Scroll Defends Binance Alliance Amid Community CEX ‘Kneeling’ Criticism

As a long-time crypto investor with a keen eye for understanding project development and growth strategies, I find myself intrigued by Scroll’s recent partnership with Binance and the subsequent community backlash. Having navigated through various market cycles and seen numerous projects rise and fall, I can appreciate the complexities involved in such strategic decisions.


In response to increasing criticism from its user base following their collaboration with Binance, Scroll has made efforts to explain and justify their actions. This controversy arises due to the perception that they prioritize backing major exchanges over recognizing contributions from community members, an aspect which Scroll’s leadership is now addressing head-on.

Members within the community have voiced their displeasure about what appears to them as an unequal distribution of tokens, seemingly benefiting large Binance investors over smaller, dedicated supporters of Scroll. One community member in particular has expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that the project is “bending to the whims of a Centralized Exchange.

Scroll Co-founder Zhang Defends Strategic Value of Binance Partnership

In response to community concerns, Scroll co-founder Ye Zhang addressed the criticism regarding the partnership with Binance. Zhang emphasized that the collaboration was not merely for listing purposes but a strategic move towards growth and broader market support. 

As an analyst, I’d like to highlight Binance’s significant role in providing onboarding (on-ramp) and offboarding (off-ramp) services for stablecoins, which are vital for growth in emerging markets. Unlike Ethereum, Binance is more widely trusted and utilized in these regions. Ye Zhang made this point clear.

After traveling to Africa, I noticed that Binance is widely utilized by the locals. In fact, it carries a greater sense of authenticity compared to Ethereum for many residents in the region.

Furthermore, Zhang emphasized the importance of having centralized exchange (CEX) backing to stay competitive against other blockchains, such as Tron, which leverages zero-cost stablecoin transfers and strong CEX partnerships to build a powerful network effect. Without this support, the project may encounter the classic “chicken-and-egg” dilemma. This is an issue that layer 2 solutions often face when trying to gain adoption without access to essential infrastructure platforms like Binance’s.

Furthermore, the Scroll’s co-founder additionally discussed the relevant factors and market conditions that made such a partnership crucial. He highlighted that the market landscape has changed significantly since Ethereum’s inception, and during Optimism’s developmental stages, where the use of exchange leverage was not as prominent.

Currently, there’s a significant shift in market dynamics as layer 2 solutions are increasingly seen as commonplace, and the underlying infrastructure is not as attractive or enticing for users.

Zhang pointed out that partnering up could significantly reduce the waiting time for assistance from cryptocurrency exchanges from months to instant. He emphasized that this choice was strategically made with a focus on the future, intending to strengthen the project’s competitive stance.

Addressing Community Concerns on Token Distribution

Moreover, Zhang made it clear that the 5.5% allocated for Binance Launchpool originates from the budget set aside for ecosystem and growth, rather than the community airdrop pool. It’s also worth noting that he affirmed that Scroll has put aside a significant portion of tokens for community incentives.

To prevent larger investors from gaining undue advantages during the pre-sale stage, Scroll has limited each user’s purchase to 2,500 SCR. This move aims to distribute tokens more evenly among potential holders. Moreover, Zhang emphasized his dedication towards long-term community involvement and development. Simultaneously, he hinted that the token distribution plan would cultivate a thriving, decentralized ecosystem that grows steadily over time. In other words, the co-founder declared that they will strive to ensure fairness and promote broad participation in the project’s growth.

“A lot more will come in the coming weeks.”

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2024-10-12 11:50