When it comes to successful cryptocurrency trading, one factor stands above the rest: liquidity. High liquidity ensures smoother trades, tighter spreads, and lower slippage—critical for both retail traders and institutional investors. In this comprehensive analysis, we examine the market depth of five leading centralized exchanges (CEXs): Binance, OKX, Bitget, Bybit, and MEXC. Focusing on both spot and perpetual futures markets, we evaluate real-world liquidity using data from CoinMarketCap and direct API calls to each platform.
Our dataset includes the top 30 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market cap that are listed across all five exchanges—totaling 16 major trading pairs. Data was collected every 20 minutes over a one-week period (October 1–7, 2024), capturing the 0.05% market depth for USDT spot pairs and USDⓈ-margined perpetual contracts. This methodology ensures an accurate, real-time reflection of actual trading conditions.
Through this deep dive, we aim to answer a pivotal question: Which exchange truly leads in liquidity?
Futures Market Depth: Who Dominates?
The futures market is where high-volume traders and algorithms operate most actively. Market depth here reflects not only trading interest but also platform stability and user confidence.
Our analysis reveals that **MEXC leads the pack with a total 0.05% depth exceeding $100 million** across the 16 selected pairs—**more than 4.13 times higher than the second-place exchange, Bitget**, which recorded approximately $25 million. Binance and Bybit follow closely behind, showing strong but significantly lower aggregate depth.
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BTC & ETH Perpetual Contracts: A Closer Look
Bitcoin and Ethereum dominate futures trading volume, making their order books particularly telling.
- BTC/USDT Perpetual: MEXC’s average depth surpasses Binance—the long-time industry leader—by a wide margin. Bitget, Bybit, and OKX trail further behind.
- ETH/USDT Perpetual: The gap widens even more. MEXC maintains unmatched depth, while Binance falls to second place. Bitget shows consistent performance, edging out Bybit and OKX.
For all other altcoin perpetuals analyzed—including SOL, ADA, DOGE, and AVAX—MEXC consistently ranks first in market depth, often doubling or tripling the liquidity offered by competitors.
Daily Liquidity Trends: Stability Matters
Beyond peak depth, consistency matters. A volatile order book can signal manipulation or thin participation.
- BTC Futures: MEXC demonstrates remarkable stability throughout the week, maintaining dominant depth without major fluctuations. Other platforms show more variability, indicating less predictable liquidity.
- ETH Futures: Again, MEXC leads in consistency. Bitget performs well here too, showing the second-most stable ETH order book after MEXC.
Additionally, we assessed the top five bid-ask levels for BTC and other major pairs to evaluate short-term trade execution quality. On MEXC, BTC’s top five levels exceed $1 million in combined depth—significantly higher than rivals. For all comparable pairs, MEXC maintains superior front-run liquidity, reducing fill risk during fast-moving markets.
Spot Market Liquidity: The Foundation of Trading
While futures attract aggressive traders, spot markets reflect organic demand and long-term holding behavior. Strong spot liquidity enables efficient entry and exit without distorting prices.
Aggregate Depth Across 16 Pairs
In spot trading, MEXC again takes first place with over $25 million in total 0.05% depth, outpacing the second-ranked exchange by 3.38 times. Binance secures second place with solid depth across major assets. Bitget edges past OKX for third, while Bybit lags slightly in this category.
This dominance isn’t limited to aggregate numbers—it extends to individual pairs.
Individual Pair Performance
For nearly every asset analyzed—including SOL/USDT, XRP/USDT, and DOT/USDT—MEXC and Binance occupy the top two spots in average depth.
One exception is TRX/USDT, where Binance narrowly overtakes MEXC due to region-specific demand surges. However, MEXC remains highly competitive across all other pairs.
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BTC & ETH Spot Liquidity Trends
Tracking daily BTC and ETH spot depth reveals crucial insights into platform resilience:
- BTC/USDT Spot: MEXC maintains a steady lead with minimal volatility in its order book depth. Binance follows closely, though occasional dips allow Bitget brief moments of parity.
- ETH/USDT Spot: Similar patterns emerge. MEXC leads consistently, with Binance maintaining second place despite intermittent overlap with Bitget.
These trends confirm that MEXC isn’t just deep—it’s reliable, offering traders confidence during high-impact news events or market swings.
The Verdict: MEXC Emerges as the Liquidity Leader
Across both spot and futures markets, MEXC demonstrates unparalleled liquidity leadership:
- Its futures total depth exceeds $100 million, more than the combined depth of the other four exchanges.
- In spot trading, it leads by over 3x the third-place competitor.
- It dominates across all 16 analyzed pairs, not just flagship assets like BTC and ETH.
- Depth is not only deeper but also more stable day-to-day, reducing execution risk.
While Binance remains a strong contender, especially in spot markets and certain altcoins, it consistently ranks second in both categories. Bitget shows impressive growth in ETH futures and select altcoins but lacks breadth compared to the top two.
OKX and Bybit maintain solid infrastructure and user bases but fall short in raw liquidity metrics across our dataset.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why is 0.05% depth used as a benchmark?
A: The 0.05% depth measures how much volume exists within half a basis point of the mid-price. It reflects immediate liquidity available for fast execution without significant price impact—ideal for assessing real trading conditions.
Q: Does higher liquidity always mean better trading?
A: Generally yes. Higher liquidity means tighter spreads, lower slippage, and faster fills—especially important for large orders. However, traders should also consider fees, security, and platform reliability.
Q: How often was data collected?
A: Market depth data was pulled via API every 20 minutes over seven days (October 1–7, 2024), ensuring a robust sample size and accurate trend representation.
Q: Are stablecoin pairs included in this analysis?
A: No. Stablecoin pairs (e.g., USDT/USDC) were excluded to focus on volatile digital assets with genuine trading interest. Only non-stablecoin tokens from the top 30 by market cap were analyzed.
Q: Can liquidity change rapidly between exchanges?
A: Yes. Liquidity can shift due to promotions, listings, or arbitrage activity. However, sustained depth over a week—as measured here—indicates structural strength rather than temporary spikes.
Q: Is this analysis biased toward MEXC?
A: The data is objective and sourced directly from public APIs using standardized methods. While results favor MEXC, they reflect actual market conditions during the observation period.
Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Exchange for Your Strategy
Liquidity isn’t just a number—it’s a strategic advantage. Whether you're scalping small price movements or deploying large institutional orders, deep markets give you control.
Based on empirical evidence from October 2024:
- MEXC is the current liquidity king in both spot and futures markets.
- Binance remains a top-tier choice, particularly for global traders seeking ecosystem integration.
- Bitget shows strong momentum, especially in ETH derivatives.
- OKX and Bybit offer reliable platforms but lag in overall depth.
Traders looking to optimize execution should prioritize exchanges with proven depth—and right now, that points clearly to MEXC.