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

1. Research Introduction

1.1 Research Background

Since 2024, the market has sparked widespread discussion about VC tokens with high fully diluted valuations ( FDV ) but low circulating market caps ( MC ). As the MC/FDV ratio of newly issued tokens has fallen to its lowest level in the past three years, this 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 rise lacks sustainability. Once a large number of tokens are unlocked and enter the market, the risk of oversupply increases, leading investors to worry that this market structure may not provide lasting support for price increases.

As a result, many investors' interest has begun to shift from VC tokens to Meme coins. The characteristics of Meme coins are that most tokens are fully unlocked at TGE, with a higher circulation rate and no selling pressure from future unlocks. This structure reduces the supply pressure in the market and gives investors more confidence. Many Meme coins have an MC/FDV ratio close to 1 at issuance, meaning holders will not face dilution due to further token issuance, providing a relatively stable market environment. With an increasing awareness of the risks associated with large-scale token unlocks, investor interest has gradually shifted towards these highly liquid Meme coins with lower inflation rates, even though these tokens may lack practical application scenarios.

The current market landscape requires investors to be more cautious in selecting tokens. However, investors often find it difficult to independently assess the value and potential of each project, which makes the screening mechanism of exchanges crucial. As the "gatekeepers" that directly push token assets to users, centralized exchanges not only help verify the compliance and market potential of tokens but also play a role in screening quality projects. Despite another voice in the market suggesting that on-chain trading will surpass CEX trading, we believe that the market share of centralized exchanges will not be taken away by on-chain trading. Factors such as the smoothness of CEX transactions, centralized responsible asset custody, the establishment of user habits and mindsets, barriers to liquidity, and the trend of global regulatory compliance will ensure that the share of transactions in CEX will long and continuously exceed that of on-chain transactions.

So, the question that follows is, how do centralized exchanges filter and decide which projects to list among many? How has the overall performance of the listed coins been over the past year? Is there a relationship between the performance of these listed tokens and the exchanges that chose them?

In order to address these questions of concern to the market, this study aims to explore the listing situation of major exchanges and analyze its actual impact on the token market performance, with a focus on the changes in trading volume and price volatility characteristics after listing, in order to identify the impact of different exchanges on the market performance of coins after they go live.

1.2 Research Methodology

1.2.1 Research Object

We combine exchanges with regions and market orientation, mainly dividing them into these three categories:

Created by Chinese people, aimed at the global market: a certain exchange, a certain exchange, a certain exchange, a certain exchange, a certain exchange, a certain exchange, etc. Mainly known exchanges founded and invested by Chinese people, targeting the global market. There are many Chinese exchanges, and for the convenience of research, the selected exchanges have different developmental characteristics, while the exchanges not selected also have their own advantages.

Korea created, targeting the local market: a certain exchange, a certain exchange, etc. Mainly aimed at the South Korean local market.

Created in the United States, targeting Europe and America: certain exchanges, certain exchanges, etc. The American exchange mainly targets the European and American markets and is usually subject to strict regulation by the SEC, CFTC, and others.

Exchanges in regions such as Latin America, India, and Africa, due to overall trading volume and liquidity being less than 5%, will not be analyzed in depth in this report.

We selected a total of 10 representative exchanges mentioned above to analyze 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 the TGE, the previous 7 days, and the previous 30 days, analyzing its trends, volatility patterns, and market reactions for the following reasons:

• On the first day of TGE, new asset issuance and high trading volume reflect the immediate acceptance of the market. Heavily influenced by the rush for allocation and FOMO sentiment, it is a key 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 coin, 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 the TGE will observe the long-term support of the token, the cooling off of short-term speculation, the gradual exit of speculators, and whether the token price and trading volume are maintained, becoming 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 commonly seen research methods on the market, this study is more intuitive, concise, and efficient.

This research report mainly sources data from TradingView, covering the price data of newly listed tokens on major exchanges in 2024, including the initial listing price, market prices at different points in time, and trading volumes. Due to the large number of sample points, this large-scale data analysis helps to reduce the impact of individual outlier data on the overall trend, thereby enhancing the reliability of the statistical results.

(I) Overview of Multivariable Listing Activities

This study uses multivariate analysis methods, taking into account 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 on 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 market performance of the token, we calculated its percentage change relative to the initial listing price )Percentage Change(, as per the formula below:

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% of 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 processing method 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 of the price fluctuations of new coins on each exchange to measure the overall performance of new coin markets on different platforms.

)III( Coefficient of Variation to Determine Stability

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

CV = σ / μ * 100%

In this context, σ represents the standard deviation and μ represents the mean. The coefficient of variation is a dimensionless indicator, unaffected by the units of the data, making it suitable for comparing the volatility of different datasets. 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 greater applicability compared to the standard deviation.

2. Overview of Coin Listing Activities

( 2.1 comparison between exchanges

)# 2.1.1 Number of Coins and FDV Preferences

We found that, from the overall data perspective, top exchanges ### such as a certain exchange, a certain exchange, and a certain exchange ### have generally fewer coins listed than other exchanges. This reflects the different influences of the positions of the exchanges on the listing styles.

From the perspective of the number of listed coins, some exchanges have stricter listing rules and fewer coins listed but on a larger scale; while exchanges like certain other trading platforms list new assets more frequently, providing more trading opportunities. Data shows that the number of listed coins is roughly negatively correlated with FDV, meaning that exchanges that list more high FDV projects usually have fewer coins listed.

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

• MC only calculates the total value of the currently circulating tokens and does not take into account the tokens that will be unlocked in the future, which may lead to an underestimation of the project's true valuation, especially when most tokens have not yet been unlocked, making it easy to mislead.
• 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 projects with low MC/FDV, 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 relevant than Market Cap. Here, we choose FDV as the standard.

In addition, from the perspective of attitudes towards initial launch projects, most exchanges usually adopt a balanced strategy, that is, taking into account both initial launch and non-initial launch projects, but typically have higher requirements for non-initial launch projects, as initial launch projects tend to bring in more new users. Furthermore, two South Korean exchanges, a certain trading platform and another trading platform, mainly focus on non-initial launch coin listings. This is because, compared to initial launches, non-initial launch coin listings can reduce screening risks and avoid the market fluctuations and initial liquidity issues associated with the initial launch phase. At the same time, for project teams, compared to initial launches, project teams do not have to bear excessive market promotion and liquidity management pressure; non-initial launch coin listings can leverage existing market recognition to drive growth.

( 2.1.2 Track Preference

a certain exchange

In 2024, the number of Meme coins still accounts for the largest proportion. Infra and DeFi projects also hold a significant share. RWA and DePIN tracks have relatively fewer coins on this platform, but overall performance is good. Among them, USUAL spot saw the highest increase of 7081%. Although the platform is relatively cautious in its coin selection in these areas, once launched, market reactions are usually quite positive. In the second half of the year, the platform's preference for coins in the AI track is clearly tilted towards AI Agent tokens, which have the highest proportion among AI projects.

In 2024, the platform shows a preference for its ecosystem. For example, the launch of projects such as BANANA and CGPT indicates that the platform is strengthening its support for its own chain ecosystem.

a certain exchange

The number of coins on this platform appears to have the highest number of Memes, accounting for about 25%. Compared to other exchanges, there are more coins in the public chain and infrastructure track, with a total share reaching 34%. This indicates that, in comparison, the platform will focus more on underlying technological innovation, scalability optimization, and the sustainable development of the blockchain ecosystem in 2024.

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

a certain exchange

The biggest feature of the platform's coin listing in 2024 is its wide coverage of tracks, with token performance generally being good. In 2024, UNI and BNT were launched on the DEX track. This indicates that the platform still has considerable potential and development space for listing popular assets, as many mainstream or high market cap tokens have yet to go live, and further expansion of support may occur in the future. At the same time, this also reflects that the platform has stricter coin listing reviews and tends to be more cautious in selecting assets with long-term potential.

On this platform, the token price increases in various sectors are quite remarkable. PEPE)Meme###, AGLD(Game), DRIFT(DeFi), SAFE(Infra) and other sector tokens have seen significant short-term increases, reaching as high as 100% or even over 150%. UNI increased by as much as 93.5% compared to day 1 after listing on day 30. This reflects the high recognition Korean users have for the projects launched on the platform.

In addition, from the perspective of public chain ecosystems, public chains such as Solana and TON are relatively favored. We also observe that exchanges are gradually deepening their support for their own blockchain ecosystems. For example, a certain exchange platform associated with the BSC and opBNB chains is continuously strengthening its support for its on-chain ecosystem. Similarly, a certain exchange platform...