Coinbase CEO’s ‘free listing’ claims face backlash from Justin Sun, Andre Cronje

Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, recently countered claims by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who asserted that Coinbase provides free listings for assets. 

Sun shared that his experience with Coinbase involved financial demands, contrary to recent public statements from the Coinbase CEO. 

According to the TRON (TRX) founder, Coinbase allegedly requested a 500 million TRX payment, worth roughly $80 million, for listing the network’s native token. However, he stressed that Binance charged nothing for listing the asset on its platform.

Additionally, the TRON founder claimed Coinbase asked for a $250 million Bitcoin (BTC) deposit in Coinbase Custody, to enhance the platform’s liquidity. While Sun maintained that he respected the exchange, he insisted that Coinbase’s listing process was far from cost-free. 

Sun’s remarks were backed by Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs, who also highlighted experiences with Coinbase’s listing practices. 

Cronje noted that Coinbase had approached his teams with requests for various amounts ranging from $30 million to $300 million. 

This discussion gained steam after Simon Dedic, CEO of Moonrock Capital, first highlighted the issue. Dedic shared his frustration with the cost of securing a listing on Binance, detailing a recent case where Binance allegedly requested 15% of a project’s total token supply. 

For some projects, this demand could equate to an amount between $50 million and $100 million. Dedic described this coast as unaffordable and detrimental to the projects’ financial health. 

He argued that such high fees contribute to market volatility and liquidity issues, especially for emerging projects.

Armstrong had seized the opportunity to present Coinbase’s alternative approach, stating that the exchange does not charge for asset listings. However, the revelations from Sun and Cronje aimed to debunk this statement.

Meanwhile, Luke Youngblood, a former Coinbase Cloud Engineer, challenged Sun’s and Cronje’s claims, emphasizing that Coinbase has never charged fees for listings. 

Youngblood suggested that they may have encountered scammers impersonating Coinbase agents, which is a growing concern in the crypto industry.