No 400 BTC charges for new currency listings at Binance, CEO says

After being stung repeatedly by the crypto community on rumours that cryptocurrency exchange Binance is charging up to 400 BTC for listing a new crypto coin on its platform, its CEO Changpeng Zhao has come out to fiercely deny the reports. At current prices, the 400 BTC charge is worth as much as $2.5 million, which is quite a prohibitive charge if it is true.

The reports started after cryptocurrency researcher and Expanse co-founder Christopher Franko claimed that Binance, considered one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges at the moment, has been charging a crypto listing fee of 400 BTC.

https://twitter.com/FrankoCurrency/status/1027543758076891136

In response, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also went on Twitter to officially deny that his exchange doesn’t “list shitcoins even if they pay 400 or 4,000 BTC,” noting that crypto coins like ETH, NEO, XRP, EOS, XMR, LTC and others were listed on the Binance platform “with no fee.”

https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1028191647203393536

“It’s not the fee, it’s your project! Focus on your own project,” Zhao tweeted.

To which Franko replied: “You are a fucking liar. It’s that simple.”

https://twitter.com/FrankoCurrency/status/1028232799453675521

Cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, which are considered commercial companies, can accept a listing fee to integrate a cryptocurrency into its platform, just like to how major stock markets require listing fees and maintenance costs before they list a new asset. The alleged amount of listing fee is also irrelevant, given that blockchain projects will take the offer—even if it comes at a high price tag—if they see merit in the listing. This is essentially how free market works.

It’s worth noting that Binance does charge a fee for crypto listings on its platforms, but according to Zhao, “it depends on the project.”

In an updated LinkedIn blog post, the Binance CEO wrote: “We take the simple approach of letting the project propose a number to us, and we review it together with other info we have. This approach often cause projects to (mistakenly) think they didn’t get a response because of the fee. But in reality, it’s usually other aspects of the project. If you make your project as awesome as ETH, there won’t be any discussion about fees. If you are not quite there yet, you should consider the free market value system, and what is worth to you for listing on a Binance. Exchanges don’t have an obligation to list your coin.”