CoinMarketCap Acquired by Binance, But Will Still Run Independently
Binance will have no bearing on CoinMarketCap rankings while CoinMarketCap will have no influence over Binance’s operations.
April 2, 2020 – Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance officially announces its acquisition of cryptocurrency price and information tracking website CoinMarketCap (CMC). CoinMarketCap will continue to run independently while Binance will provide the expertise, resources, and scale.
7 Years of Bootstrapping
The acquisition is a turning point in the crypto space. Established in 2013 by Brandon Chez, CoinMarketCap has remained independent and bootstrapped for 7 years before this announcement. The cryptoasset data tracking site is one of the most visited in the industry. In a statement, Binance said CoinMarketCap will continue to run as an independent business entity. Binance will have no bearing on CoinMarketCap rankings while CoinMarketCap will have no influence over Binance’s operations.
“The core DNA of CoinMarketCap is strongly aligned with Binance’s ethics and culture, from its integrity to its value of freedom, transparency and user-focus. Our common vision will be strengthened by this acquisition to further growth and instill transparency in the industry. This will enable us to build on each other’s strengths, jointly serving as infrastructure providers of crypto.” – Changpeng (CZ) Zhao, Binance CEO
CoinMarketCap pledges to continue providing information integrity by ensuring data accuracy as well as improving its ranking methodologies. The website will continue to add more information offerings like trading products such as futures, options, and other value-added data analytics and tools.
Transition
The transition will see Mr. Chez step down as CEO of CoinMarketCap, to be replaced by Carylyne Chan, the current Chief Strategy Officer as interim CEO. Mr. Chez said he is planning to focus on his family after running the company for 7 years. He will remain as an advisor to the company.
“I believe that of all the teams in the space that could acquire CoinMarketCap, Binance is one of the very best options. They are a team that have shown, time and again, that they care about their users and will do the best for them, even in the most challenging of times. This spirit will continue to be echoed in our own user-focused philosophy at CoinMarketCap, and I am thrilled to be passing the baton on to Carylyne and the CoinMarketCap team to continue fulfilling my original vision of showcasing the crypto revolution.” – Brandon Chez
Interim CEO Carylyne Chan promises to abide by their commitment to remain neutral by avoiding censorship and judgment of projects or exchanges that they list. “We are delighted that the Binance team has been unequivocal in ensuring that we can continue to adhere to our methodology without prejudice,” said Ms. Chan.
Finally, CZ said Binance plans to “continue to empower CoinMarketCap in building innovative, useful products for its users and the global community.”
Both companies did not disclose the price of the acquisition. However, considering the value of CoinMarketCap in the crypto space, this is a major acquisition in the crypto industry, if not the most important this year. Some of Binance’s past acquisitions include JEX, TrustWallet, and DappReview.
Source: Binance Press Release
This article is published on BitPinas: [Official] CoinMarketCap Acquired By Binance, But Will Still Run Independently
