A recent analysis conducted by Animoca Research has brought to light the disheartening performance of cryptocurrency tokens that were launched on five prominent exchanges between January and September. The findings revealed that these tokens experienced a dismal median performance, plummeting between 40% and 70%. The research encompassed a review of 773 token listings across exchanges, including Binance, Bitget, Bybit, KuCoin, and OKX. Despite the varying strategies employed by these platforms, the overarching trend reflected a challenging environment for newly listed tokens.
Exchange-Specific Trends and Strategies
Binance, known for its cautious approach, recorded the lowest number of listings at 44. OKX mirrored this prudence with only 47 listings. In contrast, Bitget adopted a more aggressive stance, launching 339 tokens, while Bybit and KuCoin displayed moderate activity with 155 and 188 listings, respectively. The report pinpointed March and April as the high points for listing activity, attributing this surge to favorable market dynamics that prompted exchanges to facilitate more offerings. Despite its bold approach, Bitget’s performance did not turn out to be the worst. It achieved an average price return of -46.5%.
Bybit faced the starkest downturns, with average and median returns of -50.2% and -70.4%. KuCoin was not far behind, detailing a -66.1% median return alongside a -48.3% average. Conversely, tokens listed on OKX fared better in terms of resilience, displaying negative returns of -27.3% on average and -40.6% at the median level. Binance, while slightly outperforming OKX in terms of average returns at -27%, also showed a concerning median performance nearing -50%.
The research also underscored OKX’s achievement in terms of profitable listings, where 27.6% of its tokens yielded positive returns by September. Despite this, the overall gains from these profitable tokens were modest, averaging 39.5% and 25.1% at median levels. Interestingly, Binance led in individual token performance, where seven of its listings achieved an average profit of 108.4%, marking it as the highest in this period. Moreover, Bitget and Bybit also reported returns exceeding 100%, established at 101.4% and 103.7%, respectively.
Intriguingly, tokens with a favorable market cap/fully diluted value (MC/FDV) ratio exhibited higher valuations post-listing. This trend elucidates why Binance’s tokens were able to record comparatively superior average returns, as a significant number fell within the MC/FDV ratio range of 0.4 to 0.6. This performance analysis offers crucial insights into the current token listing landscape, highlighting the delicate interplay between strategic decisions by exchanges and the volatile nature of market conditions. It raises significant questions for potential investors and exchange operators alike, urging a more nuanced understanding of market dynamics when evaluating future listings.
While the token listing domain is fraught with risks, there exist pockets of performance that could inform investment strategies moving forward, emphasizing the need for diligent research and cautious optimism.
Leave a Reply