Luck of the Draw: New Binance Launchpad Lottery Structure Divides Critics

Despite the changing attitude toward altcoins and initial coin offerings on the whole, Launchpad - the token offering platform developed by the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance - is selling out of its offerings in a matter of minutes.

On March 24, prominent cryptocurrency exchange Binance published a post laying out fundamental changes to the structure of its Launchpad token sale platform.

According to the press release, the company will now use a lottery-style format for its future token sales on Launchpad. As per the press release, the new system will focus around a lottery ticket initiative in which service users will be able to claim a maximum of five tickets by holding a certain amount of Binance Coin over the 20-day period preceding the lottery.

"If you look at the number of participants CZ has publicly announced on his Twitter, the demand is actually growing for Launchpad with each session. For example, 39,003 people participated in the recent Launchpad token sale, whereas only 19,860 people participated in the token sale prior."

CZ Binance March 24, 2019 The CEO also made sure to point out that people should only take part in Launchpad token sales if they are in a financially stable position and can factor in the losses that they may potentially suffer.

"BNB price will fluctuate during the 20 day period. If BNB price drops, it is entirely possible the drop in BNB price will outweigh any gains made by the new token. That is first assuming you win in the lottery draw. Further, the new token being sold is not guaranteed to increase in price. It may drop in price. There are significant risks. You are responsible for your own decisions."

In recent months Binance Launchpad completed a number of high-profile token sales.

Participant token purchases were capped at $3,000, with a minimum investment threshold of $20. Binance also concluded the sale of Tron-based BitTorrent token on Jan. 28, bringing in a total of $7.1 million dollars and a total sale of 50 billion tokens in less than 15 minutes.

According to Leon Li, founder and CEO of Huobi Group, the new service stems from customer demand and has been designed "From the ground up to be a more innovative, direct and responsive way to access up and coming new tokens."

"Many IEOs are popping up on other exchanges, so we anticipate new formats and systems. Binance Launchpad will always uphold the highest standards for token launches; we select the highest quality projects and seek to provide the best user experience."