Introduction

The crypto exchange landscape is evolving rapidly, with platforms embracing a wider array of offerings to stay competitive. In addition to traditional trading services, exchanges are experimenting with their own blockchains and perpetual decentralized exchanges. This shift signals a new phase in the industry, where exchanges are positioning themselves not only as trading hubs but as gateways to blockchain and decentralized finance. In October, Gate exemplified this shift with record spot share, category-leading launchpools, rapid L2 adoption on Gate Layer, and a newly launched Perp DEX surpassing $1B in volume.

Markets Overview

Spot Market

Spot trading activity expanded notably in October, reflecting renewed retail and institutional participation after a relatively muted September. Total market volume rose from $1.82 trillion in September to $2.42 trillion in October, marking a 33% month-over-month increase.

Gate led October’s rebound among major venues, lifting spot volume to $159B (+31% MoM) and setting a record 6.57% market share (ATH), narrowing the gap with the month’s top three. Binance remained the largest at $737B (+29%), while KuCoin re-entered the top tier with $160B (+218% MoM). Market strength persisted across peers, with OKX +41%, HTX +31%, and Crypto.com +35%.

Futures Market

Futures trading activity continued to expand in October, mirroring the momentum seen in spot markets. Total monthly derivatives volume across major exchanges climbed from $8.51 trillion in September to $10.91 trillion in October, representing a 28% month-over-month increase. The rebound highlights growing speculative interest and renewed leverage demand as volatility returned to the market, lifting both institutional and retail participation in derivatives trading.

Gate advanced in derivatives, lifting monthly futures volume to $828B (+17% MoM) and further narrowing the gap with Bybit at $1.01T (+24%). OKX strengthened its hold on second place with $1.26T (+32%), while Binance remained the largest venue at $2.8T (+9%). The overall uptick in leverage activity highlights a broad recovery in derivatives, with Gate’s steady gains reinforcing its position among top-tier exchanges.

Among other notable performers, MEXC posted strong increases of 38% and 60%, respectively, while KuCoin saw an exceptional 671% surge to $739 billion, likely boosted by new derivatives products and promotional activity. In contrast, Bitget was the only major exchange to post a decline, slipping 4% to $702 billion.

Launchpads and Launchpools

September and October 2025 were much more active in terms of launchpools on centralized exchanges, with Gate standing out as the clear leader in this space. The platform hosted 35 launchpools over the past two months, far surpassing its competitors. In contrast, Binance held just 1 launchpool, while Bybit and Bitget had 6 and 8, respectively. This difference highlights Gate’s dominance in driving token listings and providing robust user engagement opportunities.

Gate’s impressive performance is further underscored by its $3.3 million in rewards and a cumulative TVL of $2.9 billion, which marked a 167% month-over-month increase. This growth reflects Gate’s strong market position, as it continues to offer substantial rewards to its users. While other exchanges remain active in the launchpool space, none have matched Gate’s volume or growth, solidifying its role as the go-to platform for new and emerging projects.

New Token Listings Activity

Trading in newly listed tokens remained active through September and October, reflecting sustained retail participation and the continued demand for new market opportunities. Aggregate daily spot trading volumes in this segment ranged between $400 million and $1.2 billion, with activity accelerating toward the end of October. Binance continued to dominate, capturing nearly 45% of total trading volume in new listings, followed by HTX at 23% and Bybit at just over 9%.

Gate strengthened its position, accounting for 6.2% of total new-listing volume by the end of October. However, Gate’s new token listings were up 200% year-over-year in September, underscoring its growing relevance as a venue for early trading in newly launched assets. MEXC and KuCoin also saw consistent activity, with 8.8% and 3.2% market shares respectively. While Binance and HTX continued to command the largest slices of this market, the overall distribution of volume shows how second-tier exchanges are increasingly shaping liquidity flows around new listings.

Other Updates on CEX market

Competition among CEX-backed blockchains has intensified as exchanges expand their on-chain ecosystems. BNB Chain has shown strong performance in recent months, supporting ecosystem growth and rising user activity. Bybit’s Mantle also continued to gain traction, becoming one of the largest Layer 2 networks by TVL.

Following this trend, Gate launched Gate Layer, a high-performance Layer 2 network built on the OP Stack and fully compatible with the EVM, using GateChain as its settlement layer. Gate Layer can process more than 5,700 transactions per second. Within just two weeks of launch, the network surpassed 100 million wallet addresses, marking one of the fastest adoption rates among CEX-affiliated blockchains.

Perpetual DEXs have also seen a sharp rise in activity, with total trading volume in October reaching new highs amid the success of Hyperliquid. As competition in decentralized derivatives trading intensifies, leading centralized exchanges have begun integrating or supporting major perp DEXs within their ecosystems. Binance has extended its backing to Aster, one of the top-performing perpetual DEXs, while Bybit-affiliated ApeX recorded strong growth in both usage and token price.

Gate, meanwhile, launched its own perpetual DEX on the newly introduced Gate Layer, surpassing $1 billion in trading volume shortly after going live. The platform currently supports 447 markets with LayerZero-powered multi-chain interoperability across Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base. In addition, Gate Fun was introduced as a zero-code token launch platform, enabling users to create meme tokens in under one minute and expanding Gate’s on-chain ecosystem through a community-focused product.

In addition, Gate Ventures, the VC arm of Gate, has acquired ADEN, a top decentralized perpetuals exchange, with an official debut on November 3. Per CoinMarketCap, ADEN ranks #3 globally with $20B+ monthly volume and 200K+ traders, and will migrate to Gate Layer (OP-Stack, EVM-compatible, GateChain-secured) for faster, lower-fee trading. The deal folds into Gate Perp DEX, supporting hundreds of perp markets (up to 125x), on-chain custody, audited contracts, and pro-grade tooling.

Transparency Overview

Major exchanges maintained healthy reserve ratios through October, with all leading platforms reporting full collateralization across core assets. Gate posted the highest average reserve ratio, with 133% for BTC, 126% for ETH, 119% for USDT, and an exceptional 248% for USDC, reflecting a strong capital buffer. Other top venues such as Binance, Bybit, and OKX also showed solid coverage levels, generally ranging between 100% and 110%, reinforcing overall transparency and solvency across the sector.

Leading CEXs Reserves Snapshot as of November 4

You can check more data on CEX transparency on CryptoRank

The Bottom Line

Overall, the exchange landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with Gate showing significant momentum through innovative Layer 2 solutions and strong token listing activity. As more platforms introduce decentralized features and improve user engagement, the competition will only grow fiercer. Gate’s consistent performance in key areas, such as launchpools, futures trading, and blockchain integration, positions it strongly for continued leadership in the coming months.