RootData: February 2026 Cryptocurrency Exchange Transparency Research Report
RootData's February 2026 Cryptocurrency Exchange Transparency Research Report highlights key industry trends and a top 10 exchange ranking: Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken, Gate, Upbit, Kucoin, Crypto.com, HTX, and Bitget. The ranking is based on metrics like trading volume, reserves, listing performance, compliance, and transparency.
In February, the overall spot trading volume fell 4.7% to $895.2 billion, attributed to weak market conditions, a lack of directional price movement, and the Chinese New Year holiday reducing activity. New token listings hit a low, with only 10-15 new tokens launched. A significant majority (82%) of newly listed tokens had a transparency score above 60%, indicating a strong preference for transparent projects.
A notable trend was increased M&A activity in the Asia-Pacific region, with traditional finance giants acquiring exchanges like Korbit, Coinhako, and Independent Reserve.
Key exchange performances varied:
- **Binance** remained #1 but saw a 19.7% drop in volume, potentially due to negative press from a previous incident.
- **OKX** rose to #2 with a 4.3% volume increase, maintaining a conservative listing strategy.
- **Coinbase** saw a 2.3% volume rise and pursued an active, transparency-focused listing strategy.
- **Gate's** volume fell 11.7% but it secured a key EU payment institution license.
Other notable developments included Kraken launching tokenized stock perpetuals, Gemini exiting Europe and undergoing executive departures, and Crypto.com receiving conditional approval for a U.S. national bank charter.
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