Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange market has announced its plans to acquire CoinMarketCap, the largest source of exchange volume and cryptocurrency pricing data. According to Binance CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the deal was closed on March 31, 2020. Sources have stated that the deal could be worth up to $400 million.
The core DNA of CoinMarketCap is well aligned with the culture and ethics of Binance. The goal of acquiring coinMarketCap was to strengthen their common vision for a further growth and encourage transparency in the industry. The two will work together and act as cryptocurrency service providers.
Zhao has announced that their intention is to empower CoinMarketCap to continue building useful, innovative products for its users. Other reports have disclosed details about the acquisition. According to reliable sources, the deal is structured in the form of BNB and equity.
Cryptocurrency experts have stated that CoinMarketCap could become the marketimg channel for Binance, helping direct prospective customers to Binance.
Views from the Crypto Community
The crypto community has largely welcomed this move. Eric Benz, the CEO of Changelly, another crypto exchange, has welcomed this move. Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts believe that this move will be beneficial to both parties. The move also shows how important crypto market data is, and more mergers in the crypto industry are expected in the near future.
The move has also been welcomed by Mike Alfred, the CEO and co-founder of Digital Assets Data, a Fintech firm. Alfred has praised Binance for acting decisively at a time when operations in most industries have come to a halt as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The move was strategic, and it will put Binance at a higher position after the end of the pandemic. Binance will benefit greatly when Bitcoin returns to its all-time highs.
CoinMarketCap will Operate Independently
Although the two companies will work closely to each other, CoinMarketCap will continue to operate as an independent business entity, and the two have agreed on this. Zhao has emphasized that the acquisition will have no impact on the independence and external stakeholders of CoinMarketCap.
However, CoinMarketCap has agree to make a number of changes in its internal structure. Brandon Chez, the founder of CoinMarketcap will step down as the CEO and will be replaced by Carylyne Chan, the current chief strategy officer of CoinMarketcap, as the interim CEO.
Other than the reshuffles, no more changes will be made to the CoinMarketCap team in the near future. Everyone will stay in the company and they like this.
What Does the Acquisition Mean?
Although CoinMarketCap will continue to operate independently to ensure they keep neutral and transparent data, Binance will contribute significantly to further CoinMArketCap’s developments.
Binance has more than 800 employees located worlwide. These employees will share expertise to help improve CoinMarketCap in areas of security and finance. This will help CoinMarketCap evolve.
The acquisition comes six months after CoinMarketCap had announced that it was “entirely bootstrapped”, meaning that it was operating under minimal financial resources. Binance has done all it can to ensure that CoinMarketCap maintains their own listing methodology. There are no plans to change the listing soon.
