The expansion era of exchange listings is over. According to Animoca Brands Research’s newly released 2025 Exchange Listing Report, centralized exchanges are no longer competing on volume alone. They’re competing on structure.
—
The report breaks down how CEX strategies have evolved across altcoins, real-world assets (RWAs), alpha programs, and updated IDO models — revealing a clear shift from speculative breadth to selective depth.
And within that recalibrated landscape, KuCoin has emerged among the top three exchanges by primary token listings in 2025.
That positioning is more meaningful than it might first appear.
Primary Listings: Signal, Not Noise
Animoca’s data shows KuCoin recorded a 31% year-over-year increase in primary token listings. The report explicitly notes that “KuCoin has demonstrated strong activity in primary token listings.”
Loading tweet...
View Tweet
In a market where exchanges have tightened listing standards and capital flows have become more selective, primary listings are no longer just about onboarding projects. They signal upstream deal flow strength, project sourcing capability, and internal vetting confidence.
Put simply: sustaining listing momentum in a contraction cycle suggests competitive access to emerging projects — not indiscriminate expansion.
KuCoin also maintains meaningful market share across the $30M–$500M+ fully diluted valuation (FDV) range. Within the $500M+ “heavyweight” tier — where top exchanges account for just 25% of listings due to selectivity.
KuCoin’s continued presence suggests balanced exposure across valuation bands rather than concentration at one end of the spectrum. That balance matters in a maturing market.
Liquidity Is Rotating Up-Market
The more revealing shift isn’t in listing count — it’s in liquidity distribution.
Animoca’s comparison of 2024 to 2025 data highlights a structural rotation:
Micro-cap (<$30M FDV) and small-cap ($30M–$100M FDV) projects saw contraction in first 24-hour trading volumes.
Mid- to large-cap projects (>$100M FDV) posted significant gains, with first-day trading volumes reaching 1.44x to 1.78x 2024 averages.
Over a 30-day window, every valuation tier grew year-over-year — but the $100M–$500M FDV segment expanded fastest, hitting 2.12x 2024 levels.
Capital isn’t disappearing. It’s consolidating.
Risk appetite is increasingly concentrated around stronger capitalization, clearer fundamentals, and projects perceived as structurally durable. Exchanges that maintain presence in these valuation tiers are better positioned to capture sustained trading velocity rather than short-lived speculative spikes.
KuCoin’s footprint aligns closely with that liquidity migration.
RWAs and the Rise of Tokenized Gold
Another notable trend in the report: the growing strategic importance of real-world assets.
Tokenized gold has emerged as one of the most prominent RWA subsectors in 2025. Amid geopolitical uncertainty and evolving macro policy conditions, gold’s traditional safe-haven status has extended into on-chain markets.
Within this segment, KuCoin ranks fifth in tokenized gold trading volume.
The significance isn’t explosive growth. It’s structural positioning.
Tokenized gold functions as an onchain macro hedge — reinforcing exchange asset diversification and serving as a bridge between TradFi capital and digital asset markets. For exchanges navigating high-volatility cycles, RWA exposure strengthens asset composition resilience.
KuCoin’s participation reflects a broader emphasis on asset structure diversification rather than reliance on high-beta listing cycles.
Loading tweet...
View Tweet
From Expansion to Structural Competition
Taken together, KuCoin’s 2025 positioning follows three parallel tracks:
Expanded primary listing activity
Sustained share within mid- to large-cap FDV tiers
Steady participation in RWAs, particularly tokenized gold
The bigger takeaway from Animoca’s report isn’t about any single exchange. It’s about phase transition.
Exchange competition in 2025 looks less like the broad expansion cycles of previous years and more like refined, structurally differentiated positioning. Listing quality, liquidity alignment, and asset diversification are increasingly defining competitive advantage.
KuCoin’s trajectory offers a case study in how exchanges are adapting to that recalibrated environment — where depth, not just scale, determines staying power.
