Are you ready to enter the adrenaline-charged world of token sales and exchange listings? Whether you’re a blockchain enthusiast eager to gain insights into the token sale process or a visionary entrepreneur with ambitions to revolutionize an industry through blockchain technology, this comprehensive article is an indispensable guide to the challenges of launching a token sale and securing exchange listings.
In this article, I unveil the strategies, tactics, and insider secrets used to take a token through its lifecycle, from project conceptualization to the public sale and all the way to the day the token lists on Binance.
In authoring this article, I drew on my extensive hands-on experience as a token sale and exchange listing specialist working in Malta, ground zero for the great ICO boom of 2018–2019. My team and I at ICO Launch Malta prepared and conducted token sales and secured exchange listings for dozens of token projects across the globe.
606, Dragonara Business Centre, Dragonara Road
St Julians, STJ 3141, Sliema, Malta
St Julians, STJ 3141, Sliema, Malta
ICO Launch Malta provides tailored ICO and STO solutions to startups and established companies seeking funding and exchange listings.
- Our in-house blockchain developers specialize in creating cryptographic equivalents of traditional financial instruments.
- Our marketing team excels at below-the-line marketing and crafting compelling narratives to optimize fundraising outcomes.
- Our expertise extends to tokenizing various assets, including art collections, fractional real estate projects, asset-backed offerings, investment funds, and blockchain bonds.
- We ensure compliance by operating from Malta, an EU and Eurozone member, with favorable regulations.
- We prioritize stringent KYC and AML verification on our ICO platform, which includes sanction and watchlist checks to ensure compliance and security.
- Through our partnerships with licensed corporate service providers, we offer assistance with company incorporation, legal reviews, token sale agreements, and ICO-related legal and tax advice.
I divided this article into two parts to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire process.
Part 1: How to Launch a Successful Token Sale — Synopsis
This section delves into the essential elements required to orchestrate a token sale that captivates investors and generates the necessary funds for your project. From the initial idea to the final sale, I’ll provide insights, strategies, and best practices to enhance your chances of achieving a successful token sale. We'll dive deep into the fundamental steps required to bring your token to life, beginning with the conceptualization process and leading to the execution of a successful token sale.
Part 2: Get Listed on Binance — Synopsis
Securing a listing on Binance, the leading global exchange, is an auspicious achievement for any project. We will explore the pivotal role of building a robust community and working your way up the “liquidity ladder.” Then we’ll unravel the intricacies of the listing process. We explore the listing requirements defined on the application form itself and the unpublished internal review criteria that make or break your shot at success.
Comprehending these requirements and implementing effective strategies will endow your project with the visibility, credibility, and growth potential that get your Binance listing application approved.
In the context of this article, let's assume that you are working on a project that's launching a new token called 'Crown Coin' (ticker symbol: CROWN). Crown Coin operates as a utility token, facilitating the payment of gas fees for transactions conducted on the Crown blockchain.
PART 1: HOW TO LAUNCH A SUCCESSFUL TOKEN SALE
Success in the realm of token sales has little to do with luck. Success requires a comprehensive understanding of the industry, a solid foundation, meticulous planning, strategic execution, and the ability to adapt to the ever-changing regulatory landscape.
But before moving on, let's suppose for a moment that Crown Coin is a memecoin based on a meme known as "Kingboy." In that case, the project's founders would benefit from reading my article “$SHIB: My Journey Through the Deepest Recesses and High Command of a $10 Billion Decentralized Army.”
As the only journalist ever granted access to the Shiba Inu project’s inner circle, I reveal the Shiba Inu origin story and document its rise to the top, as told by those on the inside. I present a comprehensive case study on executing a memecoin launch and traveling the road to a Binance listing in spectacular fashion.
REALITY CHECK
Conduct your reality check while your project is in stealth mode and before publishing a whitepaper or allocating resources to development. Many issues encountered in the token sale phase or during the project’s development and scaling stem from neglecting this essential step.
The first step is drafting a document explaining how blockchain innovation is integral to your project’s functionality and scalability.
Ask yourself: “Can the solution to the problem our project aims to solve work without a token?” Your answer should be a resounding “No, our solution is inherently suited to the blockchain. The marketplace needs our token to solve this problem. Our token will be valuable as a result.”
The above determination arises from an in-depth examination of your token usage relationships (tokenomics). Validate your project’s cryptonomic and game-theoretic aspects and tokenomics to the best of your ability. Avoid misconceptions about the utility of your token within its use case.
Continue your reality check by drafting a document in which you record your findings and conclusions as you work through each step below.
- Seek a third-party “sense check” to evaluate your project’s viability and assess its potential attractiveness to investors. For example, suppose you’re creating a project and launching a token to disrupt the airline industry and decentralize it. In that case, you better have either a load of experience in the sector or have advisors and a board that are very experienced in the field. Otherwise, you are simply not credible.
- Evaluate your capacity to provide the time, money, and skill necessary to attract and retain competent and motivated individuals. Your project will need generalists and specialists with track records of actualizing a formal business plan requirement. While your concept, use case, or beta-tested MVP may showcase excellence, the success of your project’s execution before, during, and after the token sale heavily relies on the proficiency of your team and advisors.
- Evaluate your fundraising goals and set realistic expectations. Don’t anticipate or rely on raising more funds than what can reasonably be achieved based on your token’s utilization potential.
- Outline what will later be your project’s formal financial plan and obtain a review as to its attractiveness to target investors.
- Obtain a legal opinion on your token model and terms of sale. We’ll look at the full legal review later in this article.
- Assess whether the timing is opportune, recognizing that people often invest based on two emotions: greed and fear. In a bullish market, greed tends to override fear. Ask yourself if it would be best to wait on your token sale until a crypto bull market reemerges.
USE CASE REVIEW
As you embark on your use case review, remember that your success hinges on differentiating your blockchain innovation within your niche and the broader crypto market. You must strategically position your project to set yourself apart and capture the attention and support of potential investors in a highly competitive landscape. Study existing token platforms with which you will compete and determine how your platform will survive post-sale and thrive in a highly competitive landscape.
Draft a document in which you record your findings and conclusions as you work through each step below.
- Kickstart your use case review with alpha test documentation focusing on tokenomics.
- Demonstrate how blockchain innovation is integral to your project’s functionality and scalability rather than superficially added to make it marketable.
- Blueprint your network effect and describe how it scales in a competitive marketplace.
- Document the steps you will take to strategically position your project among existing platforms with which you will compete.
- Determine how you will set yourself apart in the minds of potential investors in a highly competitive token sale landscape.
Naming Your Token
If you haven't done so already, assign a name to your token, even if it's a working name that might be subject to change in the future. Opt for a captivating token name that aligns well with marketing, advertising, and social media promotion efforts. Given the prevalence of similar token names in the current market, it's crucial to select a name that stands out and avoids confusion or frustration among potential token buyers. Strive for uniqueness and memorability.
To ensure the best choice, consider conducting tests with a focus group or seeking feedback from colleagues and connections on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and through email. Request honest and unfiltered opinions to make an informed decision about the token name, while keeping in mind the possibility of name changes in the future.
In the specific case of Crown Coin, a deliberate decision has been made to choose a token name that is suitable for current purposes as well as future endeavors. Therefore, Crown Coin represents a firm commitment to the chosen token name.
Consider hiring a token launch advisory agency
If you hire an agency, find one with a good history. You need a solid partner advising on your reality check, not one with a history of working with projects with a culture of "Soon moon then lambo" and “We make token, we get paid, happy days,” because that doesn’t fly in today's token sale marketplace.
LEGAL REVIEW
Juggling the need to draw in investors with the need to keep regulators off your back is a decidedly tricky task. Technical jargon and complex blockchain terminology do not exempt your sale from securities laws.
Engaging in a token sale outside the boundaries of the law can attract the attention of an attorney general’s office. Your whitepaper, website, and external promotions are admissible as evidence in legal proceedings. Non-compliance may lead to cease-and-desist orders, indictments, or prosecutions, significantly impacting the project’s success after the launch.
Thankfully, the ICO industry has witnessed a shift toward compliance and transparency. Today’s ICO investors are interested in projects offering underlying asset value appreciation and scalability rather than only speculating on the next bubble. The window has slammed shut on ICO exit plays, and the days of founders burning up their much-needed runway funding on unnecessary conference sponsorships and lavish parties are long over.
Nevertheless, necessity forces you to convey the notion that a buy-in on your token sale carries a high potential for outsize rewards. Seed and presale investors need a 100x return on each winning investment, which they expect to be outnumbered by losing investments 10:1. Public sale investors are looking for a 10x return.
Both investors and project teams often perceive disclaimers and disclosures, stating that tokens are not investments or securities but rather a means of supporting the project, as not much more than necessary legal statements.
Even so, your legal team’s opinions and conclusions on the following are central to your project's ability to move forward on a path toward sustained success:
- Classification: The legal nature of the token (security, utility, or hybrid) and its categorization based on relevant securities regulations.
- Compliance: Identification of the relevant jurisdiction(s) and the applicable laws, regulations, and reporting requirements. Components include Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), data protection, and privacy safeguards.
- Issuance: Evaluation of the first drafts of your token distribution model, whitepaper, privacy policies, token sale subscription and purchase terms, refund policies, dispute resolution mechanisms, and, in the case of a security token offering (STO), the prospectus.
- Taxes: Development of an offering structure that minimizes potential tax exposure for founders.
BLOCKCHAIN
When selecting your blockchain platform, consider popular options like Algorand, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Cardano, Cosmos, Ethereum, Near, Polkadot, and Solana.
Ethereum revolutionized token launches by introducing the open-source ERC-20 technical specification, also known as the Ethereum token standard. One of its key advantages is interoperability, allowing tokens built on the ERC-20 standard to interact with each other seamlessly. In addition, this standardization reduces the risk of coding errors and enhances security.
However, while many token sales opt for the Ethereum blockchain platform or one of the other popular options, there are many cases where a purpose-built or custom blockchain platform may be more suitable.
Below is a summary of the fundamental determinants for selecting the right blockchain.
Project Requirements—Determine the goals and objectives of your project, including user adoption, scalability requirements, block confirmation times, transaction speed and throughput, and potential barriers to entry.
Consensus Mechanism—Understand the implications regarding the consensus mechanism (e.g., proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, delegated proof-of-stake) and its algorithms as they relate to security, censorship, energy efficiency, and decentralization.
Tokenonomics—Compare inflationary vs. deflationary models, token distribution mechanisms, and potential for native token value appreciation.
Cost—Consider the cost implications of using the blockchain, including transaction fees, gas costs, and ongoing costs for development, deployment, and maintenance.
Development Tools and Documentation—The depth and breadth of support for developers often determine a platform’s practicality for building enterprise applications. Consider the ease of development and the availability of community support. Evaluate the availability and quality of development tools, software development kits (SDKs), application programming interfaces (APIs), and documentation the blockchain platform provides.
Platform Maturity—Mature platforms typically have a stronger codebase, data immutability, interoperability, vendor support, developer communities, and auditability.
Community and Ecosystem—Evaluate community and ecosystem size, activity, and supportiveness. Consider factors like developer engagement, the availability of third-party tools and services, and the presence of other successful projects on the platform.
Governance and Upgradability—Examine the decision-making processes and mechanisms for protocol upgrades. Assess whether the platform allows flexibility and upgrades without compromising security or causing contentious hard forks.
Legal and Regulatory Considerations—Consider how the platform aligns with your project’s compliance requirements, including data protection, jurisdictional risks, and the platform’s stance on regulatory compliance.
INCORPORATE
The Crown Coin project will establish a legal entity by incorporating a company through which it can prepare a SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) or prospectus and establish banking services.
Crown Coin will incorporate Crown Coin, Ltd. in the Cayman Islands, where it will enjoy well-established and favorable legal and tax frameworks for cryptocurrency and blockchain tech companies.
Crown Coin made this decision after evaluating several other jurisdictions, including:
- Switzerland: The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) provides a supportive regulatory framework for token sales.
- Liechtenstein: The Liechtenstein Blockchain Act provides clarity and legal certainty for token sales.
- Malta: Nasdaq.com published an article I wrote for Bitcoin Magazine in which I explained how Malta grew into the global hub of token sales. At the time, I was working on ICOs in Malta ICOs and helping the Maltese government develop its “Malta, ‘The Blockchain Island’” branding campaign.
- Singapore: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) provides guidance and support on token offerings.
- Estonia: Estonia provides regulatory clarity for ICOs and allows non-residents to establish and manage a business online.
- Gibraltar: The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission oversees compliance and has granted licenses to various blockchain projects.
DISTRIBUTION MODEL
Determining the most suitable distribution model for your token is a complex and multifaceted process, influenced by various factors such as project type, token utility, regulatory compliance, target market, fundraising goals, and community-building objectives.
ICOs commonly consist of multiple token sale rounds or phases. These include a seed funding phase, one or more private and public presale rounds with diminishing bonuses, and the primary public sale round.
In addition to incentivizing early adopters, a well-organized sequence of sales rounds and bounties can amplify marketing hype. Social media posts, venture capital Telegram chat room activity, and press releases can help your project reach its hard cap. Determining the specific type and order of sales rounds necessitates close collaboration between the tokenomic modeling and marketing teams.
The images below present a simplistic representation of a token distribution model. Real-world distribution models are more complex.
Presale
A token presale is a private sale that can be a strategic step for securing early funding and resources, establishing partnerships before the public sale, and providing project validation.
Prime your presale by approaching whales, VCs, and investor pools and offering significant allocations at a discounted rate. Aim to close your presale before it officially opens. An oversubscribed presale creates a sense of exclusivity, scarcity, and urgency that generates early excitement and builds momentum for your public sale.
Promote long-term commitments with presale lockups that prevent post-public sale token dumping.
Public Sale
The primary goal of your public token sale is to raise an amount of capital that aligns with the estimated costs of developing your platform.
A “fair sale” model can prevent whales from dominating token purchases, thus ensuring equal opportunities for all interested parties, regardless of their availability during the token sale launch or willingness to pay high gas fees.
The public sale typically lasts around one month or until you hit your hard cap, whichever comes first. If you fall short of your hard cap, any unsold tokens are distributed to external stakeholders or retained by the project as per your whitepaper and the terms and conditions of the sale.
There are various public token sale models, each with its variations. Some standard models include:
Capped Fixed Token Sale—Tokens sell on a first-come-first-serve basis, with a predetermined number of tokens available for sale and a fixed token price. Insiders may have existing allocations, as stated in the whitepaper. Discounts may be offered to early participants, gradually increasing until the tokens sell out.
Uncapped Token Sale—There is no maximum cap on the amount raised, allowing participants to contribute freely until the sale ends. The token price may be fixed or determined dynamically based on demand.
Capped Auction and Uncapped Auction—Participants bid on tokens with a maximum cap on the total raise (capped) or without any predetermined limit (uncapped).
Phased Token Sale—The public sale runs in phases instead of one big event to engender trust and ensure investor protection. Each token sale round executes only upon the completion of a specific project milestone. Smart contracts can unlock capital only upon completing milestones, with oracles verifying the outcomes.
Hybrid model—Characteristics from different token sale models are combined to achieve specific objectives or desired outcomes.
WHITEPAPER
A whitepaper is a document built around a project’s vision. It encapsulates market strategy, value proposition, roadmap, tokenomics, technical specifications and explanations, security protocols, founding team and advisors profiles, funding options, offering structure, token distribution ratios, and lockup periods. A whitepaper details the ‘who,’ ‘what,’ ‘how,’ ‘where,’ and ‘when.’
Crown Coin may have one or two investors buying in based solely on the advice of a trusted friend, family member, or investment advisor. However, HNWIs, enterprise and institutional investment analysts, and family office advisory firms start the decision-making process by analyzing the whitepaper.
A whitepaper is also the primary document that prospective advisors and partners use to objectively assess the value of associating themselves with your project.
The following are the key components to include when crafting your whitepaper:
Problem Statement—Discuss the problem your project aims to solve and outline the token model and its utility within the ecosystem.
PESTLE—Analyze the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors that may impact your project.
Go-to-Market Strategy—Gain the interest of venture capitalists and institutional backers by explaining your marketing and execution strategy for entering and capturing your target market.
Development Roadmap—Outline the timelines and milestones for technical development and implementations. Include market research, technology feasibility analysis, and a versioning calendar.
Design—Discuss your chosen blockchain and the cryptographic attributes of your token.
Tokenomic Model—Provide a rationale for the chosen tokenomic design as a unique token mechanism demonstrating your commitment to your value proposition.
Distribution—Outline the allocation and unlock structures.
Token Sale—Discuss token pricing, token sale timeframe, minimum/target/maximum raise scenarios, and security measures to protect funds (e.g., escrow, custody, and multi-sig or MPC wallets).
Token Rights and Features—Clarify token holder rights such as voting, profit-sharing, or dividend payouts.
Budgeting and Contingencies—Cover past and current spending, project your budget, and address contingencies for missed targets or low fundraising outcomes.
Team—Provide bios highlighting experience relevant to the project.
Roadmap—Outline short-term, middle-term, and long-term plans.
Yellow Paper
While the whitepaper is a proposal, the optional yellow paper acts as a deep dive or “part two,” delving into intricate details beyond those covered in a whitepaper. A yellow paper is a resource for other blockchain companies, development teams, and layer-2 solutions that may want to collaborate with your project or leverage its open-source code for their applications.
WEBSITE
You get only one chance to make a good first impression that sets the tone for your project’s credibility. And first impressions are everything when potential investors chance upon your ICO more or less randomly.
Crown Coin will have a sleek, slick, clean, and easy-to-navigate website up and running before announcing the token sale. Content will be well-written, easy to understand, and error-free.
Website: Essentials Components
Background—Explain your use case origin story, i.e., what inspired your team.
Use case—Illustrate one or more scenarios where your token is valuable within an existing blockchain ecosystem or a new one your aim to create.
Explainer video—Concisely convey your value proposition to capture visitor interest.
Market—Discuss your target market’s perception of the applicability of blockchain technology within it, then assess your competitors and highlight your competitive advantage.
Token—Define your tokenomic model and discuss your token’s features and functions.
Token sale details—Specify the number of tokens up for sale, the value of each token if a set price sale, the offering duration, and the platform chosen for the sale. Then outline the formal agreement between token buyers and your project.
Roadmap—Outline progress to date, current work, and the critical milestones ahead.
Team—Showcase robust domain expertise with links to easily verifiable LinkedIn profiles.
Advisors—Demonstrates, without saying so explicitly, that your advisors are not just there for marketing purposes. Highlight a diverse range of expertise to tap into for emerging issues.
Risks and rewards—Provide an overview of the risks and potential rewards for investors.
FAQs—Compile a list of frequently asked questions and provide detailed answers. Update the FAQs with emerging questions and add Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, and Russian translations.
Financial projections—Explain allocations of the funds raised, the purpose of the expenditures, and summary your financial projections.
Website: Architecture
Your website is a financial vehicle. The choice of its architecture precludes the use of template-style themes with potential hacking vulnerabilities. Optimal architecture focuses on providing an engaging user experience that effectively converts visitors into newsletter subscribers. Token sales traditionally achieve success by designing a long-form auto-scroll landing page for the homepage while minimizing additional pages.
Develop a secure custom build utilizing a minimalistic flat theme that ensures fast-loading and excellent on-page SEO. The design will include a strategically timed popup, prompting visitors to provide their email addresses for project updates before the public sale.
CTA—Provide a clear call-to-action on your homepage aligned with the stage of your token sale, such as an option to receive presale email updates or a direct link to a page where investors can purchase tokens during the sale. During the public sale, an optimized call-to-action (CTA) button will take investors to the purchase portal, where they can buy Crown Coin tokens.
Testing—Site analytics and A/B or multivariate testing will enhance conversion rates as website traffic increases. Continual refinement of website design and functionality will help minimize bounce rate.
Subdomain—Build your token purchase portal on an ultra-secure subdomain with a dashboard that complies with regulatory requirements for the sale of tokens.
PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!
Now it’s time to invest presale funds into Crown Coin’s hype machine and lead the opinion, sentiment, and narrative around your project.
Maintain a constant barrage of marketing activity that leverages the time-sensitive nature of your token sale.
- Target website visitors with news posts covering your success.
- Deploy a secure, strong spam score transactional email solution, and use it to send out your newsletter every 3-6 weeks, encouraging discussions and seeking feedback.
- Deploy a cohesive brand identity, including a logo and artwork representing your project’s values and vision.
- Go live with your marketing campaign (display, email, social, retargeting).
- Reach out to YouTubers for interviews and project reviews.
- Push out press releases and sponsored posts on major crypto news sites. Some will promote your article on social media, widening reach and engagement.
- Attend events where you meet new investors and secure informal and strategic partnerships for news content.
Alliances—Form informal partnerships with other teams and projects and bring in strategic partners and investors. Create the high-value partnership buzz we see all the time in crypto. There’s a reason for it.
Event marketing—Meeting people face-to-face at industry events will open new opportunities to accelerate a launch toward success. Focus on networking with potential partners and collaborators while seeing what your competitors are doing. Moreover, use event marketing as an opportunity to keep a finger on the pulse of the crypto world and your competitors specifically.
Social media—Hire a Community Manager responsible for advocating for you on social media platforms. Creating and maintaining active social media communities is essential to launch success. Day-to-day, Twitter alone can become a full-time job in itself.
Discord and Telegram—Consider using Telegram as an announcement-only channel. Use Discord, Twitter, a contact form, and monthly AMAs for your community to reach your leadership team easily. Discord will be your most robust communication channel for the most enthusiastic segment of your community.
Reddit—This is where traders, investors, and influencers scout new picks, and things go viral in the crypto world. Reach out to a community of long-term Reddit members to improve sentiment and drive discussion around your project.
BitcoinTalk Forum—bitcointalk.org—This is old school (Satoshi Nakamoto founded BitcoinTalk Forum). Put up a miniature version of your site in a BitcoinTalk thread, then send well-respected forum members your white paper and pitch your project. Try to create ten or so pages of BitcoinTalk forum threads about your project. Also, consider opening a thread tagged [ANN] on the BitcoinTalk Forum for token sale announcements.
Bounty program—Reward social media activity on behalf of your token sale. Pay people for promoting your token sale on forums, social media, and blogs, and for maintaining language-specific threads and translating and localizing documents. Take a measured approach. Investors don’t want to see a lot of spammy promotional articles. They become distrustful if you push your bounty program too hard.
Google—Google has, by and large, banned crypto advertising. You can get around it with a manual appeal, but it’s a bit slow. Generally, if your advertisement does not mention the token sale, it does not violate securities laws. But its informative ad structure reduces efficiency. Instead, you promote the press you get. If Forbes features your project in a story that informs and creates trust, that’s what you will feature in the Google ad.
Transparency Marketing
Launching a token offering that complies with regulatory requirements is a legally intricate and costly process. Communicate this reality to your community and outline the measures you are undertaking to address this challenge. Moreover, consider meeting with regulators to seek clarification, gain valuable insights, and demonstrate your commitment to regulatory compliance. Document these interactions through blog posts, press releases, and social media updates. Talk — about — you — talking about it.
Once lost, regaining positive project sentiment becomes immensely challenging. When modifying your roadmap, clearly communicate your project’s motives to prevent negative labeling within the crypto community. Acknowledge the legal complexity and expense of a regulatorily compliant token sale and inform your community about your steps to meet these challenges.
By focusing on proof-of-concept, robust governance mechanisms, and stakeholder protection, you instill confidence and build trust among investors, regulators, and the wider crypto community.
Employ the following strategies and tactics to foster trust, and then communicate your efforts as part of a well-coordinated transparency marketing campaign:
- Embrace the ethos of supplying the complete picture to private backers and the community that supports your project at every step of the way. Neglecting to keep token holders informed can hinder productivity and diminish token value.
- While blockchain technology is often associated with being "trustless," credibility and transparency play a pivotal role in the cohesion of a token project and its ecosystem. Incorporate transparency into your marketing campaign, highlighting your commitment to openness and reporting.
- Solidify trust among investors and the wider crypto community. Talk about your dedication to transparency and actively engage with your community through Twitter, contact forms, and monthly Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) sessions. Keep your community engaged and enthusiastic by involving them in your project's journey. Send regular newsletter updates every 3-6 weeks, encourage the sharing of ideas, foster debates, and seek feedback.
- Rather than relying on showcasing advisors for credibility, focus on branding your in-house team and highlighting their past achievements and current ability. Founders and key employees should have a visible and open presence on social media and other platforms to interact with the community, increasing their visibility within the broader crypto community and building trust. Encourage the team to engage in crosstalk on social media, sharing progress and celebrating milestones to convey competence and ability.
- Establish a formal board of directors to hold the executive team accountable for proactive governance duties. Ensures that all stakeholders' interests are protected and fosters a sense of trust and accountability within the project.
- Ensure everything ties together with a high-level roadmap prominently displayed on your homepage. Supply occasional updates on the roadmap, offering detailed information on current and upcoming activities through your newsletter and Twitter.
While it is inevitable to encounter speculators and individuals seeking fast profits within your community, it is essential to discourage speculative behavior. When questions arise about the token's predicted valuation and listing on exchanges, respond in a matter-of-fact manner that does not fuel speculation. Emphasize that your project is long-term, refer to the roadmap, highlight achievements, and underscore near-term goals. In challenging situations, maintain composure, communicate effectively, and remain transparent to foster trust and confidence.
Updates
Consider using the following template as a guide to constructing a semi-formal quarterly update and forecast for the next quarter of fund allocation:
Between January 1, 20___, and April 1, 20___, our user base has grown to ___.___ million registered users. During this period, <_Our_Project_> has spent approximately $___.___ million, with the breakdown as follows:
- $+___.___K allocated to marketing, advertising, public relations, and events
- $___.___K allocated to employee and contractor salaries
- $___.___K allocated to legal, compliance, and accounting
- $___.___K allocated to general and administrative costs (office rent, utilities, accounting, development tool subscriptions, employee computers, etc.)
- $___.___K allocated to travel, including roadshows and conferences attended by founders
Looking ahead to 20___ Q3, we have secured several partners and plan to launch monetization during 20___ Q4. Based on our calculations, the average burn rate for Q3 is projected to be approximately $____–____K per month, while the average burn rate for Q4 is expected to be around $____–____K per month. We anticipate maintaining a burn rate proportional to user growth throughout 20__–20__.
At <_Our_Project_>, we currently have ____ employees and ____ contractors. The average employee salary is $____K, with a potential 15% yearly bonus based on individual and company performance. All employees receive full benefits.
Our co-founders and executives, <_____________> (CEO) and <_____________> (CTO), each earn a salary of $____K and have the potential to receive an added 25% of their salary as a yearly bonus. Their bonuses are calculated based on employee and company performance, with corresponding payouts.
Additionally, every employee will receive a package of <_Our_Project_> tokens. The distribution of tokens will occur monthly over four years, contingent upon continued employment.
Over the next eight months, <_Our_Project_> aims to fill ____ positions, bringing our employee count to approximately ____ by the end of 20___. The roles we are looking to hire include VP of Product, VP of Operations, Backend Engineer, UX Designer, Android Engineer, iOS Engineer, Business Development Lead, Mobile User Acquisition Lead, SMM Manager, Content Producers, Accounting Manager, and General Counsel.
Continue your semi-formal quarterly update by discussing milestones achieved thus far, such as the number of GitHub commits, test-netting data, completed tasks related to the token launch platform, and any regulatory hurdles overcome. Then outline the roadmap for the future.
CALL IN THE CODING CREW
Crown Coin, aka "CROWN," needs to work. All internal operations of the token sale platform must function properly and meet compliance standards.
Prepare
- Environment—Install the tools and frameworks for smart contract development, such as Solidity (programming language) and Truffle (development framework).
- Write—Use a suitable programming language and development framework to create the smart contract code. Define the contract’s functionality, data structures, functions, and event triggers according to your project’s requirements.
- Compile—Use the appropriate compiler for your chosen development environment to convert the smart contract code into bytecode for the chosen blockchain.
- Deployment method—Choose how you want to deploy your contract, considering options like using a development blockchain for testing, deploying on a public testnet, or deploying on the mainnet for production use.
- Supply & Distribution—Determine the total supply of tokens and configure the distribution mechanism according to your plan.
Test
- GitHub—Engage GitHub contributors for code review and testing.
- Debug—Write and execute unit tests to ensure the smart contracts function as expected, identifying and fixing bugs or other issues.
- POC—Demonstrate project proof-of-concept with testnet and beta versioning.
- Sandbox—Establish a sandbox, MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
- Mint testing—Ensure the security and integrity of the minting contract.
- Wallets—Configure a multi-signature (multi-sig) or MPC (Multi-Party Computation) wallet system to ensure the security and integrity of funds.
Deploy
- Gas and transaction fees—Ensure you have enough cryptocurrency (e.g., Ether on Ethereum) to cover the gas costs for deploying your contract and minting tokens.
- Mint—Deploy the compiled smart contract to the network by executing the deployment command or script provided by your development environment, thus creating a new instance of your contract on the blockchain.
- Confirm—Verify the contract’s deployment and view its details on the blockchain using tools like Etherscan (for Ethereum). Confirm that the contract’s address, bytecode, and other information match your expectations.
- Interact—You can interact with the deployed contract by sending transactions to its address. Based on the contract’s design, you can call its functions, access data, perform token transfers, and trigger other events. Connect your application or user interface with the deployed contract using web3 libraries or appropriate tools.
- Upgrades & Maintenance—Handle any required contract upgrades or maintenance using proper procedures and evaluate the impact on existing users and data.
Conclusion - Part 1: How To Launch A Successful Token Sale
The Crown Coin token sale event marks the beginning of deploying a functional tokenomic ecosystem. As your token sale concludes, you will encounter new challenges and responsibilities. Some key considerations include:
Deliver on promises—Fulfill your commitments and inform your community about significant developments. Avoid actions that could raise concerns about an exit scam. There is no time to “kick back and chill now that the money is in the bank,” even for a short while. Only move the goalposts by making significant changes or adjustments to your project after engaging deeply with your community.
Financial reporting and audit—Conduct due diligence financial reporting and issue a token sale audit. This comprehensive review should account for the sale and participant data and provide token storage, security, and distribution updates.
Convert reserved tokens—After the sale, you may need to convert a portion of reserved tokens into fiat currency through over-the-counter (OTC) trades. This process ensures liquidity and can provide a cash reserve for future acquisitions.
Manage investor liquidations—Establish mechanisms to allow seed investors and presale investors holding substantial token amounts to liquidate their profits gradually, avoiding sudden market dumps that negatively impact token price stability. All the technicals can go against your token, the bots will then start dumping your token, your token will get shorted, and then it’s a ride down to the bottom. To avoid this nightmarish scenario from coming to pass, engage with brokers who can arrange off-network sales to protect token price stability.
Token burning—Burning unsold tokens can increase the value of remaining coins and demonstrate a commitment to supply scarcity.
Token freezing—Temporarily freezing excess coins until a specific date can provide benefits such as a cash reserve or strategic timing for market release.
As you wrap up post-sale tasks and duties, you are ready to embark on a journey from DEXs to CEXs, leading to the ultimate goal of listing your token on a major exchange. This path requires continuous dedication, ongoing development, and effective community engagement. By navigating these challenges with transparency and foresight, you increase your chances of achieving long-term success for your project and its token.
PART 2: GET LISTED ON BINANCE
Introduction
“When exchange?” It’s a common refrain and a meme on crypto Telegram and Discord after a successful. Why? Because a token that does not trade anywhere will eventually go to zero, regardless of how great the technology.
Centralized exchanges (CEXs) are the bottleneck that prevents a token from attaining its actual market value through low friction price discovery. Unfortunately, most tokens never make it onto a centralized exchange.
Let’s see how Crown Coin will succeed where most tokens fail.
Work Your Way Up The Liquidity Ladder
Large exchanges often exploit their position in the ecosystem with extortionist listing fees. If you’re coming off a successful launch, their reasoning is simple; “You raised millions of dollars and millions of euros; why shouldn’t you give us a few hundred thousand of them to list on our exchange?”
So, what do you do? You earn listings rather than pay for them and work your way up the liquidity ladder.
DEXs
Your first listing will likely be on a DEX (decentralized exchange) such as Uniswap or Sushiswap.
The DEX listing process involves the following:
- Only a few steps
- Few formalities
- Usually, no listing fees
- Instant trading access for your token once deployed
For example, you can create an ERC20 token and then pair it with ETH to produce a liquidity pool from which anyone can trade your token. However, your DEX listing may only draw low trading volumes and may not help your case for a CEX listing.
Uniswap, Sushiswap, and many other DEXs are non-custodial “Automated Market Maker (AMM)” protocols. There’s no traditional “order book,” procedures are permissionless and anonymous, no intermediaries are involved, and an AMM holds no funds. Hence users deposit no funds to begin trading.
All trades occur directly from each user’s wallet, and each user is their own custodian. The only identifier required is a public wallet address. Traders pay a percentage-based fee to the pool, which is divided proportionally among the pool’s liquidity providers.
Binance DEX
BNB Chain, aka "Binance DEX," runs on Binance Chain, a trading platform for BEP-2 compatible tokens that require BNB for gas fees. For existing projects, such as Crown Coin, this would necessitate a migration or a swap to the Binance Chain, in which case the Crown Coin would run on two chains, its existing chain and Binance Chain. Most projects, including Crown Coin, will not benefit from listing on Binance DEX due to the added cost and lack of viable or innovative use cases within the ecosystem.
Building a token for Binance’s other blockchain, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and being listed on the PancakeSwap DEX, for example, will not impact Binance’s preliminary review for a direct listing in any way. The Binance direct listings team does not care whether or not you built your project for BSC. They want to see a large user base, no matter the blockchain on which the token lives.
CEXs
Most centralized exchanges, even small ones, support the Ethereum ERC-20 and Binance BEP 20 standards, though they may not support other popular protocols and technical integrations such as Tron TRX-20.
Watch out for fraud and scams on small exchanges—some fake volume with wash trading to justify a high listing fee. And we won’t even get started talking about FTX.
CoinMarketCap Exchange Score ranges from 1-10, with 10 being the highest score. Exchange Score determinants include:
- Web traffic
- Average liquidity
- Daily/weekly/month trading volume
- Proof of reserves
- Listing application experiences reported by the token projects themselves.
If you are already on some small exchanges, you approach the next tier from a position with some degree of strength.
“Look, we’ve got a half million people holding our token, we have thirty million dollars a day in trades, and we’re in the top 100 on the exchanges that list us. So listing our token will make money for you. We should not have to pay a listing fee to get on your exchange.”
Every additional exchange on which Crown Coin lists opens a new market full of prospective investors who could increase your market cap and grow your brand value.
Benefits of Multiple Listings
Spreads allocation—As more investors hold your token, it gets harder for a group of holders to sell and crash the price or pump the price and then dump it.
Increases access—Multiple listings increase access, aka “Reach.” Reach improves as investor diversity grows vis-à-vis:
- Trading characteristics—Hodler, Active, Algorithmic, Bot
- Sector—Retail & Institutional
- AUM—Whales, Dolphins, Minnows, Shrimps
- Geography—Some exchanges are big in a specific market. So, if you’re not on more than a couple of exchanges, you may be limited to a few markets and excluded from the U.S.
Creates an option B—Today’s big exchange may be tomorrow’s small exchange. Remember Poloniex and Bitfinex being the biggest exchanges in the world? Exchanges get hacked, go down, close down, get bought out, and fall out of favor. If one of your two exchanges goes down, you’re back on just one exchange. Multiple listings create an option “B” for investors.
Prevents slippage—Large exchanges cross-reference pricing to dampen slippage. Unfortunately, this does not help you early on your journey up the liquidity ladder. Let's look at why:
- Token liquidity (trading volume and depth) strengthens confidence among the shrimp, minnows, and dolphins.
- However, if you’re just on one exchange and a presale investor drops $200,000 worth of your tokens, you’ll see a massive drop that may last and damage your token’s reputation.
- On the other hand, if you’re on two small exchanges and the same sale executes, the price will drop hard on one exchange, and small inexperienced traders panic sell and get rekt. Pretty bad, also.
- At the same time, whales arbitrage between exchanges, bring the price back, and pocket a tidy profit.
Binance Launchpool & Binance Launchpad
Binance Launchpool allows projects to offer users opportunities to earn rewards from both staking and yield farming. Projects collaborate with Binance for the promotional value they receive when paying out token rewards.
Binance Launchpad is an initial exchange offering (IEO) platform where Binance provides the token sale infrastructure.
Crown Coin will not list on Binance Lauchpool or Binance Launchpad as these platforms do not align with the Crown Coin project’s token distribution model and roadmap.
Binance CEX
Binance sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from where an altcoin gets its first listing on a DEX or small centralized exchange. Binance is the world’s largest exchange in trading volume and number of users.
It’s exceedingly rare for a project to go straight in and get listed on Binance. You must be well-connected, have a well-known and widely respected project, and have USD 2 million or the equivalent to throw at Binance.
Binance donates listing fees to charity, but that does not help you pay the listing fee. And there may be other fees. For example, Binance may charge an upfront payment of $150,000+ to keep your token listed for the first two years.
Expect that getting Crown Coin listed on Binance will be a challenging and lengthy endeavor. Your application review alone will take between one and three months, including time required for one or more “Request for Further Documentation” or “Request for Technical Modifications.”
Next comes the application itself. You provide the information via a long Google Doc, on which Binance will make a preliminary assessment.
Binance requires your project founder or CEO to fill out the listing application form when applying for a direct listing. Then you download a one-way NDA, sign it, and return it to them along with an acknowledgment that, if listed, Binance can delist your token with no refunds. Delistings predicate on a volume drop, misconduct, or various other events.
Provide the listing review team with project status updates via their online form.
LISTING REQUIREMENTS—OVERVIEW
The Binance listing team will focus on the following:
- “Is this deserving of direct listing on Binance?”
- “Will listing this token bring in new traders?”
- “Will this provide enough trading fee revenue to cover risk exposure related to this token?”
Key metrics Binance looks at are code commits, social media audience, and, above all else, the number of active addresses on the blockchain. Binance owns CoinMarketCap, so having your token listed on CMC may help your case.
Binance does not respond to 98% of the applications it receives—dead silence. The 98% rejection rate is current as of 2023, as stated via Twitter by CZ himself. Getting a response in itself is cause for celebration.
A typical exchange listing application will have around 15 questions. Binance’s direct listing application form has 70+ questions and document submissions covering items such as:
- Project name, tokenomic model, whitepaper, description of ICO process, and details with supporting documentation.
- Project focus: cryptocurrency, dApp, stablecoin, protocol, DeFi platform, NFT.
- Project pitch: purpose and utility, problem(s) solved, project history and quarterly roadmap, target users, competitor details, long-term vision, website.
- Project status: mainnet, MVP, testnet with tentative mainnet launch date and planned swaps to launch on mainnet, GitHub link
- Blockchain security audit report conducted by a known third-party auditor.
- Coin ticker, token address, blockchain explorer link, number of holders, market cap, max supply, circulating supply, links to token listing on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.
- Bios for the management team, technical team, marketing team, advisors, and a description of any major seed investors
- Community: DAU/MAU chart (Daily Active Users/Monthly Active Users), social profiles (e.g., Twitter, Telegram, Discord, Reddit, LINE, Slack, etc.), developer communities, recent activities (e.g., hackathons, meetups, bounty programs, etc.).
- Legal memorandum from a qualified firm: Binance will not list you if it thinks you are a legal threat to its existence. Legal requirements are commensurate with its desire to operate in regulated territories.
- Legal entity review.
- Legal opinion: Define your token’s status as a regulated financial instrument in applicable jurisdictions and, specifically, in the local legislation in the home territory of your legal entity.
Your project and its token are subject to rigorous due diligence. You must pass certain financial, technical, legal, regulatory, and brand integrity thresholds to gain a degree of trust from Binance.
In addition to the well-defined requirements covered above, there are many less well-defined requirements by which Binance judges your project and its token. Binance does not publish or reveal hard requirements beyond what you can gather from the application preview above, as any requirement they publish would be reverse-engineered.
There are project advisors with established communication channels with Binance. They read articles like this one and may even know me. They understand what Binance looks for when judging whether a token is worthy of being listed according to its internal proprietary requirements.
In the next section, we delve into the unpublished requirements that get Crown Coin's listing application past Binance’s initial review and into and through the full application review. You meet these requirements by doing months of groundwork before submitting your application.
LISTING REQUIREMENTS—DEEP DIVE
Prepare
1. Marketing & Hype
Hype Cycle—the self-reinforcing pattern of increasing price and adoption:
More people want to trade it -> More exchanges list it -> More people see it -> More people want to trade it -> More exchanges list it -> More people see it -> More people want to trade it .....
Binance wants the popular kids at their party. So, treat every new exchange listing as a major news event. The more media and hype about Crown Coin, the more likely Binance will review and approve your listing application. Smaller exchanges may even approach you and ask, “Do you want to list with us?”
1 a—Thought Leadership
Steps you can take to leverage thought leadership for promoting your project:
- Niche content: Share expertise with your target audience through articles, videos, newsletters, and blog posts.
- Social media: Be active in your niche. Share content and participate in discussions on Twitter, LinkedIn, and crypto and VC Discord channels.
- Events: Present your insights at conference panel discussions, webinars, and meetups.
- Education: Provide tutorials and guides for newcomers to your niche.
- Research papers: Share unique analyses backed by data.
- Media: Be the resource journalists and media outlets call upon when covering topics relevant to your niche.
- Influencers: Identify influential figures who will evangelize your project—more on this in the next section.
1 b—Amplification
You pay back your influencers with ‘Amplification.’ You promote them. Promote your evangelists via AMAs, meetups, industry event panels, blog posts, newsletter features, tweets, Reddit, Discord, Telegram, Medium, Substack, YouTube, and Linkedin. Get them interviews and speaking jobs, buy them a better webcam—be creative and do whatever you need to do to make your influencers happy.
1 c—Create alliances
We see partnership buzz all the time in crypto. There’s a reason for it. Industry connections and partnerships help. For example, Binance may provide an accelerated application review process if your project is partnered with a market maker or other liquidity provider.
Form informal partnerships with other teams and projects and treat each as a major news event, no matter how silly you may occasionally feel about doing so. When appropriate, reach out for venture partnerships, strategic investors, and cross-promotions.
1 d—Work up the chain
Start with small and mid-sized crypto outlets and work your way up. You want to gain the ability to regularly push out favorable content on the most prominent crypto media.
Large crypto new outlets scan small/niche websites and thier Twitter feeds for trending topics and the next story. They use news market intel in much the same way as how CNN International looks at CNN North America for national news, the national news looks at the regional news, and the regional news looks at the local news to see what is getting views and worth running.
2. Community
Binance first verifies the presence of a strong, growing, authentic community around your project and its token via a manual "Community Validation" analysis. Binance then analyses your project's sentiment score trendline with tools that scan Reddit and Twitter for how often it’s mentioned, positive words, negative words, and the authority of who is talking about it. VCs use these tools as well.
Leverage and expand the community you established during your ICO with a sustained brand-building campaign that includes:
- Investor relations, including meeting ongoing token reporting requirements and other communications
- Industry partnership and strategic advisor mapping and outreach
- New investor outreach
- Newsletter: updates and Informative articles about post-ICO project development.
- Social media: Blogs, external newsletter coverage, social media posts
- AMA (ask me anything) sessions to help investors and journalists with questions and concerns.
- PR
- Advertising
- Product placement and other brand awareness tactics
2 a—BitcoinTalk Forum—As mentioned in Part 1 of this article, BitcoinTalk Forum is old school, but it still works and can help with listing approval. Put up a miniature version of your site in a thread, then send well-respected forum members your white paper and project pitch. Create ten or so pages of BitcoinTalk forum threads about your project.
2 b—Reddit—Every project a creates subreddit to foster a community that talks about the project and then uses this information to monitor public perception. Frequent posts are vital to growing a large following. As Part 1 of this article mentions, Reddit is where traders, investors, and influencers scout new picks and where things go viral. Reach out to long-term members with clout. They are vital allies for improving sentiment and driving discussion around your project.
2 c—Twitter—Twitter users don’t always know what they’re doing, but it’s where you build the largest segment of your community. Twitter is a hype-seeking audience, and there are 2 billion of them.
2 d—Crypto PR—Spread your project around the most well-known crypto news sites, including Bankless, The Block, Blockworks, Coin Bureau, CoinCentral, CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Crypto Daily, DappReview, Decrypt, The Defiant, and The Merkle. Brand building engenders community validation and legitimacy and brings traffic.
2e—Influencers—People notoriously don’t have a well-formed opinion. They will take on and repeat the most authoritative opinion on the topic they’ve heard. It’s normal human behavior, and the crypto space is decidedly not immune to this behavior. It often thrives on it.
Recruit Crown Coin evangelists. Give them information and access to products, but not necessarily inside information. For example, when you send out a press release, send it to them first so they can push it out and not learn about it from the news sites.
YouTube personalities and organizations such as Crypto Banter can have hundreds of thousands of viewers and drive enormous traffic. The core demographic you may need is millennials; millennials don’t read; they watch videos. So, you can’t ignore them, as do traditional markets.
2 f—Mainstream PR—Mainstream media needs crypto educators and thought leaders, whether they are attached to a token project or not. Putting shared knowledge and resources at the front of all your communications and mainstream media efforts will give you a voice.
Editors primarily want to provide technology and investing news. They may not be much interested in understanding your business model. Focus on what your project or company does that matters to its stakeholders, not yours. Don’t hit mainstream reporters with a lot of jargon and unhelpful details. Instead, focusing on fundamentals and things that matter to a broader audience.
These are the mainstream publications that Binance will scan for mentions of your project:
- Barron’s Magazine
- Bloomberg Businessweek
- Business Insider
- CNBC
- CNN Money
- Consumer Reports
- The Economist
- Entrepreneur
- Fast Company
- Financial Times
- Forbes Magazine
- Fortune Magazine
- Google Finance
- Inc. Magazine
- International Business Times
- Investor's Business Daily
- Kiplinger
- MarketWatch
- MIT Technology Review
- Money Magazine
- The Motley Fool
- MSN Money
- Nasdaq.com
- SeekingAlpha
- U.S. News & World Report
- Yahoo Finance
- Wired Magazine
- WSJ
3. Holder Base
The more investors that hold Crown Coin, the more attractive it is to Binance. The reason is simple: listing your token will attract new investors on which Binance collects trading fees. Additionally, Binance’s brand value grows by hundreds of dollars with the creation of each new trading account.
Major exchanges will only look at your application if their blockchain analysis shows at least several hundred thousand wallets holding your token. So how do you get there? First, you incentivize investors and airdrop recipients to hold your token instead of dumping it. Second, you incentivize your investors and recipients to accumulate more of your tokens.
We’re humans. We don’t do tasks unless there’s a reward. Investors are in crypto for the money, so you offer them money, except you don’t offer them Ether or dollars. You “airdrop” them your tokens in exchange for the performance of a specific action that you want them to do. “Join our Telegram,” “Follow us on Twitter,” “Use your wallet and our token in this way,” “Get a bonus airdrop if you hold for 90 days,” etc. You grow your holder base and social media footprint in tandem—two birds with one stone.
4. Trading Volume
Binance will not bother listing a token with little trading volume on which to collect trading fees.
4 a—Exchange Promotions—Build trading volume with promotions. Exchanges like trading competitions because they benefit directly from higher trading volume and a boost in rankings on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. These metrics also look good to current and potential investors.
4 b—Market Making—Ensure constant price discovery and no gaps in your trading, even just fractions or a couple of percent at any given time. That way, when someone comes in for a trade, there’s a current price at which the token is trading that can be, more or less, “trusted.”
4 c—Trading Depth—This is a bit more complex. It centers on creating increasingly large trades. If your trade size average is $50 and someone throws in an order for $20,000, the price will shoot up or down. So, you build an order book around your token to mitigate volatility and slippage.
4 d—OTC—If you have seed investors or presale investors with significant holdings, at some point, they will want to liquidate and cash out some profits, if not all of them. Create a network to arrange large sales over the counter/off-network. You want to create a mechanism whereby they don’t need to go out and sell your tokens all at once and cause massive drops in price. All the technicals will look against you, the bots start dumping, your token gets shorted, and then it’s a ride down to the bottom.
5. Legitimacy
Binance wants to see industry leaders and technologists as team members or advisors on your project and a crypto law firm on retainer.
5 a—Team
Most projects are over-ambitious and miss deadlines, either delivering late or not at all. The team’s credibility is thus damaged. Before approaching a CEX for a listing, do things differently. Establish a track record of under-promising and over-delivering.
Take control of the narrative and be ready to speak with some degree of authority when Crown Coin is forced into reputational damage control mode, whether deserved or not. Keeping your head above water and preserving good project sentiment is much less complicated than repairing a project drowning in waves of FUD.
Binance judges The quality of your communications during the application process severely. For example, unprofessional, poorly constructed emails or voice calls will disqualify your project from further review. Binance researches your core team’s handling of difficult situations, past and present. Binance’s experience with your team and how it communicates are crucial to the qualification/disqualification process.
Do not ask for a contact person. Binance does not allow projects to contact the review team to avoid biased influence and bribery attempts.
Trying to pressure Binance into listing your coin with community petitions on Change.org and via Twitter posts is normal business and fine by Binance. However, negative public comments about Binance’s review process will get you blacklisted. Blacklisting means disqualification from the current listing review and a ban from ever applying for a Binance listing again.
5 b—Legal & Regulatory
Your law firm will probably take the call when Binance’s legal team needs to discuss your project. Binance’s lawyers will do what lawyers do; trying to be smarter than yours, so your law firm needs experience with exchanges. Binance’s lawyers do this twice a day. Lawyers who’ve never worked on a token listing get torn apart. An experienced lawyer will get your application past Binance’s legal review and negotiate favorable terms for your token listing contract later.
Financial Transparency
Keep your community apprised of how your project spends its funds. When people invest in fiat or cryptocurrency in an enterprise—traditional early-stage private equity raise, token sale, or IPO—they entrust their capital to a company that they believe will use it to scale a product that creates monetary value.
Provide clear insight into your project’s health and document accomplishments made with the funding. Detail your treasury’s mix of Fiat, Bitcoin, and Ether, year-to-date expenditures by category, current burn rate, and next quarter’s expected burn rate. If a third-party accounting firm has not fully audited the figures, note that the figures represent your best approximation.
5 c—Technical Credibility
You need a unique proposition. When you’re approaching VCs and institutional investors, they need to look at your project and say to themselves, “These guys have a smart token system. There is a good reason why they are using their native token and not Ethereum or Litecoin or whatever.” Binance is no different.
Final Review
If Crown Coin passes the initial review, a review team member will contact you using this exact email address: [email protected]. An email regarding your listing application from any other address is from a scammer. Anyone claiming a “listing agreement” or “partnership” with Binance is lying.
The final review can take a couple of months. Keep your communications with the listing team professional and be honest when dealing with questions and concerns.
Be patient. Don’t try to rush things.
Approved! 🙌🎈🎊 🥳
Crown Coin's application for a direct listing on Binance is approved! Celebrate and enjoy a couple of days of much-deserved rest and relaxation.
Listing fees
When you're ready to get back to work, you’ll want to negotiate the lowest listing fee possible.
- Research comparable projects and their listing fees.
- Prepare a comprehensive proposal emphasizing the value your project brings.
- Engage in open dialogue with the listing team.
- Present your research on comparable fees and explain why your project warrants a more favorable arrangement.
- Consider proposing alternative fee structures or modifications.
- Seek professional assistance if needed.
Binance forbids the public disclosure of listing application approval until Binance issues its official listing announcement.
Once your Binance exchange listing goes live, you will need exchange wallet management and integration updates that ensure ongoing compliance with exchange rules.
Your token may experience “The Binance Effect.” Newly listed tokens jump in value as speculators buy them, then drop down when speculators sell for a quick profit.
Ensure against a severe and prolonged drop in trading volume resulting in a Binance delisting.
After listing, Binance requires an update on your project’s progress at least once per month.
Caveats
Crown Coin, Ltd. is now a target. Scammers will contact you using spoofing and phishing email addresses and servers that seem legitimate but are not.
Use Binance Verify, PGP signatures, and anti-phishing codes to authenticate all communications purporting to be from Binance. Remain vigilant in perpetuity.
Binance.US
Crown Coin, Ltd. will not apply for CROWN to be listed on Binance.US as it offers a limited selection of trading pairs and is not accessible in all US states. Furthermore, Binance.US faces a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could lead to the platform’s closure.
Conclusion
You will likely get only get one shot at a Binance listing. That’s why all the work you did before is so important. Strength is in the groundwork.
Do the groundwork thoroughly and honestly, hitting every point detailed in this article, and Binance will welcome your application, review it in earnest, and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, approve it. Then, on a day like no other, your token will list live on Binance. I extend my congratulation in advance!
— Article and Graphics by Jay Derenthal