CoinMarketCap is owned by Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance officially announced that it had completed the acquisition of CoinMarketCap on April 2, 2020.
Who Founded CoinMarketCap?
CoinMarketCap was founded in 2013 by Brandon Chez. It became one of the most widely used cryptocurrency data websites, tracking crypto prices, market capitalization, trading volume, exchange rankings, token pages, and market data.
Before the Binance acquisition, CoinMarketCap operated as an independent crypto data platform. After the acquisition, Brandon Chez stepped down from the CEO role, and CoinMarketCap continued operating under Binance ownership.
Is CoinMarketCap Still Independent?
When Binance acquired CoinMarketCap, Binance said that CoinMarketCap would continue to operate independently. The official Binance announcement described the deal as a way to make crypto information more accessible worldwide and stated that CoinMarketCap would remain a major crypto data-tracking platform.
However, the acquisition created debate in the crypto industry because Binance is also a major exchange listed and ranked on CoinMarketCap. Some analysts and users raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, especially around exchange rankings and market data presentation.
Is CoinMarketCap Owned by Binance or CZ?
CoinMarketCap is owned by Binance as a company, not personally by Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ. CZ was Binance’s founder and CEO at the time of the acquisition, but the acquisition was made by Binance.
So the accurate answer is:
CoinMarketCap was founded by Brandon Chez and is currently owned by Binance after Binance acquired it in April 2020.