Analyst Jamie Coutts shared some data on Twitter, indicating that Coinbase has captured 11% of global trading revenue, ranking it fifth worldwide among traditional financial exchanges, surpassing Nasdaq. When adding decentralized exchange (DEX) trading data, it accounts for 5% of global trading revenue, even exceeding the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Jamie Coutts also projected potential developments in exchange operations going forward.
Coinbase Becomes the Fifth-Largest Exchange, Surpassing Nasdaq
Source: Jamie Coutts
From the data presented in the chart, it is evident that the London Stock Exchange remains the largest exchange, accounting for 21% of global trading revenue. Following it is the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which holds 18% of global trading revenue; it is noted that its operations include the New York Stock Exchange. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ranks third with 12%, while Deutsche Börse closely follows with a margin of less than 1%.
In fifth place is the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which even surpasses the well-known Nasdaq. When the trading fee revenue from decentralized exchanges is summed up, it accounts for 5% of global trading revenue, placing it seventh.
Coinbase has achieved an impressive annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 78% over the past five years, demonstrating strong growth momentum. The CAGR for DEXs has also reached 106% over the same period. Jamie Coutts pointed out that the growth rates of centralized exchanges and DEXs are approximately 2.5 to 4 times that of traditional finance. Moreover, DEXs have become one of the most profitable applications globally. He also stated that by 2024, the revenue of centralized exchanges is expected to match that of traditional finance.
Analysts Optimistic About RWA and DeFi Sectors
Using Coinbase’s price-to-sales (P/S) ratio to value the centralized exchange (CEX) sector, the total market capitalization could reach $749 billion, while traditional finance is approximately $610 billion. He also predicted that there will be more acquisitions of centralized exchanges in the future, as well as increased cross-industry integration (for example, the collaboration between Robinhood and Arbitrum).
Additionally, several centralized exchanges will submit applications to seek listings on traditional exchanges. The launch of their own DEXs by centralized exchanges (whether through creating their own Layer 2 solutions or developing multi-chain protocols) is expected to become mainstream, as noted earlier, DEXs are among the most profitable applications.
He also forecasted that the process of asset tokenization will accelerate, further boosting the valuation of the RWA sector. As growth-oriented investors from traditional finance begin to invest in cryptocurrencies, DeFi will be their preferred choice, ultimately driving the overall market value of the sector up by 4 to 5 times, with some protocols potentially outperforming ETH, BTC, and SOL during the same period.
Risk Warning
Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk, and their prices can be highly volatile, leading to the potential loss of your entire principal. Please carefully assess the risks.