Ethereum L2 Base Network’s lead developer at Coinbase, Jesse Pollak, has spoken out against exchanges charging projects to get listed on the platform. In his opinion, Binance’s play-to-play model is expensive and extractive compared to Coinbase’s Base network.
Coinbase’s Base promotes open and developer-friendly ecosystem
For context, Binance charges as high as 3% for airdrops and another 3% later. He contrasts this with Coinbase’s simple invitation to just come and “build something meaningful on Base.” This implies that projects do not incur any cost to be listed on Coinbase.
It shows that the exchange, unlike Binance, prioritizes developer innovation over fees. This could be its contribution to improving and supporting projects in the crypto space.
Pollak maintained that since Coinbase does not demand token airdrops, listing fees and huge deposits, other exchanges should do the same. “It should cost 0% to be listed on an exchange,” he wrote.
Primarily, Pollak believes that the goal of every exchange should be to encourage developers to build useful products on the network. This can be achieved by providing more open, builder-friendly platforms, just like Base’s permissionless and low-cost model.
If listing is not reserved only for those who can pay, Pollak believes it could help the sector to grow faster.
Community split over Pollak’s position on exchange fees
The online community has given mixed reactions to Pollak’s position. A user, Crypto Bitlord, noted that listing involves cost, and Binance was not doing anything wrong by charging potential projects.
“On the topic, how many coins has Coinbase listed this year?” he queried.
Another user opined that while free listing sounds great, it was just a ploy by some exchanges to cover compliance, security and liquidity setup. He stated that zero fees were not always sustainable.
Cognac, on his part, acknowledged Binance as a leading centralized exchange, but its red tape and listing fees count as a downside. He applauded Coinbase for providing every project in their ecosystem with free listing, as such money saved could be channeled into building another project.
With ultra-bullish projections for Bitcoin and the market, exchanges with the right alignment may take a bigger share in the long term.
