Arguments on X broke out over Coinbase charging hefty sums for token listings. Binance was not spared either.
Global crypto exchange Coinbase finds itself in the center of controversy, as big-name Web3 founders accused it of asking them hundreds of millions of dollars for listing tokens.
The accusations rolled in as the exchange’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Armstrong, took to X on November 2 to state, “Asset listings on Coinbase are free – drop us a note through our Asset Hub and we’ll see if we can help.” That post got founders like Andre Cronje, who created Yearn Finance and Keep3r and serves as the chief technical officer for the Sonic Foundation, to call Coinbase out for its alleged actions.
“Coinbase has asked us for; $300m, $50m, $30m, and more recently $60m,” Cronje said. “Lots of respect. But this is simply not true.” This allegation was also preceded by his claim that Binance charged nothing for listings.
Tron founder Justin Sun also got into the mix with similar claims. “Exactly the same situation with us,” he replied while reiterating that Binance charged Tron $0 for listings. “Coinbase required us to pay 500 million TRX (worth $80 million) and demanded a $250 million BTC deposit in Coinbase Custody to boost their performance.”
The claims made by both founders do not come with evidence. However, Cronje, more than Sun, is highly respected for his contributions to the blockchain space and DeFi niche. Still, many are skeptical of his and Sun’s claims.
Coinbase and Binance are the biggest centralized exchanges (CEXs), with the latter controlling close to 40% of all spot crypto trading volume. The former is a few places down, hailing at the sixth position with its more than 6% market share.
Binance Gets Slammed
Just a few days earlier, Moonrock CEO Simon Dedic accused Binance of charging listing fees. He claimed the exchange asked a “tier 1” project 15% of its token supply as the price to list its tokens. According to Dedic, that amounts to between $50 million and $100 million. This tweet was the reason Coinbase, Cronje, and Sun got involved.
Nevertheless, Binance co-founder Yi He defended the exchange against Didec’s accusations, saying Binance does not charge tokens or fees for listings. She added the exchange only screens projects to meet its listing criteria. Despite this argument, Binance’s website has a post up from 2018 mentioning that it charges listing fees but donates everything to charity.
