CZ Says 99% of Binance Listing Offers Are Scams and He'll Blacklist Anyone Caught
Changpeng Zhao warns that almost every Binance listing offer is a scam, with fraudsters using fake connections, urgency and upfront fees to target smaller crypto projects.
Quick Insights
- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao says almost every person offering to help projects get listed on Binance is running a scam.
- CZ says he doesn't know 99.999% of the people claiming a connection to him and will blacklist anyone confirmed to be making these offers.
- Binance has confirmed it does not appoint or endorse any individual or agency to negotiate listings on behalf of projects.
Changpeng Zhao is warning crypto projects about listing scams again. The Binance founder and face of the BNB ecosystem posted a cryptocurrency scam warning on X telling the industry that virtually anyone offering to help with a crypto exchange listing on Binance is a scammer, no matter how convincing they sound.
"Anyone claiming to be able to help you with a Binance listing is a scammer," CZ wrote. That includes middlemen, consultants, and people who claim to be current or former Binance employees. He added that he personally does not know 99.999% of the people using his name to sell access, and anyone confirmed to be doing it will be added to a blacklist that Binance sometimes publishes.
Red Flags: Five Signs of a Fake Binance Listing Offer
- Unsolicited contact. Someone reaches out to your project unprompted, offering listing help through X, Telegram, or email.
- They claim to know CZ. Anyone using a personal connection to Zhao or senior Binance staff as their selling point is lying.
- They ask for money upfront. Binance does not charge fees for listing consideration. Any payment request is a scam.
- They guarantee a listing. No individual can promise a listing outcome. Binance's process involves rigorous internal review.
- They create urgency. Pressure to act quickly before a "window closes" is a textbook social engineering tactic.
CZ's Binance Listing Scam Warning Isn't New
The warning might sound familiar because it is. CZ has made similar statements going back to late 2025, when he urged the community to report anyone claiming listing connections. In February 2026, he flagged a separate scam where bad actors were using AI-generated deepfake photos to impersonate him on X, creating fake images that made it look like he had personal relationships with various people in crypto.
The fact that he keeps having to repeat the message tells you how well these scams work. Smaller projects looking for exchange visibility are easy targets, and the people running these operations have gotten good at looking legitimate.
How the Listing Fraud Actually Works
The playbook is consistent. Someone reaches out to a project team, usually through X, Telegram, or email, claiming they have a direct line to Binance's listings team or to Changpeng Zhao himself. They'll use official-looking branding, reference real Binance employees by name, and create urgency by suggesting a listing window is about to close.
Then comes the ask: an upfront fee, usually paid in crypto, in exchange for a guaranteed listing. The fee gets paid, the "contact" disappears, and the project has no recourse because crypto transactions are irreversible.
The targets are almost always newer or smaller teams who don't know how the official process works. That's what makes the scam so effective. If you've never been through a legitimate exchange listing, the fake version can look convincing enough.
"Anyone claiming to be able to help you with a Binance listing is a scammer. If you see anyone claiming it, please report it. They will be added to a blacklist."
— Changpeng Zhao, Binance founder
| Real Binance Listing | The Scam | |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | Project applies through Binance's official website | Someone contacts your team unsolicited |
| Who's involved | Binance's internal listings team | A "consultant" or "middleman" with claimed connections |
| Fees | No fees for listing consideration | Upfront payment demanded, usually in crypto |
| Guarantees | No one can guarantee a listing outcome | Promises a confirmed listing or fast-track approval |
| Communication | Official corporate channels only | Personal DMs, Telegram groups, unofficial email addresses |
| Timeline | Structured three-stage pipeline (Alpha → Futures → Spot) | Vague or artificially urgent deadlines |
What Binance's Actual Listing Process Looks Like
Binance has a structured three-stage pipeline: Binance Alpha, Binance Futures, and Binance Spot. Projects move through each stage based on an internal evaluation that covers fundamentals, market metrics, user engagement, compliance, tokenomics, and team background.
The key points that separate the real process from the scam: Binance does not charge fees for listing consideration. All applications go through a public form on their website. No individual, whether they work at Binance or not, can guarantee a listing outcome. And all official communication comes through verified corporate channels.
If someone is asking for money and promising results, it's a scam.
The Bigger Problem With Crypto Impersonation
Changpeng Zhao's listing scam warning sits inside a much larger pattern. Impersonation fraud has become one of the most common attack vectors in crypto, and AI tools have made it significantly easier to pull off. Deepfake videos of prominent figures promoting fake tokens have targeted everyone from Elon Musk to Brad Garlinghouse, and CZ himself has been a frequent target.
The problem scales because crypto transactions can't be reversed and scammers operate across jurisdictions where enforcement is slow. The Binance blacklist is one deterrent, but prevention through awareness remains the most effective defence, which is why Zhao keeps posting about it even when the message hasn't changed.
For any project that gets approached with a listing offer: if it didn't come through Binance's official application portal, it's not real.
