RootData: January 2026 Cryptocurrency Exchange Transparency Research Report

Author: RootData Research

I. Overview of the Development Status of Cryptocurrency Exchanges in January

1. Overall trading volume sluggish, down 51.2% year-on-year

In January 2026, the overall trading volume of global cryptocurrency exchanges showed a significant sluggish trend, with market activity declining for several consecutive months. The total trading volume was $1.2 trillion, a decrease of 51.2% compared to the same period last year. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell to $2.57 trillion, down 20.7% year-on-year, indicating that both market liquidity and risk appetite are at low levels.

From a temporal perspective, the trend of the crypto market in January exhibited a structural characteristic of "stability at the beginning - weakness in the middle - sharp decline at the end." In the early stages of the month, influenced by the inertia of the rebound at the end of the previous year, the prices of Bitcoin and mainstream assets remained relatively stable, and market sentiment had not shown significant deterioration. Some exchanges even saw a temporary recovery in short-term trading volume. However, this recovery was not based on a continuous inflow of new funds, but rather reflected a rotation of existing funds within a low volatility range.

As the month progressed, the market gradually revealed signs of fatigue. On one hand, Bitcoin repeatedly faced resistance in key technical ranges and failed to effectively break through critical price levels, leading to a noticeable increase in cautious sentiment among investors; on the other hand, overall trading depth and order volume continued to weaken, with the scale of open interest in the derivatives market also declining, indicating that high-frequency trading and leveraged funds were accelerating their exit.

By the end of the month, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant turning point, with market sentiment rapidly deteriorating. After a continuous decline, Bitcoin's price fell below the critical psychological level of $75,000, triggering a chain reaction of stop-loss orders and forced liquidations, further amplifying the declines in mainstream altcoins, with daily liquidation amounts exceeding $2.55 billion, marking the third-highest record in history.

Overall, the continued sluggishness of the crypto market in January 2026 was not caused by a single factor but was the result of multiple adverse conditions. Firstly, the uncertainty of the macroeconomic environment continues to suppress high-risk assets, with repeated disturbances in global interest rate policies, inflation expectations, and geopolitical risks leading funds to prefer a defensive posture, resulting in a sustained decline in the willingness to allocate to risk assets. Secondly, the significant correction of Bitcoin in high price ranges weakened the market consensus on "long-term unilateral growth," prompting institutions and high-net-worth investors to reassess their position structures and reduce the frequency of active trading.

Additionally, the large amount of leverage and short-term speculative funds accumulated during the previous bull market cycle were continuously washed out during the retracement phase, further compressing the trading foundation of exchanges. In the absence of a clear narrative and new fund-driven background, the market entered an adjustment phase characterized by deleveraging and reduced trading frequency, which became the core background for the significant year-on-year decline in trading volume of global cryptocurrency exchanges in January.

2. Frequency of new listings on exchanges significantly reduced, quality projects tend to delay token issuance

According to statistics from RootData, the number of new tokens launched on major cryptocurrency exchanges in January was only 26, creating a near one-year low. Among them, 18 projects were issued for the first time through Binance Alpha, reflecting that the liquidity of Binance Alpha is still recognized by project parties.

Among them, Kraken was the exchange with the most new tokens listed, reaching 22, which included new tokens like SENT and SPACE, as well as existing tokens like HSK, BGB, HYPE, and ALEO, reflecting Kraken's relatively proactive and open strategy in token listings, maintaining platform asset richness and user activity by introducing mature tokens and supplementing liquidity assets. Exchanges like Gate and Bybit also had more than 10 new tokens.

The number of new listings on other major exchanges mostly remained between 6-10, and almost all were new token assets. Due to the overall shrinkage of capital scale, insufficient secondary market absorption capacity, and declining market-making depth, newly issued tokens often struggle to obtain sustained buying support in the early stages of their listings, leading to situations of "listing price drop" and falling below primary market valuations. According to statistics, the vast majority of newly listed tokens on all major exchanges showed a downward trend in January, with only a few tokens like SENT and ACU experiencing price increases during the month.

Currently, the range of choices for new listings is quite limited, and most quality projects are unwilling to choose to issue tokens under the current market conditions. The only project with an FDV exceeding $1 billion is Sentient, and most tokens have fallen below their previous private market valuations.

From a broader perspective, the decline in listing frequency is a product of the interaction between market cycles, liquidity environment, and project financing logic. In the context of continuous trading volume shrinkage and declining risk appetite, exchanges are placing more emphasis on risk control and liquidity pressure for new listings, while project parties tend to delay token issuance, waiting for more favorable market windows. This "bidirectional contraction" is gradually reshaping the supply rhythm of crypto assets, moving exchanges from a previous phase of high-frequency expansion to a noticeable cooling period.

Moreover, among the newly listed tokens on these exchanges, over 70% have a transparency score exceeding 80% according to RootData, reaching the A-level range, reflecting that high transparency projects often find it easier to pass exchange listing reviews.

3. Tokenized gold trading volume reaches new highs, exchanges accelerate layout

In January 2026, the total trading volume of tokenized gold, represented by PAXG and XAUT, reached $32.88 billion, an increase of about 140% compared to the previous month, making it the fastest-growing category of crypto assets in terms of trading volume, contrasting sharply with the overall downturn in the crypto market. The main influencing factors include:

1) Surge in spot gold prices: In January, gold broke through the psychological barrier of $5,000/ounce, reaching a high of $5,312, with a monthly increase of 22%. This was driven by multiple macro factors, including global geopolitical tensions, sustained inflation expectations, uncertainty in the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut path, continued central bank gold purchases, and a weakening dollar, prompting investors to flock to traditional safe-haven assets.

2) Continued sluggishness in the crypto market: During the same period, mainstream crypto assets like Bitcoin performed flat or even showed significant corrections, leading cryptocurrency investors to seek more stable value storage tools, with gold being one of the main hedges and stabilizers.

3) Maturity of the RWA track and liquidity advantages: Tokenized gold offers 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, zero storage/custody fees, and DeFi integration (usable as collateral for lending/yield farming), making it more convenient and efficient compared to traditional gold ETFs or physical gold bars. This month, Tether issued an additional 192,000 XAUT, currently valued at approximately $900 million, accounting for 25% of the total issued amount, significantly enhancing the liquidity and depth of the XAUT gold token, providing a more favorable investment market for institutional investors.

In response, mainstream exchanges have also launched targeted initiatives in tokenized gold to capture this trend and enhance platform stickiness and market share:

1) Binance officially launched the "TradFi Perpetual Contracts" category, with the first products being gold (XAUUSDT) and silver (XAGUSDT).

2) UPBIT listed Tether Gold (XAUT) for the first time and supported KRW, BTC, and USDT trading, while Bithumb launched XAUT trading pairs in Korean won on the same day.

3) Bybit introduced an XAUT savings plan, attracting potential new users with an annual interest rate of up to 11%, with a basic annual interest rate of 1% applicable to balances exceeding 0.1 XAUT.

4) HTX launched perpetual contracts for tokenized gold PAXG, XAUT, and tokenized silver XAG.

II. Transparency-Driven Cryptocurrency Exchange Rankings

In the January cryptocurrency exchange rankings compiled by RootData, Binance, Coinbase, OKX, Bybit, Gate, Kraken, Bitget, Upbit, HTX, Crypto.com, MEXC, Kucoin, Bitmart, Hashkey Exchange, Bullish, Gemini, Bitfinex, Phemex, Toobit, and Bithumb ranked in the top 20.

This ranking is based on RootData's rich data, integrating various indicators such as trading volume, reserve size, listing performance, compliance, and transparency of each exchange, while avoiding the impact of trading volume manipulation on the rankings, to objectively reflect the competitiveness and ranking of exchanges in the cryptocurrency market.

Among them, Binance, Coinbase, and OKX ranked in the top three due to their strong overall strength. Upbit, HashKey Exchange, and Gemini, although lagging in trading volume compared to first- and second-tier exchanges, successfully made it into the top 20 rankings due to their scores in compliance and transparency. Bitmart, Phemex, and Toobit, despite having large trading volumes, ranked relatively lower due to their lower transparency scores.

III. Major Exchange Cases and Analysis

Binance

In January, Binance's overall trading volume was $396.8 billion, an increase of 10.5% compared to the previous month, but a decrease of 52.1% year-on-year, approximately four times that of the second-ranked exchange in trading volume.

In terms of new listings, Binance launched 8 new assets in the spot market this month, including SENT, RLUSD, FOGO, U, ZKP, Binance Life, BREV, and KGST, and 20 new assets in the contract market, among which 5 assets belong to the newly launched TradFi perpetual contracts category, including gold and Tesla stocks.

By the end of the month, Binance faced significant public criticism, originating from comments made by Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood on a television program, where she stated that Bitcoin's recent high-level pullback was influenced by the $28 billion deleveraging event caused by a software failure at Binance last October. This statement brought Binance's "irresponsible" performance during the 1011 incident back into the public eye, attracting criticism from many well-known industry figures. In response, Binance announced it would convert $1 billion of stablecoin reserves in the SAFU fund into Bitcoin reserves within 30 days.

Bybit

In January, Bybit's overall trading volume was $75 billion, a decrease of 16.2% compared to the previous month and a decline of 68% year-on-year, with a relatively large drop among first-tier exchanges, yet it still ranked fourth in the RootData exchange rankings.

This month, Bybit launched 10 new spot assets, including BIRD, ELSA, SKR, USAT, SENT, FOGO, LIT, ELSA, IMU, FIGHT, PYBOBO, and WHITEWHALE. In terms of business actions, Bybit announced the launch of a yield-bearing collateral stablecoin BYUSDT for retail traders, representing a tokenized form of users' USDT earning balances, which can be used as margin in Bybit's unified trading account.

Bybit also released its vision for 2026 at the end of the month, positioning itself as a "new financial platform" to surpass its initial identity as a cryptocurrency exchange and become a unified financial platform connecting cryptocurrencies, traditional markets, and real-world financial services. Its specific plans include launching retail-level banking service layer MyBank, listing stock CFDs/forex/commodities and indices as TradFi products, and deploying AI as core infrastructure across various operational segments.

OKX

In January, OKX's overall trading volume was $57.8 billion, an increase of 4.9% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 37.8% year-on-year. OKX ranked third in the RootData exchange rankings this month.

In terms of new listings, OKX launched six tokens in the spot market this month, including USAT, SENT, SPACE, LIT, FOGO, and BREV, a significant increase from the two in December. In the contract market, it launched seven tokens, including SPACE, ACU, FUN, FOGO, ZAMA, RIVER, and ZKP, while delisting seven spot assets, including ULTI, GEAR, VRA, DAO, CXT, RDNT, and ELON.

In terms of business, OKX officially announced the launch of the OKX Planet community, aimed at creating a crypto community that integrates information acquisition, trading opportunity sharing, active creators, and deep communities, in response to Binance's Square. This product has already started internal testing, attracting quality KOLs and creators through a weekly cash prize pool.

At the end of the month, OKX founder Xu Mingxing unusually delivered a lengthy speech via video at a company event, sharing his thoughts on the company's business and the industry. He stated that in 2026, OKX would focus on three directions: compliant trading services, multi-asset on-chain infrastructure, and payment and wallet experience. Xu further emphasized that X Layer is one of OKX's core infrastructures, with OKB serving as both an ecological token and gas token, having a clear and long-term positioning.

Coinbase

In January, Coinbase's overall trading volume was $70.05 billion, an increase of 15.7% compared to the previous month, but a decrease of 56.5% year-on-year. Coinbase ranked second in the RootData exchange rankings this month.

In terms of new listings, Coinbase launched seven assets in the spot market this month, including FIGHT, SENT, FUN, ELSA, IMU, SKR, and BIRB.

In addition to its existing business, Coinbase continues to expand more business lines, extending its prediction market services to users in all 50 states of the U.S. through a partnership with Kalshi. It also announced that it would fully launch tokenized stock trading features in the coming weeks to create an "all-in-one exchange."

At the strategic level, Coinbase announced the establishment of an independent advisory committee on quantum computing and blockchain, aimed at assessing the impact of quantum computing on the blockchain ecosystem. Coinbase also announced partnerships with Bermuda and Circle, aiming to build a fully on-chain economic system and deploy digital asset infrastructure among governments, enterprises, and consumers.

Gate

In January, Gate's overall trading volume was $79.9 billion, an increase of 9.3% compared to the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 26%, making it the only first-tier exchange to show year-on-year growth. Gate ranked fifth in the RootData exchange rankings this month.

In terms of new listings, Gate launched 22 new coins in January, including BIRB, GWEI, and SKR, significantly more than Binance, OKX, and Coinbase, and second only to a few exchanges like Kraken. This reflects Gate's desire to stimulate user trading willingness through more new tokens, but it also saw multiple tokens with declines exceeding 90%.

In terms of business, Gate TradFi opened traditional financial asset CFD trading services covering gold, silver, forex, indices, commodities, and some popular stocks to users. At the beginning of the month, Gate also launched the AI market assistant GateAI to help users make judgments and execute trades more efficiently in complex market environments, becoming one of the first exchanges to integrate AI chatbots.

Other Important Exchange Updates:

• Kraken launched DeFi Earn products in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, providing users with convenient on-chain yield opportunities.
• KuCoin appointed former London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) executive Sabina Liu to lead its European business.
• KuCoin Web3 launched a decentralized Web3 wallet, natively supporting perpetual trading within the wallet.
• Bybit announced its latest positioning as a "new financial platform," creating a unified financial platform connecting cryptocurrencies, traditional markets, and real-world financial services.
• Bitget appointed Oliver Stauber as CEO of its European operations and established a regional headquarters in Austria.
• Bitpanda announced plans to launch a unified investment platform integrating stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies, with an IPO planned in Frankfurt in the first half of 2026, targeting a valuation of €4 billion to €5 billion.