What is the Largest Centralized Exchange?
Binance remained the largest centralized exchange (CEX), with its market share at 49.7% in March 2024. Its spot trading volume rose to $1,142.5 billion in March 2024. This represents a 131.6% month-on-month (MoM) increase, having recorded $493.4 billion in February 2024.
The second largest centralized exchange was Upbit, which had a 9.4% market share, and spot trading volume of $216.4 billion in March 2024. This represents a 181.6% growth rate, having recorded $76.8 billion in February 2024.
Bybit ended March 2024 as the third largest exchange, with an 8.2% market share, along with $189.0 billion of trading volume. The remaining top 10 competitors held less than 8% market share each, for a combined dominance of 32.7% in March.
Binance Market Share
Binance was the market leader amongst the centralized exchanges, with a 48.5% market share of total spot trading volume in 2024 Q1. While it slowly lost its market dominance throughout 2023 Q4 with a 42.6% share, it has since regained it. In absolute terms, it generated $2.08 trillion in trading volume in 2024 Q1, compared to $1.14 trillion in 2023 Q4.
Regulatory hurdles faced by Binance throughout 2023, seem to be largely forgotten by traders, with monthly trading volumes having picked up significantly. Meanwhile, there have been a slew of new listings, and new project launches on Binance throughout the quarter, giving users more trading opportunities.
Upbit Remains Second Largest
Upbit managed to retain its position as the second-largest centralized exchange in 2024 Q1, recording $383.7 billion in spot trading volume. This translates into an 8.9% market share in the quarter, up 61.1%. In 2023 Q4, Upbit had a dominance of 10.8% and $238.2 billion in volume.
While the South Korean exchange saw volumes drastically rise in 2024 Q1, its market share fell, failing to keep pace with Binance’s growth. However, new token listings on the exchange have continued to benefit from strong local demand for crypto assets, seeing large swings in prices.
Bybit Enters The Top 3
Bybit was the third largest exchange in 2024 Q1, with an 8.6% market share or $368.2 billion in trading volume, representing a growth of 111.8% QoQ. In 2023 Q4, Bybit pulled in $173.8 billion in trading volume, for a market share of 7.9%.
The third position was previously occupied by OKX, which has since been pushed to fourth.
Binance Was The Largest Gainer In 2024 Q1
Aside from being the largest centralized exchange, Binance was also the largest gainer in 2024 Q1. It grew 122.3% throughout the quarter, having added an additional $1,144.6 billion in spot trading volume. This outpaced the growth of the other top 10 exchanges, which saw trading volumes increase by $951.0 billion, a clear sign of Binance’s dominance this cycle.
Of the top 10 exchanges, five grew over 100% throughout the quarter. Bitget, the second largest gainer grew 112.4% ($85.1 billion). This was followed by Bybit, which grew 111.8% ($194.4 billion), and Kucoin with 104.0% ($82.9 billion). Meanwhile, Coinbase grew 103.4%, for an absolute gain of $153.1 billion.
Top 10 Centralized Exchanges’ Market Share (2024 Q1)
| Rank | Centralized Exchanges | Market Share (%) |
| 1 | Binance | 49.7% |
| 2 | Upbit | 9.4% |
| 3 | Bybit | 8.2% |
| 4 | OKX | 7.5% |
| 5 | Coinbase | 6.8% |
| 6 | KuCoin | 4.2% |
| 7 | Bitget | 4.1% |
| 8 | Gate | 3.8% |
| 9 | HTX | 3.6% |
| 10 | MEXC | 2.6% |
Top 10 Crypto Exchanges' Market Share, 2018-2023
The following chart shows the market share of the top 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges in 2023 by Spot Trading Volume:
The following chart shows the market share of the top 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges in 2022 by Spot Trading Volume:
The following chart shows the market share of the top 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges in 2021 by Spot Trading Volume:
The following chart shows the market share of the top 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges in 2020 by Spot Trading Volume:
The following chart shows the market share of the top 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges in 2019 by Spot Trading Volume:
The following chart shows the market share of the top 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges in 2018 by Spot Trading Volume:
Methodology
The study examined the top 10 centralized exchanges by spot trading volume, using CoinGecko data from October 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. The top 10 centralized exchanges are: Binance, Upbit, Bybit, OKX, Coinbase, KuCoin, Bitget, Gate, HTX, MEXC. Market share was based on total monthly spot trading volume.
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Curious to know more about the state of crypto in 2024 Q1? Check out our comprehensive 2024 Q1 Crypto Industry Report, which extensively covers everything from the crypto market landscape to analyzing Bitcoin and Ethereum, DeFi and NFT ecosystems, and more!
Shaun is a Research Analyst at CoinGecko, who has lived and breathed crypto since 2017. Previously a community manager for Synthetix and RedFOX, he dived down the crypto rabbit hole to grasp a better understanding of the industry. He now spends copious amounts of time on Crypto Twitter and Telegram, searching for the next idea for CoinGecko Research. Follow the author on Twitter @ShaunPaulLee
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