Binance founder CZ launches Pay to Reach feature, charging $125 in BNB for messages

“I’ll adjust the price and try to keep it at an optimal level of about 10 messages a day,” CZ said

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ" in the crypto world, has introduced a unique feature on the social messaging platform ReachMe.io—the ability to send private messages to CZ himself, with a price tag of $125 in Binance coin (BNB).

According to an announcement on X, formerly Twitter, CZ is setting an optimal limit of about 10 messages a day. The messages must be relevant and useful, or else users will be getting a 50% refund, and CZ will try to respond within five days.

The service, which launched early Thursday, requires no registration and uses Binance's BNB token as the transaction currency. Initially, CZ set the message price at 0.04 BNB, then increased it to 0.1 BNB, and later adjusted it to 0.2 BNB because he received a large number of irrelevant or low-quality messages.

“I was getting spammed with the initial price. Please don’t waste your money like this. I adjust the price and try to keep it at an optimal level of about 10 messages a day. If the message is not relevant or useful, I will not reply and you will get a 50% refund. I will try to respond to good messages within 5 days,” CZ said.

The service has also attracted nearly 70 key opinion leaders (KOLs) to join, who set their own message prices ranging from 0.01 to 0.2 BNB.

As the KOL network continues to expand, the "paid connection" model may be further validated, providing a new way to monetize digital interactions.

Furthermore, CZ promised that all BNB he receives through the feature will be donated to charity.

In his original Binance Square post, CZ explained the motivation behind the concept of “paid connections,” saying that the idea stems from optimizing reach rather than time management.

He mentioned that social media platforms such as LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) also offer similar features, but due to the low entry barriers, spam is rampant.

“We can’t handle the volume at that price. We’ll be adjusting the price to keep the optimal message volume at around 10 messages a day. If the message is not relevant or useful, I will not reply and you will get a 50% refund. I will try to respond to good messages within 5 days,” he added.

However, the messaging fee model has also sparked discussions about accessibility, as users who cannot afford the fees may be excluded from the opportunity to communicate with prominent figures in the crypto industry.

While this new system encouraged more serious, productive communication, it also commercialized what had traditionally been free interactions.

Since CZ announced the feature, ReachMe.io has reminded users that it has no official token and warned traders not to buy any tokens claiming to be associated with the platform.

After the launch of the “Paid Contact” feature, BNB prices rose by 0.6% according to Coingecko data, showing the influence of these industry leaders on cryptocurrency prices. However, BNB prices have now fallen back, and according to Coingecko data, its current price is $625.51, down 0.4% from the same period yesterday.