The cryptocurrency community on Twitter is abuzz with debate over the substantial listing fees charged by major exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. Prominent crypto figures Andre Cronje, founder of yearn.finance, and Justin Sun, founder of Tron, joined the discussion, sharing personal experiences on the costs involved.
Last week, Moonrock Capital CEO Simon Dedic pointed to a project that has garnered over $100M and recently started experiencing a list on Binance. When it received approval for the project, Binance demanded 15 percent of the total tokens as a listing fee. According to Dedic, it was employed to explain why the market was bearish due to high listing fees such as the $50 million-$100 on Binance.
Although Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has stated on X (formerly Twitter) that Coinbase does not ask for listing fees, other actors in the industry report quite the opposite. Cronje disclosed that Binance listed his projects without any charges, while Coinbase requested $300 million, $50 million, $30 million in different instances, and more recently, $60 million for listing.
Sun also acknowledged that, as with Binance, Tron’s listing on Huobi was free of cost. Nevertheless, he stated that Coinbase demanded a guarantee of 500 million TRX, about $80 million, and another $250 million in Bitcoin to be deposited in Coinbase Custody to improve Coinbase’s performance.
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Community Weighs In on Crypto Listing Costs
The conversation extended to the broader crypto community, with self-described “exchange maximalist” and Bybit user “Flood” weighing in. Flood argued that many projects seek listings on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase for the high trading volumes, enabling founders to profit from token sales. However, retail investors often lose out, Flood claimed, due to the “inflationary vapor” of tokens with limited long-term value. Yet again, retail investors get the short end of the stick, Flood alleged, with tokens whose value is, in most cases, inflationary vapor. According to Flood, Binance resists such projects and prioritizes protecting the long-term value of its accounts by implementing rigorous listing fees and offering tokens via its Binance Launchpad in BNB.
The discussion over listing fees has drawn attention to the varying strategies of significant exchanges in maintaining control over market access and supporting token integrity. As crypto projects seek listings, these exchanges continue to set the terms, shaping market dynamics for new tokens and the community.
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