Binance is planning to delist 14 tokens from its platform on April 16 in a move designed to purge low-quality projects that do not adhere to the crypto exchange’s tighter listing requirements. 

The tokens are being delisted following a “comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors,” including the exchange’s first “vote to delist” results, where community members nominated projects with less than stellar metrics, Binance announced on April 8.

Other factors included the team’s commitment to the project, development activity, trading volume and liquidity, network stability, responsiveness to Binance’s due diligence requests and new regulatory requirements. 

The tokens selected for delisting are Badger (BADGER), Balancer (BAL), Beta Finance (BETA), Cream Finance (CREAM), Cortex (CTXF), Aaelf (ELF), Firo (FIRO), Kava Lend (HARD), NULS (NULS), Prosper (PROS), Status (SNT), TROY (TROY), UniLend (UFT) and VIDT DAO (VIDT).

Source: Binance

Binance has tightened its listing requirements over the past year in an attempt to boost investor protections. In March 2024, the company extended its so-called “cliff period” — or the length of time listed tokens can’t be sold — to at least one year, according to Bloomberg. 

Related: Binance co-founder clarifies asset listing policies, dispels FUD

As tokens proliferate, listing requirements tighten across the board

Binance isn’t the only cryptocurrency exchange to tighten its listing requirements amid increased regulatory scrutiny. Last October, Bitget announced an overhaul of its token listing process, prioritizing factors such as fully diluted valuation, investor lock-up periods and project business plans. 

In South Korea, crypto exchanges have also beefed up their listing requirements due to new regulations, which included limitations on tokens that have been traded domestically for less than two years.

Stringent listing requirements are also needed to weed out the flood of new tokens that are hitting the market every day.

In the wake of the memecoin mania, platforms like CoinMarketCap track a staggering 13.24 million cryptocurrencies. The actual number of cryptocurrencies far exceeds that level. 

Some analysts have argued that the oversupply of tokens partly explains why the long-awaited “altseason” never really took off this cycle. 

The surge in the number of cryptocurrencies may have diluted altseason. Source: Ali Martinez

“Today, there are over 36.4 million altcoins, compared to fewer than 3,000 during the 2017-2018 alt season and even fewer than 500 altcoins in 2013-2014,” crypto analyst Ali Martinez wrote on social media.

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