TL;DR
Over the past five years, major CEX listings have shifted from “single exchange announcements” into multi-exchange cascades: Bybit looks most like the early discovery layer, Binance has the most trading-pair / product events, OKX accelerated meaningfully in 2025-2026, and Coinbase plus Upbit are more selective confirmation venues.
Core data: from 2021-08-10 to 2026-08-10, the five exchanges produced 5,591 listing events, equivalent to 2,372 token-exchange first listings, covering 1,323 deduplicated token symbols. Among them, 558 symbols were cross-listed by at least two exchanges, and 192 completed multi-exchange cascades within 30 days. For trading, the most important signal is the 7-30 day linkage among Bybit / OKX / Binance; Coinbase / Upbit are better used as secondary confirmation signals.
Data Scope
This memo covers the five named exchanges: Coinbase, Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Upbit. The source is Surf Exchange Listing Events, counted by effective_at, with data through 2026-08-10 02:40 UTC. The analysis window is 2021-08-10 to 2026-08-10.
| Metric | Definition | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Listing event | Each trading-pair / product listing record, such as spot, perp, or different quote assets | Measures the frequency of announcements / market openings, but one token can have multiple records |
| Token-level first listing | The first time a base symbol appears in that exchange’s listing history | Closer to the idea of “new token listed” |
| Cross-listing | The same normalized token symbol first appearing across multiple exchanges | Measures multi-exchange diffusion speed |
| Product scope | Spot and perp are included; Binance Alpha is not merged into Binance main venue scope | Avoids mixing display / Alpha assets into main venue listings |
Note: this is a symbol-level analysis, not a contract-address-level analysis. Perp unit prefixes such as 1000PEPE / PEPE are normalized, but same-name tokens and old tokens with new quote pairs can still create small amounts of noise.
Listing Frequency
Bybit is the most aggressive token-level listing venue, while Binance has the most trading-pair / product events. Binance recorded 1,849 pair / product listing events over the past five years, far above other exchanges. But on token-level first listings, Bybit leads with 883, about 1.9x Binance.
| Exchange | Pair / Product listing events | Monthly events | Spot / Perp events | Token-level first listings | Monthly new tokens | Median gap between new tokens | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | 635 | 10.6 | 635 / 0 | 386 | 6.4 | 1.0 days | All spot; more compliance-filtered confirmation |
| Binance | 1,849 | 30.8 | 1,482 / 367 | 459 | 7.6 | 1.0 days | Most pair / quote expansion; spot remains dominant |
| OKX | 1,003 | 16.7 | 696 / 307 | 409 | 6.8 | 1.0 days | Accelerated in 2025-2026; active in both spot and perps |
| Bybit | 1,439 | 24.0 | 669 / 770 | 883 | 14.7 | 0.9 days | Most aggressive; high perp-first ratio; strong discovery attributes |
| Upbit | 665 | 11.1 | 665 / 0 | 235 | 3.9 | 3.8 days | All spot; selective, more like regional liquidity confirmation |
The product structure also differs clearly. Coinbase / Upbit are spot-only in this sample. Among Binance token first listings, about 67.5% are spot-first and 32.5% perp-first. OKX is about 58.4% spot-first and 41.6% perp-first. Bybit is 53.8% perp-first, which shows it more often uses perpetual contracts to capture new-asset attention early.
Listing Cycles
The past five years do not show a fixed “monthly listing” rhythm. They show TGE / narrative-driven batch listings. Event-level median gaps can be close to 0 because multiple quote pairs can open on the same day. Token-level data is clearer: excluding Upbit, Coinbase, Binance, OKX, and Bybit all have median new-token gaps close to 1 day.
| Exchange | 2021* | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 YTD* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | 25 | 71 | 45 | 77 | 112 | 56 |
| Binance | 51 | 57 | 46 | 73 | 119 | 113 |
| OKX | 19 | 33 | 33 | 67 | 99 | 158 |
| Bybit | 86 | 102 | 116 | 202 | 218 | 159 |
| Upbit | 11 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 87 | 61 |
* 2021 only counts after August 10; 2026 counts through August 10.
Several cycle patterns stand out:
- 2024 was the re-acceleration point, and 2025 was the broad expansion year. Bybit went from 116 new tokens in 2023 to 202 in 2024 and 218 in 2025. Upbit jumped from 38 in 2024 to 87 in 2025.
- OKX accelerated the most in 2026. As of August 10, OKX already had 158 token-level first listings, above its full-year 2025 count of 99.
- The weekday effect is strong. Across the five exchanges, new token listings concentrate from Tuesday to Friday: Thursday 24.2%, Wednesday 20.5%, Tuesday 19.7%, Friday 18.7%; Saturday + Sunday combined are only 3.7%.
- Burst months matter more than averages. Typical peaks include OKX 2026-07: 79 new tokens, Bybit 2026-06: 46, Binance 2026-07: 44, Coinbase 2022-06: 34, and Upbit 2025-09: 26.
- Lower-frequency exchanges have longer empty windows. Longest token-listing gaps in the sample: Upbit 97 days, OKX 88.9 days, Coinbase 77.9 days, Binance 74.4 days, and Bybit 44.0 days.
Cross-Listings
The core of cross-listing is high-frequency linkage among Bybit / OKX / Binance, while Coinbase / Upbit more often appear in the confirmation phase. After deduplication, the five venues listed 1,323 new token symbols, of which 558 were listed by at least two exchanges, or 42.2%.
| Exchange coverage | Token count | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Covered by all 5 | 56 | Top-tier TGE / high-consensus assets, usually listed quickly |
| Covered by 4 | 88 | High-liquidity candidates, often Binance / OKX / Bybit plus Coinbase or Upbit |
| Covered by 3 | 147 | Medium-high consensus assets |
| Covered by 2 | 267 | Local consensus or early derivative-market testing |
| Only 1 exchange | 765 | Long-tail, regional, or experimental listings |
| Exchange pair | Shared listed tokens | Cascaded within 30 days | Cascaded within 90 days | Median absolute time gap | Lead structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance - Bybit | 285 | 154 | 186 | 14.9 days | Bybit 161 vs Binance 105, 19 same-day / same-time |
| OKX - Bybit | 273 | 166 | 204 | 9.0 days | Bybit 152 vs OKX 106, 15 same-day / same-time |
| Coinbase - Bybit | 237 | 91 | 114 | 102.3 days | Bybit 154 vs Coinbase 79 |
| Bybit - Upbit | 200 | 73 | 101 | 80.9 days | Bybit 166 vs Upbit 25 |
| Binance - OKX | 153 | 80 | 104 | 27.1 days | OKX 77 vs Binance 68 |
| Coinbase - Upbit | 144 | 40 | 64 | 131.2 days | Coinbase 96 vs Upbit 48 |
| Coinbase - Binance | 142 | 52 | 65 | 120.8 days | Binance 83 vs Coinbase 58 |
| Binance - Upbit | 128 | 51 | 69 | 80.5 days | Binance 96 vs Upbit 26 |
| OKX - Upbit | 119 | 43 | 65 | 60.9 days | OKX 90 vs Upbit 29 |
| Coinbase - OKX | 115 | 40 | 57 | 94.0 days | OKX 70 vs Coinbase 45 |
Among the 558 tokens cross-listed by multiple exchanges, the first-listing leaders are:
| Leading exchange | Lead count | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Bybit | 240 | Strongest early discovery signal, but also the noisiest |
| Binance | 115 | High-liquidity confirmation, relevant across spot / perp |
| OKX | 110 | Tightest linkage with Bybit / Binance, significantly stronger in 2026 |
| Coinbase | 76 | Strong compliance-confirmation attribute |
| Upbit | 17 | Rarely global first-listing; more like regional spot confirmation |
Typical fast-cascade examples:
| Token | Coverage | Cross-exchange span | Listing sequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| APT | 5 exchanges | 0.9 days | OKX 2022-10-18 -> Coinbase / Binance / Bybit / Upbit 2022-10-19 |
| MOVE | 5 exchanges | 1.5 days | OKX / Bybit / Binance 2024-12-09 -> Upbit 2024-12-10 -> Coinbase 2024-12-11 |
| ME | 5 exchanges | 14.7 days | Bybit 2024-11-26 -> OKX / Binance / Coinbase 2024-12-10 -> Upbit 2024-12-11 |
Trading Implications
Listing alpha should be decomposed into “early discovery -> liquidity confirmation -> regional confirmation.” If you only watch one exchange’s announcements, you miss the real diffusion path.
- Early discovery layer: Bybit, OKX, Binance perps.
Bybit led 240 cross-listing cases, and 53.8% of its token first listings are perp-first. The median time gap between OKX / Bybit shared listings is only 9.0 days. This signal is useful for tracking whether an asset has entered the global derivatives field of view, but it is not the same as a low-risk entry. - Mainstream confirmation layer: Binance spot, Coinbase spot.
Binance has the most pair / product events, showing strong quote, product, and liquidity expansion capacity. Coinbase is all spot, and its cross-listing median gaps versus Bybit / Binance are usually above 100 days, making it more like ex-post confirmation than early discovery. - Regional confirmation layer: Upbit.
Upbit has fewer new tokens, but its overlap rate is very high: among its 235 token-level first listings, about 221 also appear on at least one of the other four exchanges, an overlap rate of about 94%. This means Upbit rarely lists in isolation and is better read as a Korean spot-liquidity confirmation signal. - Cascade window: focus on 7 days, 30 days, and 90 days.
Among the 558 cross-listed tokens, 192 completed multi-exchange diffusion within 30 days and 261 within 90 days. If a new asset first lists on Bybit / OKX / Binance and receives a second major-exchange confirmation within 7-30 days, its probability of entering a broader CEX pool is usually more worth monitoring. - Do not mechanically chase “same-day all-exchange listings.”
APT and MOVE being listed across five venues within 1-2 days shows strong consensus, but also means the listing premium is likely priced very quickly. A better trading framework is to also monitor spot depth, perp funding rates, OI, unlocks, and TGE float, not merely “another exchange listed it.”
Conclusion
Over the past five years, CEX listing structure has become three-layered: Bybit / OKX / Binance capture new narratives faster; Binance / Coinbase provide stronger mainstream confirmation; Upbit provides regional spot-liquidity confirmation. By frequency, Bybit is the most aggressive. By event count, Binance is the largest. By trend, OKX accelerated the most in 2026. By cross-listing structure, Bybit has the tightest linkage with OKX / Binance.
Bottom line. If you are building a listing monitor, the priority should be: first watch Bybit / OKX / Binance perp / spot first listings, then check whether a second major exchange confirms within 7-30 days, and finally use Coinbase / Upbit as stronger but more delayed confirmation signals.
