The Truth of Liquidity: 2024 Exchange Coin Listing Effect Research Report

1. Introduction to Research

1.1 Research Background

Since 2024, the market has extensively discussed VC tokens with high fully diluted valuation ( FDV ) but low circulating market cap ( MC ). As the MC/FDV ratio of newly issued tokens has dropped to its lowest in three years, it indicates that a large number of tokens will be unlocked and enter the market in the future. Although the initially low circulation may drive short-term price increases, this upward trend lacks sustainability. Once a large number of tokens are unlocked, the risk of oversupply increases, and investors are concerned that this market structure will struggle to provide long-term support for price increases.

As a result, investor interest has shifted from VC tokens to Meme coins. The characteristic of Meme coins is that most are unlocked at TGE, resulting in high liquidity and no selling pressure from future unlocks. This structure reduces market supply pressure and boosts investor confidence. Many Meme coins are issued with an MC/FDV close to 1, meaning holders will not face dilution from further issuance, providing a relatively stable market environment. As awareness of the risks of large-scale token unlocks has deepened, investor interest has gradually turned to these high liquidity, low inflation rate Meme coins, even though they may lack practical application scenarios.

The current market landscape requires investors to be more cautious in selecting tokens. However, investors find it difficult to independently assess the value and potential of each project, at which point the screening mechanism of exchanges becomes crucial. As the "gatekeepers" that directly push token assets to users, centralized exchanges not only verify the compliance and market potential of tokens but also play a role in filtering high-quality projects. Although there are voices suggesting that on-chain trading will surpass CEX trading, Klein Labs believes that the market share of CEX will not be taken away by on-chain trading. Factors such as the trading experience of CEX, centralized asset custody, user habits, liquidity barriers, and global regulatory compliance trends make it so that the trading share of CEX will long exceed that of on-chain trading.

So, how do centralized exchanges filter and decide which projects to list among the many? How has the overall performance of the coins listed in the past year been? Is the performance of these tokens related to the exchanges they are listed on?

To address these questions, this study aims to explore the listing of coins on various exchanges, analyze their actual impact on the token market performance, with a focus on changes in trading volume and price fluctuation characteristics after listing, in order to identify the impact of different exchanges on the market performance of coins after they are listed.

1.2 Research Methods

1.2.1 Research Object

We combine the exchange with regions and market orientation, primarily dividing it into three categories:

Created by Chinese, aimed at the world: Binance, Bybit, OKX, Bitget, KuCoin, Gate, etc. Major exchanges founded and invested by Chinese, targeting the global market.

Korea's creation, aimed at the local market: Bithumb, UPbit, etc. Mainly targeting the South Korean local market.

Created in the United States, targeting Europe and America: Coinbase, Kraken, etc. US exchanges mainly target the Europe and America market and are usually subject to strict regulation by the SEC, CFTC, and others.

Exchanges in regions such as Latin America, India, and Africa, where the overall trading volume and liquidity are less than 5%, will not be analyzed in depth in this research report.

We selected a total of 10 representative exchanges above, analyzing their coin listing performance, including the number of coin listing events and their subsequent market impact.

1.2.2 Time Range

Mainly focus on the price changes of the token on the 1st day after TGE, in the previous 7 days and the previous 30 days, analyzing its trends, volatility patterns, and market reactions, the reasons are as follows:

• On the first day of TGE, new assets are issued, and trading volume is highly active, reflecting the market's immediate acceptance. It is significantly influenced by the rush to buy and FOMO sentiment, making it a critical phase for the initial pricing of the market.
• The price changes in the first 7 days after the TGE can capture the market's short-term sentiment towards the new token, as well as the initial recognition of the project's fundamentals, measuring the sustainability of market enthusiasm, and returning to the project's reasonable initial pricing.
• The first 30 days after TGE will observe the long-term support of the token, short-term speculation cooling down, speculators gradually exiting, and whether the token price and trading volume are maintained will become an important reference for market recognition.

1.2.3 Data Processing

This study employs a systematic data processing method to ensure the scientific nature of the analysis. Compared to common research methods on the market, this study is more intuitive, concise, and efficient.

The data mainly comes from TradingView and covers the price data of new tokens launched on major exchanges in 2024, including initial listing prices, market prices at different time points, and trading volumes. Due to the large number of sample points, this large-scale data analysis helps reduce the impact of individual anomalous data on the overall trend, thereby improving the reliability of the statistical results.

(I) Overview of Multiple Variables for Coin Listing Activities

This study employs multivariate analysis methods, comprehensively considering factors such as market conditions, trading depth, and liquidity to ensure the comprehensiveness and scientific nature of the results. We compared the average price fluctuations of new coins across different exchanges and conducted an in-depth analysis in conjunction with the market positioning of the exchanges, such as user base, liquidity, and coin listing strategies (.

)II( Average value judgment of overall performance

To measure the performance of the token market, we calculate the percentage change relative to the initial listing price of the coin)Percentage Change(, the formula is as follows:

Percentage Change = )Current Price - Initial Price( / Initial Price * 100%

Considering that extreme situations in the market may affect the overall data trend, we excluded the top 10% and bottom 10% extreme outliers to reduce the interference of occasional market events ) such as sudden positive news, market manipulation, and liquidity anomalies ( on the statistical results. This treatment makes the calculation results more representative and can more accurately reflect the real market performance of new coins on different exchanges. Subsequently, we calculated the average price fluctuation of new coins on each exchange to measure the overall market performance of new coins on different platforms.

)III( Coefficient of Variation Stability Assessment

Coefficient of Variation, CV) is an indicator that measures the relative volatility of data, with the calculation formula being:

CV = σ / μ

In this context, σ represents the standard deviation, and μ represents the mean. The coefficient of variation is a dimensionless indicator that is not affected by the units of data, making it suitable for comparing the volatility of different data sets. In market analysis, CV is primarily used to measure the relative volatility of prices or returns. In exchange or token price analysis, CV can reflect the relative stability of different markets, providing investors with a basis for risk assessment. The coefficient of variation is used here instead of the standard deviation because it has higher applicability compared to the standard deviation.

2. Overview of Coin Listing Activities

( 2.1 exchange comparison

)# 2.1.1 Number of coins and FDV preference

From the overall data, top exchanges ### such as Binance, UPbit, and Coinbase ### generally have fewer coins listed compared to other exchanges. This reflects that the different positions of the exchanges influence their coin listing styles.

From the perspective of the number of new coins listed, exchanges like Binance, OKX, UPbit, and Coinbase have stricter listing rules, resulting in fewer but larger-scale listings; while exchanges like Gate list new assets more frequently, providing more trading opportunities. Data shows that the number of new listings is roughly negatively correlated with FDV, meaning exchanges that list more high FDV projects typically have fewer new coin listings.

CEX adopts different strategies to determine the priority of listing coins, focusing on different FDV levels. Here we categorize projects based on their FDV to better understand the exchange's coin listing standards. When valuing tokens, we often consider MC and FDV, which together reflect token valuation, market size, and Liquidity.

• MC only calculates the total value of currently circulating tokens and does not consider future unlocked tokens, which may underestimate the project's true valuation, especially when most tokens have not yet been unlocked, leading to potential misguidance.
• FDV is calculated based on the total supply of all tokens, which can more comprehensively reflect the potential valuation of the project, helping investors assess future selling pressure risks and long-term value. For low MC/FDV projects, the short-term reference significance of FDV is limited, and it is more of a long-term reference.

Therefore, when analyzing newly launched tokens, FDV is more referential than Market Cap. Here we choose FDV as the standard.

In addition, regarding the attitude towards initial coin offerings, most exchanges typically adopt a balanced strategy, taking into account both initial and non-initial projects, but usually have higher requirements for non-initial projects, as initial projects tend to attract more new users. Furthermore, the two South Korean exchanges UPbit and Bithumb mainly focus on non-initial coin offerings. This is because, compared to initial offerings, non-initial offerings can reduce screening risks and avoid issues related to market fluctuations and initial liquidity shortages during the initial phase. At the same time, for project teams, compared to initial offerings, they do not need to bear excessive market promotion and liquidity management pressure; non-initial offerings can leverage existing market recognition to drive growth.

( 2.1.2 Track Preference

)# Binance

In 2024, the number of Meme coins still accounts for the largest proportion. Infra and DeFi projects have a relatively large share. The number of coins in the RWA and DePIN tracks is relatively small on Binance, but their overall performance is quite good. Among them, USUAL spot has the highest increase of 7081%. Although Binance is relatively cautious in selecting coins in these areas, once they are listed, market reactions are usually positive. In the second half of the year, Binance's preference for coins in the AI track is clearly leaning towards AI Agent tokens, which have the highest proportion among AI projects.

In 2024, Binance shows a preference for the BNB ecosystem. For example, the launch of projects like BANANA and CGPT indicates that Binance is strengthening its support for its own on-chain ecosystem.

![The Truth of Liquidity: 2024 Exchange Coin Effect Research Report]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-bed20e181875335ff869665917570020.webp###

(# OKX

Looking at the number of coins on OKX, it also has the most Meme coins, accounting for about 25%. Compared to other exchanges, it has more coins in the public chain and infrastructure tracks, with a total share reaching as high as 34%. This indicates that compared to others, OKX is more focused on underlying technological innovation, scalability optimization, and sustainable development of the blockchain ecosystem in 2024.

In the emerging track, OKX has only launched 4 types of AI coins, including DMAIL and GPT, and has launched 3 new coins in the RWA track, while there are only 3 in the DePIN track. This reflects OKX's relatively cautious layout in the relatively emerging tracks.

![The Truth About Liquidity: 2024 Exchange Coin Effect Research Report])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-d2a5ccac111758c544e2dddac56837b6.webp###

(# UPbit

The biggest characteristic of UPbit's token listing in 2024 is its broad coverage of sectors, with tokens generally performing well. In 2024, UNI and BNT were launched on the DEX sector. This indicates that UPbit still has significant potential and development space for listing popular assets, as many mainstream or high market capitalization tokens have yet to be listed, which may further expand support in the future. At the same time, this also reflects UPbit's strict review of token listings, showing a preference for carefully selecting assets with long-term potential.

On UPbit, the increase in various track tokens is quite remarkable. PEPE)Meme###, AGLD(Game), DRIFT(DeFi), SAFE(Infra) and other track tokens have seen significant increases in the short term, with the highest reaching 100% or even exceeding 150%. UNI's increase compared to the first day after its listing reached as high as 93.5% after 30 days. This reflects the high recognition of UPbit-listed projects among Korean users.

In addition, from the perspective of public chain ecology, public chains such as Solana and TON are quite favored. We also observe that exchanges are gradually deepening their support for their own blockchain ecosystems. For example, Binance-associated BSC and opBNB chains continue to strengthen their support for their own on-chain ecology. Similarly, Coinbase's Base has also become a key focus of support, accounting for nearly 40% of all newly launched coins in 2024. OKX is also continuously making efforts in the X Layer ecological layout. Furthermore, Kraken's planned L2 network Ink further indicates that leading exchanges are actively promoting the construction of on-chain infrastructure.

This trend is driven by exchanges exploring the transformation from "off-chain" to "on-chain", which not only expands their business scope but also strengthens their competitiveness in the DeFi field. By supporting their own on-chain projects, exchanges can not only promote the development of the ecosystem.