OKEx Founder Questions Motive Behind $400 Million Coinmarketcap Acquisition

• Binance set to acquire Coinmarketcap (CMC) in a deal that is set to top the $400million mark, making it one of the largest crypto acquisitions ever.
• OKEx founder, Jay Hao, however, questions the motive behind the exchange acquiring what should be an independent crypto data site.

As we end the never-ending month of March 2020, Coinmarketcap founders will be the most pleased in the crypto space as Binance is rumored to be in line for a $400 million acquisition of the data aggregator. The exchange is holding its final talks with CMC in a possible cash-and-stock deal that may be completed later in the week.

However, the community has had varying opinions on the deal, some rejoicing at their favorite crypto exchange building its portfolio in the crypto field while others questioned the valuation and “lack of independence” from one of the most trusted data aggregators in the crypto world. One of the critics is Binance’s competitor, OKEx founder, Jay Hao, who claims Binance may have an ulterior motive.

OKEx founder hits out: “Use the funds to buy back $BNB”

In a short but heated tweet addressed to Binance Founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Jay questioned the valuation of CMC acquisition hinting Coinmarketcap may not be that much. A quoted tweet responding to the story reads:

“Hey @cz_binance, why don’t you just give @Binance a $1 trillion valuation then acquire @CoinMarketCap at $4 billion?”

Hao is implying a form of centralization will take place following Binance’s influence once they acquire the once independent data aggregator. The OKEx founder, however, was not alone on questioning the huge buyout as some traders and investors also raised the inconsistencies on the platform.

Not only did Hao criticize the acquisition of CMC, but he offered a “better” option for the use of the $400 million – buyback a fifth of Binance Coin (BNB) supply. He wrote,

“Imo it’s better to use the $ 400 million to buy back $BNB, that will do more good to your customers.”

Coingecko promises big plans in 2020

CMC nemesis, Coingecko, which has risen to rank as one of the most trusted data aggregators, and the community cheered on the exchange, shortly following Binance-CMC acquisition. The aggregator witnessed a 5% increase in the number of visits registering a total of 22.53 million visits in the past month.

Now the team has come forward thanking the community, and promising big plans for the project this year. Coingecko team wrote on Twitter,

“Hey guys, thank you all for the support. Feeling so much love from all of you. We will work hard to uphold data integrity and continue building better tools so that you can track the crypto market transparently. Big plans coming up in 2020.”