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CryptoQuant Names the Most Transparent Exchange for Reserves

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Hayden Davis Resurfaces After LIBRA Crash, But His Latest Trades Are Deep in the Red


The report ranked exchanges by reserves, trading activity, and transparency, with KuCoin scoring 96.7 out of 100.

KuCoin has received the highest proof-of-reserves (PoR) transparency score among major crypto exchanges, according to CryptoQuant’s latest annual Exchange Leader report.

The findings placed the Seychelles-based trading platform ahead of several larger rivals in a category that many traders view as central to assessing exchange solvency.

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Report Ranks Exchanges on Reserves and Trading Activity

The report, which reviewed exchange performance across trading volume, reserve disclosures, and derivatives activity during 2025, shows KuCoin earning a PoR transparency score of 96.7 out of 100, the highest in the dataset.

KuCoin’s score reflects a monthly proof-of-reserves framework that allows users to verify their balances using Merkle-tree inclusion tools. The exchange also publishes wallet addresses and receives third-party attestations from security firm Hacken.

CryptoQuant said that the exchange had sent out more than 39 monthly reserve reports in a row, with the most recent one being on February 6, 2026. The reserve ratios for the assets that were made public were above 100%.

Bybit ranked second on the transparency scale with a score of 93.2, also supported by regular PoR disclosures and Hacken attestations. Kraken is placed in the A tier as well, though its quarterly reporting cycle reduced its score compared with the monthly reporting cadence of KuCoin and Bybit.

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Meanwhile, larger exchanges scored lower in this category, with Binance receiving a score of 75.2, reflecting broad wallet disclosures and user balance verification tools but no full independent audit covering the exchange’s entire balance sheet.

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Coinbase ranked much lower, with a score of 44.3, mainly because it does not publish comprehensive wallet address mappings or provide on-chain verification for customer balances.

The transparency ranking forms one component of CryptoQuant’s Exchange Leader Index, which measures platforms using six pillars: trading volume, reserves, proof-of-reserves transparency, trading mix balance, volume growth, and reserve growth. In the overall index, MEXC, Binance, and Bybit held the top three positions for 2025.

Derivatives Trading Dominates Exchange Activity

The report also examined trading patterns across major exchanges and found that most large platforms now record the majority of activity in derivatives markets rather than spot trading. MEXC, Bybit, Bitget, Binance, Gate, and Coinbase generated 70% to 90% of their volume from perpetual futures contracts.

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However, KuCoin sits among exchanges with a more balanced mix between spot and derivatives trading. CryptoQuant placed it in a group with HTX and Kraken, where both segments contributed significant volumes rather than one dominating the other.

In overall trading size, Binance is still the largest exchange, processing about $32.4 trillion in annual trading volume during 2025. About $25 trillion of that amount came from the derivatives markets, and about $7 trillion came from spot trading.

Growth across the industry varied widely, with Gate recording the fastest expansion in derivatives activity, as perpetual futures volumes increased by more than 400% year over year. Coinbase also posted large percentage gains after completing its acquisition of Deribit and introducing Solana-based DEX trading, while MEXC nearly doubled its spot trading volumes during the same period.

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Crypto World

Nasdaq Partners with Boerse Stuttgart’s Seturion for tokenized Settlement

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Nasdaq Partners with Boerse Stuttgart’s Seturion for tokenized Settlement

Nasdaq said it is working with Boerse Stuttgart Group’s tokenized settlement platform Seturion to connect its European trading venues to infrastructure designed to settle tokenized securities using distributed ledger technology.

According to Monday’s announcement, the collaboration will initially focus on structured products and aims to support faster settlement of tokenized assets across European capital markets.

Seturion supports multiple asset classes across public and private distributed ledger networks and allows transactions to be settled using either central bank money or on-chain cash. Boerse Stuttgart said the platform is intended to be open to a broader network of financial institutions across Europe.

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Under the partnership, Nasdaq will link its European trading venues to Seturion so that tokenized securities traded on those markets can be settled through the platform. The companies said they plan to expand participation to additional issuers, brokers and financial institutions over time.

The partnership aims to address fragmentation in Europe’s post-trade infrastructure, where securities settlement is handled by multiple national systems with differing rules and processes. By using distributed ledger technology, the companies say a shared platform could help reduce settlement times and operational complexity across European markets.

The European Central Bank in April said there was “an urgent need to integrate Europe’s fragmented capital markets, not only in the area of post-trade but also in supervision and other areas.”

The system is designed to operate within existing European regulatory frameworks, including MiFID II and the DLT Pilot Regime, which allow financial institutions to test distributed ledger technology in trading and settlement of tokenized securities.

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In February, Boerse Stuttgart Group said it would merge its cryptocurrency business with Frankfurt-based digital asset trading company Tradias as part of a strategy to expand its presence in institutional crypto markets.

Related: Kraken wins Kansas City Fed approval for limited master account access

Traditional exchanges push deeper into tokenized securities

Exchange operators are increasingly exploring tokenized versions of traditional securities as part of efforts to modernize capital market infrastructure.

Nasdaq said today that it was partnering with Kraken, a US-headquartered crypto exchange, and tokenization infrastructure provider Backed to develop a gateway aimed at supporting tokenized equities while preserving issuer control.

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In September, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation said it plans to bring a subset of US Treasury securities onto the Canton Network, with the long-term goal of expanding tokenization to a broader range of assets eligible for custody at its subsidiary, the Depository Trust Company. The market infrastructure operator processed around $3.7 quadrillion in 2024.

In January, the New York Stock Exchange and its parent company Intercontinental Exchange said they were developing a platform for trading tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds that would support 24/7 trading and blockchain-based settlement.

Last week, Intercontinental Exchange announced it had taken a board seat in OKX after investing in the crypto exchange and plans to offer NYSE-listed tokenized stocks and derivatives to OKX users starting in 2026.

Tokenized public equities have grown to about $1.01 billion in total onchain value, according to data from RWA.xyz.

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Source: RWA.xyz

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