Binance has just announced a whistleblower reward program of up to $5 million to tighten controls on fraudulent third-party "listing agents."
This exchange warns cryptocurrency projects that anyone claiming to be able to influence the listing process is operating illegally.
Binance offers $5 million reward to whistleblower for taking strong action against fraudulent listing agents.
The announcement, released last Wednesday as a step toward increased transparency, comes at a rather sensitive time for the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange .
Binance is currently under pressure regarding its Token listing process , following numerous allegations of insider trading stemming from leaked Token information.
In the announcement, Binance affirmed that all Token listing applications are only accepted through their official channels, including Binance Alpha, the Futures Market, and Spot .
The exchange emphasizes that it has not authorized any brokers, consultants, or intermediaries to negotiate, mediate, or commit to listing the Token.
"Any party that claims to represent Binance or offers listing-related services in exchange for funds is engaging in fraudulent activity," the company stated .
Blacklist and internal audit results
Binance stated that, through internal investigations, they discovered numerous individuals and organizations impersonating Binance representatives in order to collect fees from new projects.
For that reason, the exchange has blacklisted 7 individuals and organizations, including:
- BitABC
- Central Research
- May/Dannie
- Andrew Lee
- Suki Yang
- Fiona Lee, and
- Kenny Z
According to Binance, these individuals impersonated the exchange or advertised their listing services for a fee. The company also stated that it would XEM legal action if deemed appropriate.
According to data from RootData, a blockchain data provider, Central Research – one of the groups on the "blacklist" – has invested in numerous projects such as Fireverse, Nebula Revelation, AKI Network, Fusionist, and Artyfact.
Of those, only Fusionist (ACE) is currently being traded on Binance. Binance has not provided any link between this blacklist and previously listed projects.
These projects are backed by Central Research. Source: RootsdataTo encourage reporting, Binance says that whistleblowers with credible evidence related to fraudulent activity can receive rewards of up to $5 million, depending on the quality and impact of the information provided.
Binance tightens listing regulations after insider trading scandal.
In this update, Binance also publicly disclosed the project process, from the initial steps of joining Binance Alpha to listing Futures and then Spot.
The exchange also emphasized that they do not charge any fees for listing and that all communication must come directly from the project's core development team.
Binance emphasizes that any project found to be using intermediaries will be immediately disqualified and will not be considered for listing now or in the future. However, groups that proactively report fraudulent intermediaries will be given priority.
This announcement comes after Binance confirmed earlier this month that an employee leaked listing information related to the "golden fruit year" meme coin. The exchange's co-CEO, Yi He , has spoken out about the incident.
“Currently, the community is independently issuing coins based on Binance’s official Twitter page. My statements, or excerpts from my posts, are completely unrelated to Binance. However, we cannot stop posting just because someone wants to exploit the information,” she said .
Binance also Chia that it has awarded a total of $100,000 to five whistleblowers who helped expose the wrongdoing.
Combined with reward programs, blacklists, and drastic measures, Binance is demonstrating an effort to rebuild trust in its listing process.
This move comes amidincreasing pressure on exchanges regarding transparency , internal controls, and fair market enforcement.
