Boom, setbacks, and new strategies: the first quarter of 2025 for crypto on CEX

The year 2025 started with significant momentum in the crypto markets, fueled by the positive push from the end of 2024. However, the enthusiasm soon clashed with a changing reality and a reversal of sentiment, leaving a tangible mark on the performance of new cryptocurrencies listed on centralized exchanges (CEX). 

The report “Listing Performance Q1 2025” by Animoca Brands provides an in-depth analysis of 770 listing events that occurred in the first three months of the year on ten major exchanges, tracking trends, volumes, and strategies that define a moment of transition for the sector.

The context of CEX in 2025: an explosive start, followed by a slowdown

January represented the peak of activity, with 364 listing events, thanks to the extension of the December bull momentum. However, interest sharply declined as early as February, due to the market reversal and the return of a bear narrative, which halved the monthly listings on almost all platforms. Despite this, Binance, Coinbase and Upbit maintained stable rates, consolidating their strategies regardless of the general climate.

The market has given mixed signals: on one hand, the trading volumes in the first 24 hours post-listing have increased significantly compared to the 2024 average, especially for tokens with a fully diluted valuation (FDV) over 500 million dollars; on the other hand, the price performances in the first 7 days have been weaker, reflecting the more cautious sentiment of investors.

The leading exchanges: who led and who lost ground

In the universe of CEX, the ranking has been reshuffled. OKX has claimed the top spot for the average value of tokens listed on day 1, with an FDV of over 4.1 billion dollars, surpassing Binance and moving from third to first place. A growth resulting from a strategy focused on selecting high-capitalization projects.

The entry in the report of Coinbase has brought new perspectives: the American platform has focused on secondary listings of tokens with large FDV, positioning itself in second place for the average size of the criptovalute introduced (3.3 billion). However, the initial volumes traded have remained modest, indicating a still cautious approach by the retail public on this platform.

MEXC, while maintaining the lead for the total number of listings (289), recorded a decline compared to the monthly average of 2024, dropping from 112 to less than 96 events. Binance, on the other hand, exceeded its quarterly average of the previous year, also thanks to the introduction of the new “Vote to List,” a community governance initiative that involved users in choosing the tokens to list.

The TRUMP case: the listing that shifted the balance

Among the surprises of the quarter, the listing of the TRUMP token caused a sensation. With an initial FDV of 50 billion dollars, it generated over 11 billion dollars in volume on Binance, 4.5 billion on OKX, and 2 billion on Bybit in just one day. These are off-the-scale numbers, which influenced the entire January statistics and demonstrated the media and speculative potential of projects with a strong political or viral connotation.

Primary vs Secondary Listings

Of the 770 listing events monitored, 378 have been identified as “primary” – that is, occurring within the first two days of the token launch – while 392 are “secondary”, relating to tokens already present on other exchanges. This balance reflects a maturation of the market, where diversification strategies and the search for new listings by exchanges combine.

Distribution by FDV: the weight of large projects grows

The analysis of the listings by FDV bands shows an increasing concentration towards projects with high capitalizations. The band over 500 million dollars has been populated by tokens listed on more than five exchanges simultaneously, a sign of institutional interest and the “network” effect that drives listing simultaneously on multiple platforms to maximize liquidity and visibility.

Even the ranges from 30 to 500 million have gained weight compared to 2024. Binance and OKX have been particularly active in the 30-100 million range, while Bithumb, Upbit, and Coinbase have dominated in the 100 to 500 million range.

Volume in the first 24 hours: boom in January, correction in March

The average volume traded in the first 24 hours after the listing has doubled compared to December 2024 and reached its peak in January 2025. This growth has been supported not only by TRUMP, but also by a series of high-capitalization tokens and increased user participation thanks to promotional strategies by the exchanges.

February saw a partial reduction in volumes, but the real slowdown came in March, when even tokens with high FDV experienced a drastic decrease in immediate post-listing interest.

7-day Performance: a more sober market

The price of tokens 7 days after listing showed behavior consistent with the market trend: very positive in January, then flat or slightly declining between February and March. The performances remained on average positive but far from the exploits of 2021-2022.

The best performances were recorded on OKX (among the “large exchanges”) and on MEXC (among the “mid-sized”), highlighting the ability of these platforms to attract projects with potential for appreciation in the short term.

New trends: the shift from CEX to on-chain

One of the strategic innovations of Q1 2025 was the introduction or expansion of on-chain trading functionalities by various centralized exchanges. Binance launched Alpha 2.0, MEXC introduced DEX+, while Bitget inaugurated Bitget Onchain. Each developed autonomous methods to select on-chain tokens, offering alternative liquidity channels and involving the community in more decentralized processes.

This trend is also linked to developments in decentralized liquidity pools, where the JELLY incident prompted Hyperliquid to review its leverage and liquidation mechanisms, while Pump.Fun continued to churn out community-driven tokens, leading historic AMMs like Raydium to introduce similar initiatives.

A sector teetering between hype and maturation

The first quarter of 2025 confirmed how the listing market on CEX is a faithful barometer of global crypto sentiment. The surge in January, followed by the cooling in February and March, reflects the cyclicality of the sector, but also its increasing complexity. Exchanges are increasingly differentiating themselves by strategy, target, and type of supported projects, while the boundary between centralized and decentralized finance continues to thin.

With the arrival of tools such as community voting, on-chain trading, and the selection of more mature tokens, CEXs are attempting an evolution that can address both the need for security and that of innovation. But the challenge remains open: knowing how to distinguish between momentary hype and solid projects is more crucial today than ever.