CoinMarketCap’s New Boost Feature Sparks Controversy

CoinMarketCap (CMC) recently unveiled Boost, a new service that allows users to increase a token’s trending score. Anyone can buy these boosts, whether they are developers or ordinary traders.

This feature has sparked a lot of controversy, with supporters believing Boost will support organic hype, and opponents fearing biased data and market manipulation. Some of CMC’s Top 10 trending tokens are currently boosted.

CoinMarketCap’s Token Boosts

CoinMarketCap is one of the world’s leading crypto data and analysis firms, and small-cap tokens can gain a lot of notoriety by trending on it.

Since this spotlight is so coveted, it’s logical that CoinMarketCap would seek an opportunity to monetize it, which is where the new Boost service comes in:

CMC Feature Release | CMC BoostThe Boost feature gives projects the option to amplify their presence on by climbing trending lists across CoinMarketCap.

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) September 2, 2025

According to CoinMarketCap’s press release, Boost will allow users to pay cash to lift a token’s trending score. This won’t necessarily guarantee that it trends, but it’ll help an asset’s chances for either 12 or 24 hours.

Boosted tokens are clearly marked, and two of the Top 10 trending assets on CMC are currently boosted:

CoinMarketCap Boosts in Action. Source: CoinMarketCap

To be clear, anyone can boost a token on CoinMarketCap; the service isn’t reserved for project developers. This could encourage organic community hype to facilitate a meme coin’s rise, and many traders are enthusiastic about the upgrade.

Controversy Brews Among Users

Still, though, one user can buy as many Boosts as they like, and CoinMarketCap will apply their benefits additively. Some small projects are concerned that this will create unfair new hurdles, while retailers think Boost could poison the platform’s reputation for unbiased data.

Also, users won’t likely know how heavily the algorithm considers Boost scores.

a little confused. What is the algo to rank listings under trending? The project that pays the most fees?I think you may have scared away 80% of crypto traders who are non-trenchers.

— tomo.apt | Mereo (@apt_tomo) September 3, 2025

To be clear, CoinMarketCap has endured many controversies like Boost over the years. It’s been accused of requiring “Hostage Fees” to increase new projects’ visibility, sparking calls to leave the platform.

Earlier this year, bot trading allegations called the site’s own metrics into question.

Still, Boost could end up damaging CoinMarketCap’s reputation. The highest tier of Boost currently costs $4,000 for 24 hours, so it could be cheap for market manipulators to pump an asset’s value.

Small developer teams, on the other hand, might only see Boost as one more hurdle preventing success.

Either way, there’s no question about it: CoinMarketCap’s trending data is no longer purely objective. Future traders may need to consider whether Boost is a deal-breaker or a new opportunity.