The US-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, including CEO Brian Armstrong and four other senior executives, is reportedly planning to sell Coinbase stocks valued at $900 million amidst controversy over “demanding high listing fees.”
(Background:
Binance accused of charging $100 million in “listing fees,” He Yi extinguishes fires: Rules are transparent, FUD will never disappear.)
(Additional Context:
Sun Yuchen criticizes Coinbase: cbBTC is not BTC, BlackRock demands faster Bitcoin custody withdrawals.)
Amidst the controversy over Binance’s “demand for $100 million in listing fees,” Brian Armstrong, CEO of the US-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, took the opportunity to promote his exchange, claiming that listing on Coinbase is free. However, Brian Armstrong’s statement was quickly refuted by Andre Cronje, known as the “Father of DeFi” and CTO of Sonic Labs, a director of the Fantom Foundation. Andre stated that Binance had never charged them any so-called listing fees, whereas Coinbase had demanded a significant fee.
Andre also emphasized that he had not signed any confidentiality agreement, thus he was more than willing to provide evidence of Coinbase’s charges. He acknowledged that Coinbase might argue these were not listing fees but other expenses; however, these would still translate to the project’s listing costs. Andre was aware that Coinbase might legally differentiate, but he was keen to disclose all evidence and let the public judge.
Sun Yuchen’s (Justin Sun) Response to Coinbase
Furthermore, Justin Sun, founder of Tron and head of HTX exchange, also stated that Coinbase’s claim of “zero listing fees” contradicts reality. In response to Sun Yuchen’s clarification, Binance founder CZ (Changpeng Zhao) also commented on Twitter.
Coinbase Executives Plan to Sell Stocks Worth $900 Million
As the “listing fee” controversy continues, Coinbase has recently been exposed by the media “Barrons” for a plan by five senior executives, including Brian Armstrong, to sell stocks worth over $900 million through a transaction plan.
According to a document submitted by Coinbase to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 30, Brian Armstrong adopted the so-called Rule 10b5-1 plan on August 15. Through the Brian Armstrong Living Trust, where he serves as trustee, he planned to convert 3,750,000 Class B Coinbase shares into Class A shares for sale. This plan is expected to start on November 18 and end before November 14, 2025.
“Barrons” further noted that Class B shares are not publicly traded. This transaction plan would automatically execute trades under specific conditions (price, volume, time, etc.), and the reason Coinbase insiders adopted this plan is to avoid accusations of trading on non-public information.
Although Coinbase has not yet commented on this stock sale plan by its executives, the words of Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas during the financial report conference call in February seem to contradict the current stock sale plan of Coinbase executives. Alesia had said at the time:
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