The ongoing rivalry between Binance and Coinbase has reignited after the former’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), publicly called on Coinbase to list more BNB Chain projects.
It comes only hours after Coinbase added BNB to its listing roadmap, signaling an intention to onboard the Binance token.
SponsoredCZ Wants Coinbase to List More BNB Chain Projects
CZ called for reciprocity between the two largest centralized exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. The comment, posted on X (Twitter), came amid growing debate over listing transparency, fees, and cross-chain fairness across CEXs.
“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. Not a trade. Just recommending, given we are on the topic of being open, inclusive, etc. Also good for the exchange, I believe,” CZ wrote.
CZ’s post directly responded to a viral thread summarizing a heated sequence of events: Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak, the creator of Base, had posted about listing fees. Subsequently, a Base project founder alleged that Binance demanded steep fees for consideration.
The debate has spiraled into what X (Twitter) users dubbed the “CEX listing wars.”
Coinbase added BNB to its official listing roadmap, marking a rare show of engagement between two direct competitors. The move signaled tentative openness but also carried strategic implications.
As BeInCrypto reported, Coinbase said the listing would depend on technical readiness and market-making requirements. The process could delay full trading activation.
SponsoredStill, the announcement triggered speculation across crypto circles: Was Coinbase signaling goodwill, or merely capitalizing on the media buzz?
Listing Wars Expose CEX Rivalries
The exchange feud has drawn the attention of the wider industry. Critics accused Binance of using high listing fees and selective gatekeeping.
At the same time, Coinbase faced its own backlash for alleged hypocrisy, positioning itself as transparent and accessible yet historically slow to list non-Ethereum ecosystem tokens.
Cecilia Hsueh, Chief Strategy Officer at MEXC exchange, weighed in with a more pragmatic take.
“At MEXC, our first principle is simple — list more, list fast to meet user demand. We do charge a listing fee, but it’s small, probably the lowest among top CEXs, and it mostly goes into helping projects promote their launch,” she said on X.
Hsueh emphasized that exchanges follow different business models depending on their growth stage and liquidity, suggesting that fee-based models aren’t inherently unfair.
This nuanced stance resonated amid escalating tribalism between the Binance and Coinbase communities.
Coinbase’s decision to acknowledge BNB, even symbolically, suggests a shift toward interoperability over isolation, a trend increasingly demanded by users and regulators alike.
However, beneath the gestures of inclusivity, the “listing wars” highlight an enduring truth about crypto exchanges. Competition for liquidity and narrative dominance remains fierce, and even gestures of cooperation are rarely without strategic calculation.
