A data-led look at proof-of-reserves, trading volume, market share, exchange-token performance, liquidity depth, and regulatory & product moves across the world's leading crypto exchanges.
MAY AT A GLANCE
$4.24 trillion total volume across 11 tracked exchanges — down ~5.8% from April. Binance widened its lead to a 38.57% share. Derivatives outpaced spot 5.43× market-wide. Combined PoR eased to $203.25B as reserve values cooled. Binance reclaimed the deepest BTC order book from Coinbase, and exchange tokens staged a broad rally led by BNB (+15.15%).
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CHAPTER 01 Capital Flows
Net on-chain capital flows across ten tracked exchanges turned positive in May, with +$629M of net inflows. But the headline masks a sharp split between a handful of accumulators, led by Binance, and three venues that suffered capital outflows.
May was a net-accumulation month: gross inflows of ~$2.00B outpaced ~$1.37B of outflows, leaving +$629M of capital moving onto tracked exchange wallets. But flows were every bit as concentrated as volume and reserves: inflows clustered on Binance, while outflows clustered on just three venues.
Binance Dominates the Inflow Side
Binance absorbed +$1.38B in net inflows, roughly 69% of all gross inflows across the cohort, extending its gravitational pull from volume and reserves into capital movement. In relative terms the inflow was modest (+1.0% of its $138B reserve base), but in absolute dollars it dwarfed every other venue combined. MEXC stood out on a relative basis: its +$240M inflow equalled +6.9% of its tracked reserves, capital arriving in step with its climb to #3 by trading volume.
Outflows Concentrated in Three Venues
The entire $1.37B of gross outflows came from just three exchanges: HTX, OKX, and Gate. HTX was the clear outlier, shedding −$845.8M, an amount equal to ~12.2% of its entire tracked reserve base, by far the largest relative drawdown in the cohort.
CAPITAL FLOW TAKEAWAY
Net inflows plus a broad token rally signal constructive risk appetite in May. But flows are as concentrated as everything else in this market: Binance accumulates, a cluster of tier-2 venues takes in modest capital, and the outflow side is dominated by HTX. Capital is not leaving the exchange ecosystem, it is consolidating toward its largest venue.
CHAPTER 02 Trading Volume Overview
In May 2026, eleven tracked exchanges processed a combined $4.24 trillion in spot and derivatives volume, down from April’s $4.50T, but a market still firmly anchored around Binance, with the top five holding ~85% of activity.
Daily Volume Distribution Across May
Daily total volume swung widely. Activity opened moderate, dipped to the month's quietest session on May 2, then spiked to
the monthly high on May 4 before settling into a choppy $90–190B band through mid-month and cooling into month-end.
Early-month spike. Unlike April's mid-month peak, May's highest day landed on May 4 (~$212.66B), when Bitcoin crossed $80k
for the first time since late January. The market saw a spike of trade volume driven by this bullish price signal. Volume
normalised into a broad range and trended lower into the final days of the month.
"Roughly five-sixths of the world's tracked exchange volume now passes through five venues, and Binance alone moves over 2.5× what OKX moves."
MAY VOLUME TAKEAWAY
The market stayed structurally top-heavy even as aggregate volume cooled ~5.8% from April. Binance's lead over OKX widened to ~2.6× and its market share expanded past 38%. MEXC climbed to #3 on derivatives strength, overtaking Bybit. The top-five concentration (~85%) leaves limited room for tier-2 venues to gain share without a category catalyst.
CHAPTER 03 Exchange Rankings & Market Share.
For every $1 of spot volume traded in May, $5.43 traded as derivatives, a clear preference for leveraged products that, in turn, continues to reshape how exchanges rank against each other.
May’s $4.24T headline masks two different markets. Spot volume ($659.6B) is more evenly distributed: KuCoin, Coinbase, Crypto.com, HTX, and Upbit punch above their overall weight thanks to retail-leaning customer bases. Derivatives volume ($3.58T) is far more concentrated, with Binance, OKX, MEXC, Bybit, and Gate alone responsible for over 88% of derivatives flow.
Binance led both books — 38.00% of spot and 38.67% of derivatives. Bybit (8.76%) and KuCoin (6.77%) topped the spot field behind Binance, while OKX (16.51%) and MEXC (13.42%) ranked second and third in derivatives. Upbit again recorded no tracked derivatives volume.
Derivatives / Spot Ratio & Market Reliance
The overall 5.43× ratio indicates a clear, market-wide preference for futures and perpetual contracts over spot. Individual venues diverge sharply:
RANKINGS TAKEAWAY
May's data confirms a structural pattern, not a moment: derivatives are now the dominant venue for crypto risk transfer, and the gap between top-five and tier-2 derivatives venues remains the single most important competitive battleground in the exchange industry. MEXC's rise to #3 this month is the clearest evidence.
CHAPTER 04 Exchange Proof of Reserves Analysis.
A combined $203.25B in tracked reserves across eight exchanges is still a story of concentration (Binance leads with 68%) and of strategy (liquidity-first vs. blue-chip vs. altcoin-sensitive).
Market Structure: Concentration Remains High
Binance remained the clear anchor with $138.44B, accounting for 68.11% of total tracked reserves. OKX ranked second with $28.70B (14.12%). Aggregate tracked reserves declined from $220.07B in April to $203.25B in May, a broad-based cooldown rather than a single-venue outflow.
Drilling into individual assets, the tracked reserve universe is dominated by five names. USDT is the single largest reserve asset at ~$60.0B (29.5%), narrowly ahead of BTC at ~$57.5B (28.3%). BNB is third at ~$27.9B (13.7%). ETH (~$12.7B, 6.3%) and USDC (~$12.6B, 6.2%) round out a top five that accounts for ~84% of all reserves.
Looking only at percentage allocation can mislead. Several smaller exchanges carried higher stablecoin ratios, but Binance still held the largest absolute stablecoin balance by far, remaining the largest single liquidity provider in the tracked PoR universe.
Three Reserve Strategies Persisted in May
01 · Liquidity-first exchanges
MEXC, KuCoin, Bybit, and Bitget again showed the strongest stablecoin-oriented reserve structures. MEXC had the highest stablecoin allocation at 73.30%, followed by KuCoin (60.12%), Bybit (54.40%), and Bitget (52.18%). These venues kept more than half of their PoR assets in stablecoins, signalling a continued focus on immediate liquidity and lower exposure to market volatility.
02 · Blue-chip balanced exchanges
Binance and OKX both maintained large allocations to BTC, ETH, and stablecoins, but their structures differed. Binance: 36.48% stablecoins, 29.31% BTC & derivatives, 5.06% ETH, 20.13% platform tokens，and in absolute terms still the largest stablecoin reserve at $50.51B. OKX: a more liquidity-weighted mix of 49.35% stablecoins, 27.42% BTC, 10.34% ETH, with a smaller 5.80% platform-token allocation.
03 · Altcoin / platform-token sensitive exchanges
Gate and HTX again stood out for more risk-sensitive compositions. Gate: 26.37% stablecoins, but also 10.43% platform tokens and 20.29% other altcoins：diversified, but more exposed to lower-liquidity, higher-volatility assets.
Absolute Liquidity Matters
Looking only at percentage allocation can mislead. Several smaller exchanges carried higher stablecoin ratios, but Binance still held the largest stablecoin balance by far. Binance remains the largest absolute liquidity provider in the tracked PoR universe, holding 36.48% of its reserves in stablecoins.
CHAPTER 05 Exchange Own Token Performance.
May 2026 saw an average gain of +3.53% across all tracked exchange tokens and stocks, more than doubling April’s +1.54%. Leadership rotated sharply; dispersion stayed wide.
A Broad Rally with Sharp Rotation
A Broad Rally with Sharp Rotation
The clear leaders were BNB (+15.15%) and OKB (+11.60%). BNB surged from a near-flat +0.73% in April to lead the entire cohort; OKB staged a complete reversal from April's −1.96% loss. GEMI also posted +11.65%, and MNT rebounded +5.69% after April's −10.39% collapse.
"May extended the constructive tone from April, but with leadership rotating violently between names. Active selection still matters."
TOKEN PERFORMANCE CONCLUSION
Idiosyncratic factors again drove outcomes: BNB and OKB led decisively, MNT recovered from its April collapse, and GT reversed out of April leadership. The tone is more constructive and the average return more than doubled, but dispersion between the best (+15.15%) and worst (−6.19%) names remained wide.
CHAPTER 06 Liquidity.
May 2026 brought a clear shift in median ±2% order-book depth across BTC and ETH markets. Binance reclaimed the deepest BTC book from Coinbase and retained its ETH lead, with depth gains spread across leading venues.
BTC Market: Binance Reclaims the Top
In the BTC market, Binance overtook Coinbase to reclaim the deepest venue, with median ±2% depth rising 30.1% MoM to $22.43M, reversing April’s ranking. Coinbase ranked second after a more modest 4.1% gain to $20.34M. The shift returned BTC depth leadership to Binance after Coinbase briefly led in April.
In the BTC market, Binance overtook Coinbase to reclaim the deepest venue, with median ±2% depth rising 30.1% MoM to $22.43M, reversing April’s ranking. Coinbase ranked second after a more modest 4.1% gain to $20.34M. The shift returned BTC depth leadership to Binance after Coinbase briefly led in April.
ETH Market: Binance’s Hold Tightens
The ETH market kept a familiar shape. Binance remained the deepest ETH venue, with median ±2% depth increasing 6.1% MoM to $13.79M, reinforcing its role as the main ETH liquidity venue. HTX ranked second at $9.70M despite an 11.9% decline, with Coinbase close behind in third after a strong 22.7% gain to $9.26M.
The ETH market kept a familiar shape. Binance remained the deepest ETH venue, with median ±2% depth increasing 6.1% MoM to $13.79M, reinforcing its role as the main ETH liquidity venue. HTX ranked second at $9.70M despite an 11.9% decline, with Coinbase close behind in third after a strong 22.7% gain to $9.26M.
LIQUIDITY TAKEAWAY
May’s liquidity picture reversed April’s BTC story: Binance reclaimed the deepest BTC book (+30.1% to $22.43M) as Coinbase slipped to #2, while Bybit held third. For ETH, Binance not only remained the leading venue but also extended its depth. For institutional participants: Binance is once again the deepest single venue for both BTC and ETH execution, though Coinbase and Bybit keep BTC competitive across the top of the table.
CHAPTER 07 Regulatory & Compliance.
May's regulatory thread spanned new licensing, fresh enforcement pressure, and tightening KYC frameworks, with venues moving at different speeds across jurisdictions.
CHAPTER 08 Product & Feature Developments.
The largest venues pushed aggressively from crypto perps into TradFi perpetuals, pre-IPO exposure, tokenized securities, and regulated derivatives, a clear multi-asset, derivatives-led posture.
STRATEGIC IMPLICATION
Binance's May positioning was clearly multi-asset and derivatives-led — pushing from crypto perps into TradFi perps, pre-IPO exposure, tokenized securities, and trading-fee incentives. Coinbase and OKX extended the same theme into regulated and structured products.
This report has been prepared by CoinMarketCap Research and is provided for general informational purposes only. The information contained in this publication is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal, financial, investment, tax, or other professional advice. Recipients should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in this report without seeking appropriate professional advice from independent advisers.
The data, analysis, and conclusions presented in this report are based on sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication, including aggregated exchange APIs, public Proof-of-Reserves disclosures, and on-chain wallet flow data tracked by CoinMarketCap. CoinMarketCap and its affiliates make no representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or suitability of the information contained herein. Crypto-asset markets are highly volatile and any forward-looking statements, projections, or analyses represent the views of the author(s) at the time of writing only and are subject to change without notice.
Volumes, market shares, and reserve figures cited in this report aggregate self-reported and externally observed data; certain figures (notably stablecoin allocations for venues that did not publicly disclose them in their May PoR) reflect data-coverage limitations rather than confirmed zero exposure. BingX, tracked in the April edition, is absent from May’s volume aggregation and is reported only in the liquidity chapter. The regulatory and product chapters carry forward April’s threads pending editorial confirmation against May sources. Where applicable, methodology footnotes are included alongside individual chapters.
Cryptocurrencies, digital assets, tokens, and crypto-derivative products carry significant risk, including the risk of total loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The mention of specific exchanges, tokens, or products in this report is descriptive and does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.
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