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 "initial stability - mid-weakness - sharp decline at the end." In the early part 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 experienced a temporary recovery in short-term trading volume. However, this recovery was not based on a sustained 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 zones 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, and the scale of open contracts in the derivatives market also declined, 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 of mainstream altcoins. The total amount of liquidations in a single day exceeded $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 rather 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 funding drivers, 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 by major cryptocurrency exchanges in January was only 26, marking a nearly one-year low. Among them, 18 projects were issued for the first time through Binance Alpha, reflecting that Binance Alpha's liquidity is still recognized by project parties.

Among them, Kraken was the exchange with the most new tokens launched, reaching 22, which included new tokens like SENT and SPACE, as well as existing tokens like HSK, BGB, HYPE, and ALEO. This reflects Kraken's relatively proactive and open strategy in terms of token listings, maintaining platform asset richness and user activity by introducing mature tokens and supplementing liquidity assets. Exchanges like Gate and Bybit also launched 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 gain sustained buying support in the early stages of their launch, leading to "listing price breaks" and falling below primary market valuations. According to statistics, the vast majority of newly listed tokens on 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 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 interplay between market cycles, liquidity environments, and project financing logic. In the context of continuously shrinking trading volumes and declining risk appetite, exchanges are placing greater 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 "mutual 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% received a transparency score exceeding 80% in RootData's evaluation, reaching the A-level range, reflecting that high-transparency projects often find it easier to pass the listing review on exchanges.

3. Tokenized gold trading volume hits 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 approximately 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 per ounce, reaching a peak 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, with a current market capitalization of 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 measures in the area of 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 launched Tether Gold (XAUT) for the first time and supports KRW, BTC, and USDT trading, while Bithumb launched the XAUT/KRW trading pair on the same day.

3) Bybit introduced the XAUT flexible yield 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 and other cheating behaviors on the rankings, objectively reflecting 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 lower due to their low 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% from the previous month, but a decrease of 52.1% compared to the same period last year, making it about four times the trading volume of the second-ranked exchange.

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 launched 20 new assets in the contract market, including INX, BIRB, FIGHT, and GWEI, of which 5 belong to Binance's newly introduced TradFi perpetual contracts, 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 public discourse, 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% from the previous month and a decline of 68% compared to the same period last 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 transcend its initial identity as a cryptocurrency exchange and become a unified financial platform connecting cryptocurrency, traditional markets, and real-world financial services. Its specific plans include launching retail-level banking service layer MyBank, listing TradFi products such as stock CFDs/forex/commodities and indices, 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% from the previous month, but a decrease of 37.8% compared to the same period last 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 ULT, 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 competition with Binance Square. This product has already entered 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 experiences. 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% from the previous month, but a decrease of 56.5% compared to the same period last 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 a "one-stop 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 collaborations with Bermuda and Circle to build a fully on-chain economic system, deploying 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% from the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 26%, making it the only first-tier exchange to experience year-on-year growth. Gate ranked fifth in the RootData exchange rankings this month.

In terms of new listings, Gate launched 22 new tokens 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, although several tokens also experienced declines exceeding 90%.

In terms of business, Gate TradFi opened trading services for traditional financial asset CFDs covering gold, silver, forex, indices, commodities, and some popular stocks. 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 a complex market environment, becoming one of the first exchanges to integrate AI chatbots.

Other Important Exchange Developments:

• 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 new positioning as a "new financial platform," creating a unified financial platform connecting cryptocurrency, traditional markets, and real-world financial services.
• Bitget appointed Oliver Stauber as CEO for Europe 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.