Binance Declares Open Season on Rogue Market Makers as Critics Allege 'Launch Tax' Scheme

Binance, the undisputed heavyweight champion of crypto exchanges, has announced it's going on a bounty hunt for market makers who play dirty, particularly those cozying up to freshly listed tokens. This new sheriff-in-town act comes after a tidal wave of side-eye directed at the exchange following the October 10 crash—a debacle some armchair analysts pinned on Binance's alleged role in a market-wide liquidation domino effect, a claim the exchange has denied more times than a degen has said "this time it's different."

In a freshly minted blog post, Binance stated it's got its eyes glued to market-making shenanigans and promises "swift, decisive action" against bad actors, which could end with a one-way ticket to the blacklist. The exchange also offered some free, unsolicited advice to new projects: do your homework on your liquidity providers, and don't believe any smooth operator who claims to have CZ on speed dial as a golden ticket to a listing. It's the crypto equivalent of "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

The magnifying glass isn't just on the market makers. Since the crash, builders, VC firms, and project teams have been giving Binance's listing department the kind of scrutiny usually reserved for a suspiciously perfect yield farm. Mike Dudas of 6th Man Ventures tossed out an allegation that the exchange slaps a "10% tax" on every new launch. Simon Dedic of MoonRock Capital chimed in back in 2024, claiming Binance's asking price is a cool 15% of a token's supply—a neat $50M to $100M pile that gets allegedly dumped faster than a hot potato, leaving projects financially ventilated.

Dedic came back for round two in 2026, dubbing the whole affair "Binance extraction" and calling it a masterpiece of "extreme greed," "short-sightedness," and a "massive negative-sum" game that leaves founders, investors, and market makers all feeling collectively rugged. For evidence, he pointed to a chart so depressing it could make a bull cry, showing that nearly 75% of Binance-listed projects have charted a course straight to the land of near-zero value.

Binance has fired back, labeling these accusations "false" and "defamatory." In a neat role reversal, while critics previously accused the exchange of turning market makers into toast, Binance is now pointing the finger squarely at rogue liquidity providers as the main culprits behind the brutal losses seen in new token listings. It's the circle of blame in the crypto jungle.