Despite markets around the world facing economic troubles amid the coronavirus pandemic, it seems that the crypto industry has been able to remain unaffected by COVID-19. Earlier last week, Binance has agreed to buy CoinMarketCap for an undisclosed sum – believed to be one of the largest acquisitions in the blockchain space.
A week has passed since The Block first reported that Binance was in the final stages of acquiring the crypto data site. While some users felt that the acquisition was beneficial for the crypto ecosystem, there are also those who think that the deal could give Binance access to a pool of data and unfair advantage over its competitors.
It did not take long for members of the crypto community to weigh in with their opinions. While CoinGecko’s COO Bobby Ong believes that it will be difficult for CoinMarketCap to stay neutral, according to Cointelegraph, many others are largely supportive of the deal.
CoinMarketCap to Remain Neutral and Independent
Fending off concerns over potential conflicts of interest, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in an interview with CoinDesk that he had no immediate plans for CoinMarketCap, and that the website will remain independent from Binance under a holding company.
In a recent Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session, CZ wrote:
My perspective is not to acquire CoinMarketCap so that we can redirect all the traffic to Binance.com. Binance will continue to compete independently. CoinMarketCap will also compete independently. Both platforms need to be able to grow and compete on their own.
On the other hand, CoinMarketCap founder Brandon Chez announced in a letter to their users that he will be stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by the company’s current chief strategy officer, Carylyne Chan, as interim CEO.
Committed to maintaining neutrality and independence, Chen addressed concerns that any cryptoasset or exchange applying for listing on the website will be fairly evaluated in accordance with their listings policy.
I am determined to eliminate any possibility of preferential treatment, and our team has also committed to enforcing this policy. All this will be done in spite of any positive or negative financial effect this adherence to policy might have for our parent company.