Exchange Benchmark & Rankings

Explore the latest centralised exchange rankings from CoinDesk's Exchange Benchmark

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75+

Spot Exchanges

200+

Metrics

15+

Derivatives Exchanges

$3BN

Underlying AUM

What is The Exchange Benchmark?

The Exchange Benchmark was created in 2019 to bring clarity to the digital asset exchange sector. Since launching, it has become the industry standard for evaluating the risk associated with over 200 centralized and decentralszed digital asset exchanges.

The rankings in this report underpin CoinDesk Data’s standard-setting aggregate index methodology, CCIX.

How Does It Work?

The Exchange Benchmark is underpinned by over 200 qualitative and quantitative metrics to rank exchanges and provide a framework for assessing risk. Metrics are grouped into sub-categories and broader risk categories, with each level assigned a specific weight.

A Due Diligence Questionnaire is also distributed to all ranked exchanges approximately one month prior to publication.

Forms for the November 2025 Benchmark will be shared in October.

What do the grades mean?

Exchanges are assigned a grade from AA to F based on the total score they receive in the Exchange Benchmark. This grading does not connote overall superiority, instead it represents a means of ranking exchanges according to risk.

AA-BB exchanges are classified as Top-Tier and B-F exchanges as Lower-Tier.

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Exchange Benchmark report cover

How Are The Scores Calculated?

#1

A comprehensive set of categories have been established that reflect the key risk areas associated with centralised exchanges. For example, Legal & Regulation and Market Quality.
Each category is assigned a weighting based on its significance in evaluating risk.

#2

Within each category, a variety of metrics—both quantitative and qualitative—are utilised to assess an exchange's performance.

Points are allocated to these metrics according to their importance within the category.

#3

Points are aggregated within each category and then scaled according to the category's weighting. The scores from each category are then summed to produce a total score.

To ensure comparability across exchanges, all scores are normalised within their respective categories, enabling a balanced total score that reflects both breadth and depth of performance.

#4

Each exchange is assigned a final grade based on its overall score, ranging from AA to F
We classify exchanges with a grade of BB or higher as ‘Top-Tier,’ while those with a grade of B or lower are considered ‘Lower-Tier.’ Top-Tier exchanges meet our minimum threshold for acceptable risk.

Grading Breakdown

Categories & Weighting

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