A recent statement from the founder of a leading exchange has brutally exposed the industry's facade—

“If a project is truly valuable, exchanges will scramble to list it; on the other hand, if you have to pay and beg to get listed, maybe you should first ask yourself how much you're really worth.”

That’s a harsh truth. How many project teams haven’t even finished their whitepapers before rushing to spend big money just to buy a listing spot? And what happens? Three days after listing, trading volume drops to zero, the team disappears, and retail investors lose everything.

**Strong projects never lack a stage**
The industry truth is actually simple: stop fixating on how expensive listing fees are or how demanding airdrop requirements might be. For quality projects, CEXs will proactively reach out to discuss cooperation—because if they’re a step too late, their competitors might grab the traffic. Listing fees are never the real issue; a weak product is the true dealbreaker.

**Users are the only real hard currency**
What’s the biggest benefit of the decentralized world? The power of choice is in your hands. Think listing fees are a rip-off? Then go to a DEX—list for free, no barriers. Some decentralized exchanges have never charged a cent for listing, and their trading volume still skyrockets—the market only cares about one thing: can you satisfy users.

There are really only three types of listing strategies on CEXs:
1. **Open-door type**: Accept any token, resulting in a flood of junk projects and scams;
2. **Paid screening type**: Charge listing fees or require airdrops, essentially trading money for a sense of security;
3. **Hybrid mechanism type**: Deposits, tiered reviews, Web3 channels—balancing risk and reward.

This isn’t a black-and-white moral issue, just different strategic choices at different stages.

**What is true competitiveness?**
Project teams should focus on the fundamentals: refining the product, building the ecosystem, and retaining users. Exchanges should stick to their core duties: protecting users and screening projects. Whether they charge fees or not is just a matter of business model.

To sum it up: strong projects are fought over by exchanges, weak projects can shout all they want and no one will care.

Real competitiveness in crypto has never been about “paying to play,” but about making platforms feel they can’t afford not to approach you. Understanding this is a thousand times more valuable than studying listing strategies.