Bybit Denies Allegations of $1.4M Token Listing Fee, Demands Proof

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

The spokesperson explained that projects are asked to allocate $200,000–$300,000 in stablecoins as a promotional deposit. These funds are used for user engagement campaigns and may be subject to penalties if targets are not met.

He added that legal limitations prevent Bybit from holding project tokens directly, and noted that all listings are subject to due diligence, including: analysis of on-chain data and user authenticity; assessment of use cases, team background, token valuation, and value capture mechanisms; and internal voting and a listing review committee.

Additional Claims on Bybit’s Campus Program

The X user also alleged 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 show evidence if Bybit has done anything wrong,” he wrote.

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, igniting a debate about the exchange’s listing practices.

Armstrong wrote that Coinbase charges no fees for listings, pointing to a 2022 blog post as proof. However, leaders from projects like Tron and Sonic Labs claimed they faced large fees, with Sun alleging Coinbase asking for $80 million in TRX and a $250 million BTC deposit for Tron’s listing.

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

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.