The world’s leading and most popular cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is reportedly in talks to acquire CoinMarketCap for $400 million.
Binance to Add CoinMarketCap to Their Arsenal
Cryptocurrency exchange, Binance is looking to acquire another crypto company, CoinMarketCap, in a deal that could be worth up to $400 million. According to sources close to the two companies, the acquisition could be announced before the end of the week. If it happens, then it would be one of the most significant purchases in the history of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
Binance, an exchange that went live in 2017, has experienced massive growth within a short period to become the leading cryptocurrency trading platform in the world. The exchange, headed by Changpeng Zhao (CZ), became the largest in terms of trading volume barely a year after it was founded.
Since then, they have been growing and setting the trend in the sector. Binance recently bought WazirX, the largest crypto exchange in India. Some of their other acquisitions include the Beijing-based DappReview, a digital currency mobile wallet branch called Trust Wallet, and a derivatives exchange called JEX, and Mars Finance.
They are now looking to add Coinmarketcap.com to the fray, which could be the largest acquisition in the cryptocurrency sector so far. According to various reports, Binance is close to finishing a cash and stock deal with the founders of CoinMarketCap. The website is the most popular cryptocurrency data platform. According to Alexa Ratings, CoinMarketCap is ranked 579 in the world and 819 in the US.
CoinMarketCap (CMC) records millions of visitors on its site regularly, with most of them coming from the US, Brazil, and India. If Binance proceeds with the deal, then it would eclipse the $121 million used in acquiring 21 Inc. also known as earn.com
Binance and CMC Yet to Comment
Binance and CoinMarketCap are yet to comment on the reports suggesting the acquisition of the latter. However, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, recently hinted at some exciting procurements for the company.
CoinMarketCap has been an interesting platform from the beginning, with the owner Brandon Chez keeping his identity and involvement with CMC a secret until the Wall Street Journal published an article on him on January 23, 2018.
CoinMarketCap has been involved in a few controversial incidences over the past few years. It remains a fact that some crypto traders and investors don’t trust the information that comes from the site. They came under criticism in the first week of January 2018 after they delisted the exchange rates of South Korean crypto exchanges.
Some cryptocurrency proponents spoke about the possible deal, with some of them not seeing it as a good move. A crypto proponent tweeted that CoinMarketCap is not a good company and that they have allowed a large number of scams to advertise on their site. He also stated that should the deal go through, he is hoping that Changpeng Zhao will change the way the company operates.
Another person tweeted that he doesn’t like the deal at all and would continue to use CMC alternatives for cryptocurrency data. Most of the comments on Twitter regarding this deal were negative, with some pointing out the relationship between Tron and Binance. Some suggested that Binance buying CoinMarketCap could see BNB (Binance Coin) and TRX (TRON) coins move to first and second place on the CoinMarketCap chart and this could lead to the delisting of Digibyte. Needless to say, the cryptocurrency sector isn’t really excited about Binance’s proposed acquisition of CoinMarketCap.