In an industry built on decentralisation, transparency, and community governance, what happened to Dr. Yonatan Sompolinsky at the Binance Blockchain Awards is more than a simple oversight — it is a revealing moment for the entire crypto ecosystem.
Sompolinsky, whose academic work on blockDAGs laid the foundation for some of the most innovative scaling research in recent years, won the Independent Researcher category. The community voted. The results were public. His contributions are widely recognised, even beyond Kaspa circles.
His follow-up message, posted after the event, drew nearly 3 million views — a level of engagement that underlines not only the significance of the issue but also the respect he commands within the broader crypto community.
And yet, when the time came for the actual ceremony, his name was never mentioned.
No introduction.
No recognition.
Not even a passing acknowledgement that he was the rightful winner.
Instead, the award was presented to the runner-up as though the actual winner did not exist.
To date, Binance has offered no explanation and no public response to Sompolinsky’s message. The silence is striking — and telling.
A Reflection of Priorities
What makes this episode so concerning is not the single act of omission but the broader message it conveys.
Crypto was created as a counterweight to opaque, centralised systems — a way to empower builders, researchers, and communities rather than gatekeepers. Yet this situation suggests that even in a supposedly decentralised industry, power can still be wielded in ways that marginalise inconvenient voices.
For a platform that dominates global trading volumes and shapes market narratives, Binance’s refusal to acknowledge a winner chosen by its own community raises uncomfortable questions about:
- How decisions are made behind closed doors
- Whose voices are elevated — and whose are ignored
- Whether commercial interests are now overshadowing community-driven values
This is not about Kaspa.
This is not about tribalism.
This is about the treatment of a respected researcher whose contributions genuinely advanced blockchain science.
You don’t have to support Kaspa to recognise that something is fundamentally wrong here.
Crypto’s Image Problem — and Why This Moment Matters
The industry often speaks about fairness, openness, and empowering builders. But moments like this expose the gap between crypto’s ideals and its reality.
Censoring or sidelining independent researchers — especially at a ceremony meant to celebrate them — sends a chilling message:
Only those who align with corporate narratives are welcome on stage.
For many, this is one of the clearest examples yet of the tension between the early cypherpunk ethos and the increasingly corporate nature of today’s major exchanges.
And that is why people will remember this moment.
Not because of one award.
Not because of one researcher.
But because it revealed the priorities of one of the most powerful players in crypto — and reminded the industry how fragile “decentralisation” becomes when influence is concentrated.
A Turning Point?
The controversy surrounding Sompolinsky’s omission isn’t going away. The community has noticed. Researchers have noticed. Even people with no ties to Kaspa have voiced concern.
Whether Binance chooses to address the situation or continue to ignore it will say more about the future of crypto governance than any marketing campaign or conference speech ever could.
Because in the end, this isn’t about who won an award.
It’s about whether the industry still values truth, transparency, and the people who push the technology forward — or whether those ideals are being quietly replaced by the priorities of centralised power.
