Bybit Denies Charging $1.4 Million to List Tokens, Responding to Claims Made by X User “silverfang88”

In an April 14 post, the user accused Bybit of demanding millions in listing fees from crypto projects and claimed the exchange used key opinion leaders (KOLs) to suppress criticism

Crypto exchange Bybit has rejected allegations that it charges $1.4 million to list tokens, responding to claims made by X user “silverfang88,” who has over 100,000 followers.

In an April 14 post, the user accused Bybit of demanding millions in listing fees from crypto projects and claimed the exchange used key opinion leaders (KOLs) to suppress criticism from students involved in its Campus Ambassador program.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou responded on X, urging the user to provide evidence. “The space has been chaotic because of rumors posted without proof,” Zhou said.

A Bybit spokesperson further detailed the exchange’s listing process, denying any fixed $1.4 million fee. He said the requirements include a promotion budget, a refundable security deposit, and a rigorous evaluation process.

According to the spokesperson, projects are asked to contribute $200,000-$300,000 in stablecoins for a promotional deposit, which is used for user engagement campaigns and may be subject to penalties if targets are not met. These funds are returned to the project once the agreed-upon promotional goals are achieved.

He added that legal limitations prevent Bybit from holding project tokens directly. Instead, the spokesperson said the exchange prefers to evaluate projects based on their potential for generating value for the ecosystem and fostering community growth.

He explained that all listings undergo a comprehensive due diligence procedure, which includes: analysis of on-chain data and user activity to assess the project's legitimacy and community engagement; evaluation of use cases, highlighting the project's purpose and contribution to the blockchain domain; background checks on the team to gauge their experience and capabilities; and assessment of the token model, including valuation, governance, and value capture mechanisms.

The spokesperson said these evaluations are discussed internally through a voting process, and ultimately, a listing review committee makes the final decision based on a holistic view of the project's potential and alignment with Bybit's vision.

"We strive to be transparent in our process and select projects that we believe will bring value to our users," the spokesperson concluded.

Additional Claims on Bybit’s Campus Program

The X user also claimed that Bybit issued trial contracts to students via its 2024 Campus Ambassador program and pressured KOLs to silence complaints. Zhou responded to these claims as well, again requesting proof.

"Please don't mindlessly spread rumors. Show evidence if Bybit has done anything wrong. Otherwise, it's best to focus on your own matters and leave others in peace. The space is already chaotic enough without spreading unverified claims," Zhou stated.

Earlier in November, crypto industry figures Justin Sun and Andre Cronje challenged Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s claim that asset listings on Coinbase are free, sparking a lively exchange about the exchange’s listing practices.

In response to a question from an X user about how much Coinbase charges to list assets, Armstrong claimed that there is no listing fee.

"We don't charge any fee for listing, and we select assets based on what we think will be best for our users," he said.

To prove his point, he linked to a 2022 blog post where Coinbase stated that it prefers to select assets that are already in high demand from users.

However, leaders from projects like Tron and Sonic Labs claimed that they faced large fees, and Sun alleged that Coinbase asked for $80 million in TRX and a $250 million BTC deposit for Tron’s listing in 2023.

"We covered the EARN part of the deal but never got any tokens. They prefer BTC in batches of $50m at a time, to be returned slowly over time. I think they had a $250m BTC deposit in mind for the initial listing in March 2023," he said.

Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs and former founder of Yearn Finance, supported these claims, saying that Coinbase requested amounts ranging from $30 million to $300 million for listing Sonic Labs tokens in late 2023.

Cronje suggested that while these fees might be positioned as "Earn fees" (for Coinbase’s educational Earn program), they effectively become the "cost to be listed."

Coinbase’s Earn program is an optional campaign to educate users about listed assets, which the exchange says has no bearing on approval for listing.

"We may do an 'Earn' campaign for a small number of assets, which is a paid program for users who wish to learn more deeply about an asset and complete light economic activity to earn a small amount of the asset," a Coinbase spokesperson told Chain Letter.

"We prefer to select assets that our users are already interested in, and we make this clear in our thinking about which assets to list."