Cryptocurrency Listings Have Outperformed Traditional Stock Listings

Token listing procedures on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs) drew significant controversy

Cryptocurrency listings have outperformed the average of traditional stock listings, despite recent community criticism regarding the manipulation potential of token listings on centralized exchanges.

Token listing procedures on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs) drew significant controversy after Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, called the process flawed after disappointing performances of some token listings.

After smashing through several all-time highs in 2021, the crypto market entered a bear market in 2022, which bled into 2023 and 2024. The crypto market saw a strong rally in early 2024, but prices stalled in the second quarter.

Despite the criticism, crypto exchanges have outperformed traditional stock exchanges in terms of listings with positive returns on investment (ROI) and average ROI, according to an April 3 CoinMarketCap report shared exclusively with Cointelegraph.

Over the past 180 days, crypto exchange listings had an average return of over 80%, outperforming the largest traditional stock indexes such as the Nasdaq and Dow Jones, as well as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

CEX listings, top indexes, average ROI. Source: CoinMarketCap

The 80% return refers to the average performance of all listed tokens by the seven major exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, OKX, Bitget, Gate and KuCoin.

Moreover, 68% of crypto exchange listings boasted a positive ROI, outperforming the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE) 54% and the Nasdaq's 51%.

Source: CoinMarketCap

"This data suggests that crypto exchanges have been making progress in refining their listing criteria and procedures to ensure the selection of promising tokens," the report said.

Cryptocurrencies listed on CEXs generally see huge demand from investors as the exchanges provide significant new liquidity that can boost the coins' price performances after listing.

Token-listing criteria on CEXs started garnering attention in November 2024, after Tron founder Justin Sun claimed that Coinbase allegedly asked for $330 million in total fees to list Tron (TRX), a surprising allegation since Coinbase claims to charge no fees for listing new cryptocurrencies.

Recent investor disappointment with some token listings may stem from historic profit expectations due to the significant upside of numerous CEX-listed tokens.

Still, the returns of a cryptocurrency after listing depend on the wider market appetite, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding:

"Crypto investors’ expectations for new listings to perform well are understandable and often shaped by the historic success stories of the tokens listed on centralized exchanges," the spokesperson added.

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, listed 77 cryptocurrencies throughout 2023 and 2024, with a 0% delisting rate.

Binance announced a community voting mechanism for token listings on March 9, to make the listing process more decentralized.