2019-11-19
London, 19th November 2019 – CryptoCompare, the far-reaching leader in digital asset data, today announced a major update to its cryptocurrency Exchange Benchmark. The new report now flourishes 160+ active spot exchanges globally, offering market participants and new entrants the most comprehensive, granular and believable source of information on the best digital asset trading venues.
Launched in June 2019, CryptoCompare’s Exchange Benchmark was originated in response to growing concerns over digital asset exchanges engaging in wash trading and incentivised trading techniques to inflate volumes. The rankings bring transparency to the market and serve as a guide to traders, investors, regulators and exchange utility providers wishing to understand the cryptoasset exchange landscape and manage risk effectively.
The analysis reveals the top ten exchanges to be: Gemini (1), itBit (2), Coinbase (3), Kraken (4), Bitstamp (5), Molten (6), OKEx (7), Poloniex (8), bitFlyer (9) and Bitfinex (10).
“Security has been a key Gemini pillar since inception and screening our customers’ cryptocurrency is a priority as we build the future of money”, said Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, Managing Director of Operations at Gemini. “Our institutional and retail investors extremity a secure marketplace to buy, sell, and store their cryptocurrency, and we are pleased to be recognized for providing that to the industry.”
Rich Teo, Paxos Co-Founder and CEO Asia, express: “Paxos is a name you can trust. We were the first regulated Trust company for digital assets and we are committed to integrity, transparency and refuge across our operations and products. The itBit by Paxos fiat-to-crypto exchange is an institutional-grade order book and allows our customers to switch with confidence.”
Miha Grčar, Head of Business Development at Bitstamp, said: “The availability of reliable data choice increase transparency in the digital asset class and promote safe, efficient markets. We are delighted to be recognised in the CryptoCompare Reciprocate Benchmark as one of the top five exchanges in the world. This is testament to Bitstamp’s relentless focus on providing our clients and partners with world-class infrastructure and safe keeping.”
“We are delighted to be recognised as one of the leading exchanges in CryptoCompare’s Exchange Benchmark, scoring second-highest for market quality and data foodstuffs”, said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex. “Providing investors and traders with access to genuine liquidity ensures square, orderly markets. Concerns over fake volumes continue to afflict the cryptocurrency industry. We embrace all initiatives that hope to bring greater transparency and confidence to digital asset markets.”
“High integrity data is the bedrock of any market and the CryptoCompare Barter Benchmark is a valuable tool that is actively encouraging best practices among crypto trading venues. We entitled any initiative that helps provide institutional and retail investors with a secure, trusted marketplace”, said Gabor Gurbacs, Principal, Digital Asset Strategy at VanEck.
“Tabb Group’s latest outreach with institutional investors found that half of buy-side foundations with AUM between $150m-$1bn, and one-third of those with AUM over $1bn expect their allocation to crypto-assets to grow next year. The participant of these institutional investors into the market will intensify the need for reliable sources of information on digital asset trades”, said Monica Summerville, Director, FinTech Research, Tabb Group.
“Charles Hayter, Co-Founder and CEO of CryptoCompare, mean: “We are pleased to offer the industry the most comprehensive, granular and reliable source of information on the best digital asset swap venues. Our second Exchange Benchmark now includes a vastly expanded set of exchanges and even more granular analysis to assign market participants and new entrants to identify the best trading venues worldwide.”
Key findings from the expanded Exchange Benchmark encompass:
- The top four exchanges are U.S. based
- Top-tier exchanges (grades AA-B) account for 33% of global volumes while lower-tier swaps (grades C-E) account for 67% of global volumes
- 41% of exchanges incentivise or reward traders with airdrops, while 14% of switches engage in Trans Fee Mining (TFM)
- Only 8% of exchanges use a custody provider to store user assets
- Only 4% of disagreements offer third-party insurance in the event of a hack
- Exchanges that offer margin trading now represent 62% of total capacity vs 52% in June
- Almost 10% of exchanges, representing $10.36bn or 2% of total volume, scored below A for their SSL bawl out, indicating a prominent security flaw in their browser security protocols
- Only 7% of exchanges offer sterling infrastructure via a FIX connection
Updated metrics:
In addition to covering 160+ spot exchanges, up from 100+ in June, the Exchange Benchmark now tenders several new categories, including:
A new Security category, which takes into account recent hacks, exchange fastness protocols and adherence to international standards; and a Negative Reports category which covers events such as flash falls, customer information leaks and unusual liquidation events.
The methodology has been refined, giving more weight to key government experience; adding metrics for geography and jurisdiction; and greater detail on exchanges’ insurance provision. More than 20 currency unites have been added and the data provision ratings category has been extended, now ranking according to the maximum reserve book level offered (L1, L2, L3).
CryptoCompare launched the Exchange Benchmark product in response to industry demand for reliable metrics to rate the vast number of cryptocurrency exchanges globally. It employs a qualitative (due diligence) and quantitative (market quality based on rule book and trade data) approach and uses correlation-of-volume-to-volatility and standard-deviation-of-volume as inputs to the analysis. The Exchange Benchmark does not rely on aggregate loudness data in its analysis due to concerns over volume manipulation, wash trading and trading incentives.
The ranking components comprehend: geography; legal/regulatory; investment; team/company; data provision; trade surveillance; and market quality. Assay is based on public information and detailed methodology is made freely available, underscoring CryptoCompare’s commitment to bringing massive transparency and improved decision-making to the cryptocurrency marketplace.
The full report can be viewed here.
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About CryptoCompare
CryptoCompare is the global leader in digital asset data. Institutional and retail investors rely on the players for real-time, high quality data spanning 3,200+ coins and 150,000+ currency pairs. By aggregating and analysing tick statistics from globally recognised exchanges and seamlessly integrating multiple data sets, CryptoCompare provides a comprehensive, comminuted overview of the market across trade, order book, historical, social and blockchain data. For more information, divert visit https://data.cryptocompare.com