Binance has launched a reward for whistleblowers of up to $5 million as part of a broader crackdown on fraudulent third-party "listing agents."
The exchange warns crypto projects that any individual claiming to influence listings on the exchange is acting illegally.
The announcement, published on Wednesday in a transparency update, comes at a delicate time for the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance faces intensified scrutiny over its listing practices following incidents of alleged insider trading linked to the leaking of token information.
$year of yellow fruit
0x2fe3731d8b61515aad65757c7cab8042c43a4444
Trades and Price Chart:https://t.co/MOHKDeoL43
"year of yellow fruit" comes from a Binance Futures tweet:
"The year of the yellow fruit and harvest! Plant wisely. Harvest abundantly." Before this tweet was posted,… pic.twitter.com/1aHMu7TWkw
-- Nineteen (@nineteenthvibe) December 7, 2025
In its statement, Binance reiterated that all token listing requests must be made exclusively through its official channels, covering Binance Alpha, the Futures market, and the Spot market.
The exchange emphasized that it does not authorize brokers, consultants, or external intermediaries to trade, facilitate, or guarantee listings.
"Any party claiming to represent Binance or offering listing-related services for payment is engaging in fraudulent behavior," the company stated.
Conclusions of the blacklist and internal audit
The exchange revealed that an internal audit identified recurring cases of individuals and companies posing as facilitators linked to Binance while soliciting payments from project founders.
As a result, the exchange included seven entities and individuals on its blacklist, including:
BitABC
Central Research
May/Dannie
Andrew Lee
Suki Yang
Fiona Lee
Kenny Z
According to Binance, these parties were identified for falsely suggesting relationships with the exchange or offering paid listing services. The company stated it would take legal action "when appropriate."
The blockchain data provider RootData points out that one of the listed groups, Central Research, has previously supported other crypto projects such as Fireverse, Nebula Revelation, AKI Network, Fusionist, and Artyfact.
Of these, only Fusionist (ACE) is currently listed on Binance. The exchange did not associate the findings from the blacklist with previous listing decisions.
To encourage whistleblowing, Binance stated that whistleblowers with verifiable evidence of fraudulent activities could receive rewards of up to $5 million, depending on the quality and impact of the submitted information.
Binance tightens listing rules amid fallout from insider trading
As part of the update, Binance published a detailed overview of the project listing process, from submission on Binance Alpha to entry into the Futures and Spot markets.
The exchange stressed that it does not charge fees for listing requests and that all communication should come directly from the project's core team.
Projects that use intermediaries will be immediately disqualified from current and future listing reviews, Binance warned. However, teams that voluntarily report fraudulent agents may receive priority in the analysis.
The announcement was made following the confirmation this month that a Binance employee leaked confidential listing information related to the memecoin "year of the yellow fruit." The exchange's co-CEO, Yi He, commented on the incident.
"Currently, the community is engaged in behaviors unrelated to Binance, such as issuing coins based on Binance's official X, in my statements or excerpts from publications. But we cannot stop publishing just because someone might look for loopholes," she said.
Binance also reported that it distributed $100,000 in rewards to five whistleblowers who helped reveal the irregularities.
In the aggregate, the blacklist, the rewards program, and stricter enforcement measures reflect a greater effort by Binance to restore trust in its listing process.
This comes at a time when exchanges face increasing pressure to demonstrate transparency, internal controls, and fair market practices.
The article Binance offers a reward of $5 million for false listing agents was first seen on BeInCrypto Brazil.
