Coinbase surprised crypto markets on Wednesday by unveiling a new issuer listing program and, minutes later, adding BNB to its listing roadmap, an unexpected nod to its biggest rival’s flagship token.
At 4:12 pm UTC, the Coinbase Markets account on
According to Coinbase’s blog post, the package offers a direct line to the listings team for personalized guidance, the ability to request updates to an asset’s page through Coinbase’s centralized exchange and its retail DEX, referral discounts for services like MiCA whitepaper support and market maker matching, and limited subscriptions to Coinbase One for select team members. central. Coinbase reiterated that the apps and listings are free and that issuers are not required to purchase ancillary services.
At 4:45 pm UTC, Coinbase Markets posted that BNB had been added to the roadmap. As with other roadmap elements, the sign reflects intent rather than immediate availability. Inclusion on the roadmap does not guarantee a listing; Coinbase may delay or reject assets if liquidity, technical, compliance, or other requirements are not met. Coinbase said the trades will be announced separately once sufficient market-making support and infrastructure is in place.
The moment is remarkable.
Just nine days earlier, Arca CIO Jeff Dorman published a critique arguing that Coinbase lists “some of the worst assets” while ignoring “the best,” and highlighted tokens issued by rival platforms, including BNB, as high-performing examples that the exchange had not historically offered. He said an exchange should either list broadly and be neutral, or select the “best assets” like a broker, and blamed Coinbase for falling between those models.
Dorman further compared BNB, LEO, TRX, and HYPE (citing revenue-backed buybacks and strong token economics) to what he called inflationary tokens and opaque listing practices, framing Coinbase’s approach as selectively exclusionary. In that context, adding BNB to the roadmap seems like a significant change of stance, even if a listing is not guaranteed.
Beyond its origins in 2017 as a trading fee token, BNB now serves as the primary gas asset for BNB chain transactions and is used across that network for payments, staking, token launches, and governance proposals, functioning as the chain’s transaction fuel and utility token.
Combining the blue carpet rollout with a high-profile addition to the roadmap indicates that Coinbase aims to court top non-native assets when technical, compliance, and liquidity standards are met, regardless of rival affiliations.
At the time of writing, bnb was at $1,164.33, down 4.7% in the last 24 hours.
