Binance Starts Its Program to Give Full Control to Its Users: Community Voting to List or Delist Tokens

Tags: binance, listing

Key Takeaways:

• Binance is set to implement “Vote to List” and “Vote to Delist” mechanisms, where users can have a say in which tokens get listed.
• Emerging projects that undergo new listing initiatives such as Binance Wallet-exclusive TGEs and Launchpool enjoy wider opportunities.
• The Alpha observation zone will offer early access to on-chain projects, while Binance will continue to track performance that may lead to a listing.

In a shift toward decentralizing control, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has decided to allow users to vote on listing and delisting of tokens on its exchange. The initiative is designed to offer Binance users a closer say on the definition of its offering, and make the often murky listing process more transparent.

The Increasing Demand for Community Involvement

The announcement comes amid growing numbers of cryptocurrencies and projects. On February 8th, 2025, CoinMarketCap showed issuance of less than 11 million cryptocurrencies. Now? They list 12.4 million. The flood of tokens, competing not only for scarce capital but also for investor attention, has prompted some larger exchanges to rethink their vetting process.

The number of unique crypto tokens has grown significantly over the years. Source: Dune Analytics

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed a similar view in a post over the weekend, saying that Coinbase would have to reassess its token listing process because they are still seeing too many new tokens created every day. They realized that they couldn’t reasonably assess each token on a case by case basis, so we should build out an “allow-list” and “block-list” system.

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Binance’s “Vote to List” and “Vote to Delist” Mechanisms

To tackle this challenge, Binance has introduced a new community co-governance structure with two core mechanisms:

• Vote to List: A vote to list mechanism that allows users with a minimum of 0.01 BNB in their master accounts to vote for the projects they would like to see listed on the exchange from both the market and the exchange’s own designated “Alpha Observation Zone”. The projects with the most votes will be listed on the exchange provided they pass due diligence from Binance.
• Vote to Delist: Users can vote to delist projects included in the Binance “Monitoring Zone.” These are projects that lack product development, have no active community or team, fail to provide updates, inflate token supply without consent, or have the potential to pose serious risks to users.

Unlike the standard listing process, this scheduled listing eliminates traditional positioning mechanics and shifts power back to the community, fostering a truly collaborative process. It serves as a system of checks and balances to ensure that listed projects are strongly supported by fundamentals, liquidity, and transparency.

Increased Listing Options for New Projects

In addition to the voting mechanisms, Binance is onboarding a number of new listing initiatives designed to provide expanding options for up-and-coming projects:

• Launchpool: Users can stake BNB (including decentralized BNB assets stored in Binance Wallet) and other supported tokens to earn tokens from new projects for free.
• Megadrop: This combines Binance Simple Earn with Binance Wallet, allowing users to get early access to selected Web3 projects before they’re launched on Binance. You can stake or perform on-chain tasks to earn tokens.
• HODLer Airdrops: These send periodic token rewards to long-term BNB holders which are calculated based on historical snapshots of their BNB holding on Binance Earn and On-Chain Yields products.
• Direct Spot Listings: Binance will continue onboarding up-and-coming projects onto its spot markets via direct listings, giving them instant access to its millions of end users.
• Pre-Market Trading: Enables users to trade select Launchpool tokens prior to their listing on Binance Spot, allowing them to take an early position and potentially profit from any price movements. Binance also eliminated price limit restrictions previously imposed on Pre-Market trading.

These expanded listing mechanisms provide more opportunity for users to access new projects, all while being held to ensure adherence to regulatory and quality standards.

The Alpha Observation Zone: A Hotbed for Innovation

One major component of Binance’s new approach is the Alpha Observation Zone. It will showcase new and trending tokens, giving users first dibs on potentially valuable assets. Projects that only hold their TGEs through Binance Wallet can flow straight into the Alpha Observation Zone.

Binance will be tracking the performance of Alpha Zone tokens closely in terms of their trading volume, community activity, and development activity. Any projects that do not maintain enough demand or development activity will be delisted from the Alpha Zone.

Through the Alpha Observation Zone, strong on-chain ideas can get a low-cost entry point into the market, while gaining the potential for greater visibility and liquidity.

Implications for the Crypto Community

The decision by Binance to give its users the ability to vote on which tokens get listed and delisted carried some interesting ramifications for the larger crypto space:

• Greater Transparency and Community Control: With “Vote to List” and “Vote to Delist” features, the platform hands the reins back to the community, allowing users to have a direct say on which projects receive Binance’s support.
• Reduced Potential for Insider Trading: Minimizes suspicions of Binance manipulating listings for personal gain or colluding with projects to “pump and dump” tokens on unsuspecting investors.
• Enhanced Listing Options for New Projects: The Alpha Observation Zone and other Binance wallet TGEs allow new projects to enter the market at low cost, driving innovation and competition.
• More User-Friendly: Launchpool, Megadrop and HODLer Airdrops reward early investors with incentives that the investor will find suitable.
• Better Liquidity and Price Discovery: “Pre-Market Trading” gives users an edge on big token launches, increasing liquidity and price discovery.

With these measures, Binance is not just improving its platform, but is also helping create a more transparent, democratic, and sustainable cryptocurrency ecosystem. This shift is indicative of a broader trend towards decentralization and community governance in the crypto ecosystem, which is enabling more user empowerment and innovation.

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Real World Example — RED Token on RedStone

Just recently, RedStone issued the $RED token, providing a great example of the power of community feedback. Binance initially planned to list RED, but the team unexpectedly altered its airdrop terms at the last minute. This sparked backlash from the Binance community, ultimately leading to the suspension of the listing on Binance. In this case, the community pressure forced RedStone to backtrack and proves just how much weight users carry when it comes to Binance decision-making.

Taking Steps Towards a More Democratic Future for Crypto

This marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of cryptocurrency exchanges where user interests align with the exchange’s future, thus achieving a fresh sense of co-governance. Binance is creating a more collaborative and innovative environment for the entire crypto community by enabling its users to determine what projects get listed on its platform, helping shape its future direction.

This innovative method not only improves user experience but also grants new projects more room for growth and exposure, leading to a thriving and sustainable future for the blockchain industry. As other exchanges follow suit, we may see a future of crypto listings where the community really has a say.