Binance Tops CoinDesk’s Cryptocurrency Exchange Rankings

Binance led CoinDesk's November ranking of centralized exchanges in spot and derivatives trading.
CoinDesk analysts have released the November ranking of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, published biannually. Binance led the list in both spot and derivatives trading, becoming the only platform to score over 90 points in both categories.
In second and third places were the Robinhood-owned exchange Bitstamp and Coinbase, respectively.
Analysts evaluated 81 exchanges across more than 100 metrics in eight categories: market quality (25% weight), security (20%), regulatory compliance (15%), KYC and transaction risks (15%), transparency (10%), data provision (10%), team (5%), and negative events (minus 3%).
Binance scored 93.4 points in spot trading and 93.65 in derivatives. According to CoinDesk, the exchange controls about 26% of the global spot volume, equivalent to the combined share of its seven largest competitors. Its dominance in derivatives is even greater.
CoinDesk raised the threshold for Top-Tier status from 65 to 70 points. Despite stricter requirements, the number of exchanges in the top category increased from 19 to 20. The number of exchanges with an AA rating doubled from four to eight.

“CoinDesk’s rating is the result of the work of our teams and partners, but also a reminder of the responsibility to improve. Our priority remains unchanged: to maintain market stability, protect users, and engage constructively with regulators to raise industry standards,” said Binance CEO Richard Teng.

According to data from the exchange, more than 1,280 employees (nearly 22% of the workforce) are dedicated to user protection and regulatory engagement.

Industry Maturation

CoinDesk notes that the largest exchanges have become the most resilient—a trend absent five years ago when volumes were spread across numerous unregulated platforms.
Average scores have increased in security, data transparency, and compliance. More than half of the top-category exchanges operate in accordance with MiCA, ADGM, or similar standards. The UAE ranks third globally in the number of licensed platforms.
Earlier, CryptoQuant analysts noted the recovery of Binance’s reserves following the October downturn.