Mar 05, 2023
Binance Accused of “Blatantly” Copying Hackathon Winner
Crypto exchange Binance has been accused of copying the winner of the BNB Chain hackathon after launching Bicasso — an AI-based nonfungible token (NFT) creation tool. Just two months after awarding Chatcasso first prize in a BNB Chain hackathon held in Seoul from Dec. 17–19, 2022, Binance released a similar tool.
On March 1, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao unveiled Bicasso, a product that can be used to “turn your creative visions into NFTs with AI.” However, community member “ggoma” claims Binance copied and promoted the Chatcasso project as its own.
Binance denies the allegations of plagiarism, citing that Bicasso is an experimental project built by a small team at Binance as a test and that NFTs and AI are common concepts worked on by many industry players. Chatcasso won the first prize in the BNB Chain hackathon for creating an AI-powered tool for creating NFTs and received $5,000 in Binance USD (BUSD).
Ggoma was shocked to see Binance launch a similar platform within two months, stating:
“A big company like Binance copying everything down to the name? It’s not only unethical, but it’s also confusing for users. The names are so similar that it’s hard to tell them apart.”
Ggoma shared screenshots of the two projects to showcase the similarities between the user interface and capabilities. Binance maintains that the similarities do not imply theft of ideas and that Bicasso was designed and developed independently more than two weeks before the BNB hackathon.
The Bicasso name was inspired by the OpenAI tool “Dall-E,” referring to the artist Salvador Dali. The exchange’s spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “Our team loved this concept.”
The entire episode has made ggoma skeptical of entering hackathons in the future, as he wondered if a market leader would rebrand innovative ideas at a later stage. “We hope that Binance realizes the impact of their actions and takes steps to right their wrongs,” ggoma added while warning builders that “there are companies out there who will try to take advantage of your hard work.”
Binance’s Bicasso was an instant hit among NFT investors, as the AI-powered NFT generator recorded 10,000 mints in 2.5 hours.
CZ recently warned investors that a photoshopped image with misinformation was circulating on WeChat, a social media platform in China. CZ highlighted the importance of dismissing fear, uncertainty and doubt, advising investors to ignore false allegations that surface occasionally.
As the web3 space continues to evolve and the demand for NFTs rises, it is essential that companies are aware of the implications of their actions. Binance’s alleged plagiarism of Chatcasso’s project has raised questions about the ethicality of NFT marketing, and has highlighted the need for a more transparent approach to NFT promotion.
NFT marketing agencies and web3 agencies have a responsibility to support and protect the innovative projects of their clients. Companies should practice caution when entering hackathons, and should be aware of the potential for a market leader to rebrand their ideas.
In order to ensure that the NFT industry remains an ethical and fair space, companies should ensure that they are transparent and honest with their marketing practices. This includes avoiding plagiarism and the promotion of stolen ideas.
Disclaimer: All investment or financial opinions expressed by MoonLanding Media are not recommendations and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Do your own research prior to making any kind of investment. This article has been generated based on trending topics, has not been fact checked and may contain incorrect information. Please verify all information before relying on it.
