Digital currency data platform CoinMarketCap has recently added a “top DeFi tokens by Market Cap” page—a new addition that did not come without conflict.
Apparently @CoinMarketCap has a #DeFi project ranking now.
Guess what is on #1?
Right, $BNB! What a coincidence. At this point, everybody has to realize how shameless #Binance is acting pic.twitter.com/GMFBcRRLhO
— CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) July 23, 2020
Shortly after the page was added, Binance Coin (BNB) appeared on the page as the #1 DeFi token by market cap—the only thing is, BNB is not a DeFi token and Binance exchange is not a DeFi platform. Many see this event as another stunt by Binance, the company that acquired CoinMarketCap back in April, to promote their products and services.
Shortly after individuals brought the BNB listing on the DeFi token page into the public eye, the CoinMarketCap team quickly corrected the mistake, saying that:
“Like any of us, the people that work at CMC are human. The addition of BNB to the CMC DeFi page was a case of human error, and when it was pointed out to CMC, we rectified that error. We want to underline again that we maintain our neutrality from our parent company, and strive to showcase the crypto revolution to the world with accurate and relevant data.”
The CMC team claim that it was an honest mistake on their part and that their operations are separate from Binance’s (CMC’s parent company) is suspect. Especially considering that CMC has “accidentally” promoted BNB on their pages in the past, it is difficult to believe that the BNB listing on the DeFi tokens page was an honest mistake.
Binance’s puppet: CoinMarketCap
In June, CoinMarketCap updated its market pair ranking system, however, the update ranked Binance as the number one exchange for nearly every trading pair on the site. This was also seen as a move by the data platform to rig the system in Binance’s favor.
It is strange that BNB coin, a digital currency that has nothing to do with DeFi platforms or DeFi governance, was listed as the #1 coin by market cap on CoinMarketCap’s DeFi token page at a time when the total value locked in DeFi protocols has hit an all-time high.
It would not be surprising to see more strange activity that favors the Binance exchange or BNB take place as CoinMarketCap continually adds new features and rankings in the future.
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