Not a Fee, But 'Long-Term Payment'

The cryptocurrency trading giant denied reports that the payment constituted a listing fee.

According to a Binance spokesperson, the crypto exchange did not charge Blockstack any listing fee, and that "a long term payment fee is an incentive proposed by Blockstack for Binance to keep the token listed on the exchange. This is a new payment fee proposed by Blockstack."

The Binance spokesperson's claim that the $250,000 payment was Blockstack's idea was corroborated by Blockstack CEO Muneeb Ali, who told Cointelegraph: "Their standard agreement has a listing fee which is called the 'Technical Integration Fee'. The technical integration fee is $0 as publicly disclosed in the filing." The Blockstack chief further revealed that the long-term payment was a unique agreement proposed by his company.

According to the Blockstack CEO:."This long-term payment is meant to watch out for the Blockstack ecosystem by incentivizing Binance to list Stacks over many years and aligns well with our long-term focus. The marketing fee is a joint marketing campaign that we plan to run later on, again that is not a 'listing fee' but a marketing campaign that we plan to launch in the near future."

To recap, Binance did not charge a listing fee for Blockstack's STX token.

When asked about the platform's standard listing practice regarding fees, the Binance representative revealed that the exchange does charge listing fees, though this long-term payment fee was not listing fee, adding that listing fees are usually charged to cover the cost of integrating a token into the platform.

What some cryptocurrency exchanges sayBinance updated its listing fee in October 2018, promising to ensure transparency in its altcoin listing process.

Given Binance's explanation that the $250,000 payment received from Blockstack isn't a listing fee, it seems highly unlikely that the exchange will donate that sum to charity.

Binance DEX charges a standard flat listing fee of 1,000 BNB. Earlier in 2019, the Binance CEO declared that the fee was necessary to raise the minimum entry barrier on the platform to prevent adding tokens with little or no economic and technical viability - or as they are colloquially known, shitcoins.

"It's important to educate the marketplace about the listing fee process. When an exchange lists a new asset, it takes on the financial, security and regulatory risks associated with listing an asset."