With crypto still being years away from being widely adopted by the mainstream public, most of the market’s activity is driven by speculators and traders seeking to leverage the wild price swings and volatility in order to turn a profit.
However, new research data shows that the actual active users on top cryptocurrency exchanges is extremely low, with only four of the most active exchanges having over 100,000 active users.
Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, and OKEx: Over 100,000 Active Users
According to the November 2018 research report from the Blockchain Transparency Institute, only four of the top crypto exchanges can claim having over 100,000 active daily users.
The four exchanges with over 100,000 active daily users includes – to little surprise – San Francisco-based Coinbase, Changpeng Zhao-led Binance, Hong Kong-based OKEx, and Singapore-based Huobi.
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Of the four exchanges, Coinbase leads the pack with 422,000 daily active users, with Binance trailing behind in second place with 313,000 daily active users. OKEx and Huobi barely made it over 100,000 daily active users, with 105,000 and 101,000 respectively.
Out of the 68 crypto exchanges included in the Blockchain Transparency Institute’s report, the average daily active users across all exchanges is a mere 27,000 users. On the absolute lowest end of the spectrum, Bisq, Coinrail, Kyber Network don’t even have 1,000 active daily users, topping out at 394, 573, and 874 users.
Coinbase: Highest Active Users, Very Little Transaction Volume
Coinbase coming out on top should be a surprise to no one, as the company has become the most recognizable name in crypto – especially to retail investors that primarily used Coinbase’s iOS app to purchase cryptocurrencies during last year’s bull run. The firm closed 2017 with over $1 billion in revenue, beating expectations by 66%.
What is shocking to see, is how little transaction volume Coinbase users contribute to the overall market volume. Of the four exchanges with over 100,00 active daily users, Coinbase ranks the lowest, with only $189 in transaction volume per user. By comparison, Binance transaction volume sits at $2,137 per user, while OKEx and Huobi’s customer transaction volume are $1,972 and $1,723 respectively.
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Coinbase’s average customer transaction volume per user is about 10% of what other major cryptocurrency exchanges see for transaction volume. Bitfinex, which is known for its “whale” market makers, tops the list with the highest transaction volume per user at $3,518.
Due to how little money traders on Coinbase are transacting with, the incredibly popular exchange ranks 9th on the list for the highest 24 hour transaction volume, at $106 million in transactions each day. Binance, which currently wears the crown in terms of transaction volume, boasts nearly ten times that of Coinbase’s, with over $1.028 billion in transaction volume every 24 hours.
It’s worth pointing out that BitMex is notably missing from the data set provided by he Blockchain Transparency Institute, which is currently ranked 2nd – ahead of both Coinbase and Binance – on CoinMarketCap’s top 100 cryptocurrency exchanges by reported volume.
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