Blessing or Curse for the Crypto Market?

Crypto market participants, traders, and investors are increasingly divided over the consequences of mass token listings on centralized exchanges (CEXs).

As the discourse intensifies on token listings on CEXs, some industry figures warn of deteriorating listing standards. Meanwhile, others argue that an open listing approach will ultimately benefit the market.

Analysts Challenge Mass Listings on CEXs

Benjamin Cowen, a crypto analyst and founder of Cryptoverse, shared his concerns regarding the declining quality of tokens listed on major exchanges. He criticized exchanges for promoting long-term investing while listing low-quality “shitcoins,” highlighting their hypocrisy in the crypto market.

“Some crypto exchanges are listing shittier and shittier coins. They’ll tell you to focus on fundamentals and long-term investing one day, and then list the most useless garbage no one has even heard of the next,” he stated.

Another analyst, Colin Talks Crypto, further argued that the primary motivation behind these listings is to profit from transaction fees rather than the quality of the projects. Other voices in the debate suggested that exchanges focus on listing tokens when trending and remove them when interest fades.

“They want volume and fees and list when it’s hit and delist when it gets cold. CEXs this cycle have been showing us why DEXs are the future,” an X user remarked.

Indeed, this aligns with the hallmark of Binance Exchange’s delisting guideline. As BeInCrypto reported, the trading platform commits to reviewing the performance of its listed trading pairs. It removes tokens and trading pairs not meeting liquidity and volume thresholds.

Recent listings on Binance, including meme coins from the BNB Chain, such as JELLY, have fueled these criticisms. Against this backdrop, crypto influencer Leonidas expressed frustration with Binance.

“Your listing team just spot-listed four low-cap insider-controlled meme coins that nobody has ever heard of… I’ve watched for the past year as you guys have listed $10m-$20m garbage meme coins over and over while ignoring the largest market cap memecoins with real communities,” the analyst lamented.

Others also speculated that centralized exchanges might engage in pre-listing accumulation before selling to retail investors.  

The Case for Mass Listings on Centralized Exchanges

Despite these criticisms, some experts argue that mass listings could benefit the market in the long run. Jason Chen believes that accelerating token listings will desensitize the market. In his opinion, this would remove the speculative hype around new listings and foster a more competitive trading environment.

“There will no longer be a listing effect, no more premium, and everything will return to a free game state,” Chen explained.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance’s founder, agreed with this perspective, noting that listing a coin should not affect the price. While listing provides liquidity, allowing for freer entry and exit, it may influence the price in the short term.

However, according to CZ, this should be very short-term. In the long run, prices should be determined by the project’s development. This also aligns with Binance’s listing and delisting criteria, which analyze elements such as the team’s commitment to the project, the level and quality of development activity, and the network and smart contract stability.

“The DEX model is very good. All coins are listed and people can choose for themselves,” CZ added.

Crypto trader Paul Wei also supported this argument but cautioned against oversimplifying the relationship between listings and long-term valuations. He also challenged CZ’s view that coin listings on CEXs like Binance do not influence long-term prices, arguing that listings affect a project’s “development” by enabling freer trading, which shapes price trends.

Meanwhile, recent controversies, such as the Hyperliquid JELLY token incident, highlight the growing divide between CEXs and decentralized exchanges (DEXs). BeInCrypto reported allegations of market manipulation. This has fueled skepticism over centralized exchanges’ practices, hence the CEX vs. DEX crypto debate.

Critics argue that such cases demonstrate the advantages of DEXs, where token listings are unrestricted, and market forces dictate valuations without centralized intervention.

Amidst this ongoing debate, CZ articulated that Coinbase’s recent decision to list BNB perpetual futures was purely on merit. It is also worth noting that Binance recently resolved to include users in its listing and delisting actions, fostering democracy.

The exchange also adopted a secondary listing mechanism. Instead of exclusively listing new tokens on its centralized exchange, it will leverage Binance Wallet to facilitate token launches on decentralized platforms.