Binance’s former CEO and founder, Chanpeng Zhao (CZ), challenged the Coinbase exchange to list more BNB Chain projects after adding BNB to its roadmap earlier this week. The announcement to list BNB on Coinbase’s exchange sparked debates online over listing fees and transparency between major centralized exchanges.
Coinbase revealed its intention to list BNB, stating that the final activation to enable trading will depend on sufficient infrastructure and market-making support. The exchange only uses the roadmap as a pre-listing indicator, rather than an official commitment, to allow time for due diligence and compliance scrutiny.
Debate over listing fees deepens as Coinbase adds BNB to its roadmap
The timing of the listing announcement coincided with the ongoing debates on whether major exchanges should charge listing fees. The trend online has drawn divided views among project founders. The debate goes back to Jesse Pollak, founder of Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2 (L2) network.
Pollak argued that it should cost nothing to be listed on the Binance exchange, following rumors that Binance had requested a huge fee to consider listing a Base project. Binance denied the allegations and even threatened legal action.
Pollak’s comment prompted several reactions online. One notable influencer, Yazan, challenged his stance and pointed out that Coinbase has not yet listed BNB, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Only hours later, Coinbase responded by adding BNB to its listing roadmap, creating speculations that linked the move to the public exchange between Pollak, Yazan, and CZ. Binance founder challenged Pollak’s comments, noting several models that an exchange can adopt to list projects and urging exchanges to focus on treating users well, rather than competing with them.
CZ further commented that exchanges naturally adopt different listing models depending on liquidity, demand, and product lines such as spot, futures, and alpha listings, and that the process is not “black and white.” Meanwhile, he has challenged Coinbase to list more BNB Chain projects.
“I would urge Coinbase to list more BNB chain projects. Binance has listed several Base projects. Don’t think Coinbase has listed a single BNB chain project yet. And it’s a more active chain.”
-Changpeng Zhao, Binance founder and former CEO
BNB jumps by over 3% this week amid listing controversies
Cecilia Hsueh, Chief Strategy Officer at MEXC Exchange, provided a balanced perspective on the controversy, arguing that listing models should align with market maturity and user demand. She added that MEXC does charge a fee, but it is small and goes into helping projects promote their launches.
According to Hsueh, fees involved in listing projects must be communicated transparently to avoid perceptions of favors and pay-to-play dynamics.
Nevertheless, Binance has faced longstanding criticism for its opaque listing structure and alleged high entry barriers for smaller projects. Coinbase, by contrast, has marketed itself as a platform guided by transparency and accessibility. However, it has often been criticized for slow listing processes and an apparent preference for Ethereum-based assets.
CZ’s remarks today reignited what many in the crypto community have dubbed the “CEX listing wars,” a contest of credibility, liquidity, and moral positioning between the two largest global exchanges.
While some viewed CZ’s comments as a diplomatic olive branch, others saw them as a subtle challenge to Coinbase’s commitment to neutrality. Some interpreted Coinbase’s decision to include BNB as a pragmatic response to community pressure, while others saw it as a strategic signal of cooperation amid growing regulatory scrutiny.
BNB has seen a 3.47% rise since the beginning of the week, trading at $1,179.12 at the time of publication. The token reached its all-time high of $ 1,370.55 on Monday of this week, with a total market cap surging to $164.25 billion.
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