Binance co-founder He Yi addressed front-running accusations and clarified the exchange’s investment and listing standards in a recent interview.

Front-running is a method in financial markets where an agent, trader, or other market participant takes action for his own benefit by taking advantage of non-public information or pending orders.

He Yi explained that certain tokens will not be listed on Binance if they are widely hyped and expected to be listed on an exchange. “Some projects spread rumors that they will be listed even before we contact them, and some people use these rumors to apply pressure,” he said, adding that “if we choose not to list these projects, we could be accused of front-running.”

According to He Yi, Binance has strict standards and processes before listing. They scan projects and conduct internal reviews every cycle. If someone vehemently opposes a project, the project does not pass scrutiny. The listing decision is not made by a single person, but through a multi-layered evaluation process that ensures the project’s technical basis, market potential and investment support.

According to the founder, Binance’s listing standards basically include the following points:

• Technical and Market Basis: Does the project have a solid technical basis and market potential?
• Popularity and Interest: What is the market temperature and user interest of the project?
• Investment Support: Does the project have reliable investment support to ensure it will not fade away easily?
• Project Life Cycle: Is the life cycle of the project long enough and does it have sustainable development potential?

All projects that meet these criteria are pooled for observation and evaluation.

Yi also touched on the challenges users face regarding their psychological expectations. While many cryptocurrency users expect 100x or 1000x returns, traditional investors are content with 20%-30% annual returns. As competition increases, high return opportunities become rarer. “We need users to understand the evolution and change of the industry and adjust their expectations,” he said.

Regarding listing options, He Yi also acknowledged that no matter what project they list, there will always be dissatisfied users. “We aim to offer popular and relatively reliable projects that are in demand in the market, but this does not mean that the value of all projects will increase,” he said. “We also hope that users understand the fluctuations and cycles in the market.”

Regarding interest alignment and regulatory issues, He Yi explained that Binance’s investment in most coins is very limited, sometimes holding only 0.1%. Therefore, according to the founder, assuming that Binance has interests in the listed coins requires significant evidence.

*This is not investment advice.