Binance Places $5M Bounty on Fake Token ‘Listing Agents’

In Brief

• Binance has announced a $5 million whistleblower bounty to expose scammers posing as “listing agents.”
• The exchange warned that it does not guarantee listings or charge fees.
• The move reflects Binance’s effort to curb rising impersonation scams and protect its reputation.

Shedrach Kongvong 2025-12-18

The world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance has taken drastic action against people impersonating the platform. The exchange is offering $5 million as reward to whistleblowers who expose such impostors.

Binance says fake “listing agents” have been luring projects into paying them money, claiming they represent the platform. According to a detailed note released on December 17th, the exchange experienced a sharp increase in scammers. These scammers posed as Binance staff and official “listing agents,” or authorized intermediaries.

The fake agents falsely promise guaranteed listing on the exchange for fees. Binance says such claims are entirely fraudulent as there is no listing guarantee. In addition, the exchange stressed that it does not charge fees for project evaluations or listing applications.

Binance Places Bounty on Fraudulent Actors

Binance is the world’s largest centralized crypto exchange by trading volume. Moreover, it’s reputed as one of the most liquid trading platforms. With these credentials, it has attracted many crypto projects that look forward to being listed.

Fraudsters seem to be taking advantage of the exchange’s popularity to defraud unsuspecting teams seeking to get a slice of the massive liquidity on the exchange. Binance warns that any such “listing agents” who claim to represent the platform are unauthorized and should be reported for proper action to be taken against them.

As a sign of commitment, the platform is offering up to $5 million in compensation to whistleblowers who report such frauds with valid information. In addition, Binance will take strong measures, including legal action against fraudulent brokers identified through reports.

Some fraudulent entities the exchange has identified and blacklisted include BitABC, Central Research, May / Dannie (Central Research), Andrew Lee (BitABC), Suki Yang, Fiona Lee (@zhuzhu813) and Kenny Z (@zkenny68). However, the list is not exhaustive and there are many others out there that the platform doesn’t know yet, hence the bounty.

Binance Protects its Reputation

Binance has faced several criticisms in its history, ranging from money laundering allegations to market manipulation. After the market crash in October, crypto players blamed the platform for manipulating the market.

The initiative to call out fraudsters posing as agents and also placing a bounty on them shows that the platform is determined to protect its reputation after the many attacks it has suffered.