andre Cronje. The CEX\u2019s official position, however, continues to be that it does not charge listing fees.<\/p>\n As others pointed out in this week\u2019s debate, a \u201cfee\u201d could also be an issue of semantics, if the exchange requires a token allocation for marketing efforts, as Binance allegedly does. <\/p>\n Historically, centralized exchanges have been known to charge listing fees, often in the form of either token allocations or financial commitments. These fees can vary significantly, with reports indicating<\/a> that exchanges tend to charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for listings.<\/p>\n YazanXBT countered by noting that Coinbase had not yet listed BNB, currently the fourth-largest crypto asset<\/a> by market cap.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless BNB (the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap) gets listed on Coinbase, your opinion of how another exchange should list cryptocurrencies is meaningless. Lead by example,\u201d the X user wrote. <\/p>\n A few hours later, Coinbase succinctly announced that it had added<\/a> BNB to its listing roadmap, with no explicit reference to the ongoing drama. <\/p>\n The move had little impact on the token\u2019s price, which after a recent rally, closed Q3 at $1,030, a more than 57.3% increase<\/a> within the quarter, after a \u201cmostly stagnant year,\u201d analysts at CoinGecko noted in an Oct. 16 report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Less than an hour earlier, Coinbase also posted a blog post<\/a> introducing its new asset listing process, dubbed \u201cThe Blue Carpet,\u201d which includes the statement:<\/p>\n \u201cOur listings process remains free, merit-based, and built on trust.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Earlier that day, Oct. 15, Binance deleted its support team\u2019s post containing legal threats, stating in a separate post<\/a> from its main X account that while \u201cwe stand by our position, the way we communicated was excessive and we sincerely apologize to our users, partners, and the wider industry.\u201d<\/p>\nLegal Action Threats<\/h2>\n
Community Backfires<\/h2>\n
CZ Steps In<\/h2>\n
BNB Listing Surprises Everyone<\/h2>\n
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