Crypto Exchanges Pivot to Multi-Asset Platforms as Altcoin Liquidity Weakens

Global cryptocurrency exchanges are rapidly redrawing their business models—moving beyond spot crypto trading into equities, derivatives, and custody—in a shift that could reshape where liquidity flows across the market. A new report from Tiger Research argues the pivot is being driven by the limits of fee-based trading revenue, rising competition from on-chain derivatives venues such as Hyperliquid, and a more accommodating U.S. regulatory backdrop under President Trump.

The core change, Tiger Research says, is that centralized exchanges (CEXs) are no longer positioning themselves primarily as the liquidity engine for altcoins. Instead, they are increasingly acting like multi-asset financial platforms, absorbing traditional finance products and building infrastructure that can support trading and custody across asset classes.

Binance has made the shift especially visible. From June 1, Binance began offering in-app access to U.S. equities including Apple ($AAPL) and Alphabet ($GOOGL), and later expanded coverage to major Korean stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The move echoes Binance’s abandoned 2021 attempt to offer stock tokens—but with a structurally different approach aimed at addressing regulatory pressure that derailed the earlier product.

According to Tiger Research, the latest rollout is organized as a clearly defined ‘brokerage service’ model using a broker-dealer licensed in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). In this setup, Binance operates the front-end order experience while execution, settlement, and custody are handled through regulated partners, including Alpaca Securities. Framing the product as brokerage rather than tokenized exposure is intended to reduce ambiguity around securities classification and licensing requirements.

Binance is not alone. Bybit has expanded listings of perpetual futures tied to traditional assets, including U.S. stocks and commodities. Coinbase ($COIN) has signaled similar ambitions, publicly discussing plans to support trading in SpaceX (SPCX) pre-IPO exposure—another indication that crypto-native platforms are chasing demand for conventional assets inside crypto apps.

Tiger Research groups the forces behind the convergence into three categories: declining crypto trading volumes, intensifying on-chain competition, and changing regulation.

First, falling volumes are undermining the core economics of exchanges. The report estimates that Binance’s average daily spot altcoin volume dropped from roughly $45 billion in October 2025 to about $7.7 billion recently—an 80%+ decline. Aggregated volumes across other CEXs have also contracted sharply. With spot fees less reliable, exchanges are under pressure to build new revenue lines, particularly from derivatives and brokerage-like services that can be monetized more consistently.

Second, decentralized exchanges are increasingly competing for the same users and liquidity that once defaulted to CEXs. Hyperliquid, a fast-growing on-chain perpetuals venue, has expanded into futures linked to equities and commodities—pulling activity into crypto rails without relying on centralized intermediaries. Tiger Research highlights that as of mid-2026, 23 of the top 30 assets by perpetual futures volume on Hyperliquid were not cryptocurrencies, a telling signal that on-chain markets are evolving into broader multi-asset trading venues.

For centralized exchanges, this represents more than product competition—it threatens the gravity that keeps retail flow and liquidity within their ecosystems. If users can access leverage, deep liquidity, and diversified products on-chain, the historical advantage of CEX convenience weakens.

Third, regulation is shifting from being a deterrent to a competitive asset. Under President Trump, the U.S. posture toward the sector has softened, including high-profile pullbacks such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrawing lawsuits against Coinbase ($COIN) and Kraken. Tiger Research argues that where traditional licensing was once seen as adding risk, it is increasingly viewed as a pathway to credibility, institutional adoption, and durable market access—making ‘regulatory friendliness’ a prerequisite for expansion into stocks, derivatives, and custody.

Even as exchanges converge on the same destination, their routes differ.

Binance is pursuing what Tiger Research describes as an ‘everything store’ strategy: keep its massive user base—over 200 million users globally—inside one platform by embedding stocks and brokerage capabilities alongside crypto. Orders are captured through Binance’s interface, but regulated partners handle the regulated plumbing. The structure aims to preserve the user relationship and trading flow while limiting direct regulatory exposure.

Bybit is taking a ‘two-track’ approach across on-chain and off-chain rails. On-chain, it has worked with partners such as Backed and Mantle to bring tokenized equities like Nvidia ($NVDA) and Apple ($AAPL) onto blockchain infrastructure. Off-chain, it is simultaneously expanding perpetual futures tied to traditional assets such as U.S. equities and commodities including gold, silver, and crude oil. The logic is to keep users within the Bybit ecosystem regardless of whether they prefer tokenized instruments or conventional derivatives contracts.

Coinbase, by contrast, is leaning on regulatory positioning and institutional distribution. As a Nasdaq-listed company and an S&P 500 constituent, Coinbase is taking a more compliance-forward approach—strengthening its derivatives franchise through the acquisition of Deribit and by building out futures brokerage capabilities under U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight. The company has also been moving toward offering stocks and ETFs inside its app, aiming to present traditional finance and crypto markets in a single interface. Where Hyperliquid diversifies outside traditional regulatory frameworks, Coinbase is attempting to compete head-on through ‘institutional-grade’ infrastructure.

Kraken’s strategy is sharper still: evolve from an exchange into a federally regulated, institution-focused crypto banking and market infrastructure provider. Tiger Research points to Kraken’s acquisitions—such as NinjaTrader and Bitnomial—as steps to reinforce CFTC-linked capabilities, alongside efforts that include pursuing Federal Reserve master account access and applying for a national trust charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Kraken has also launched on-chain initiatives such as Ink and related DeFi services, but the primary emphasis remains building products and rails that institutions can more easily adopt.

The report’s warning, however, is aimed at what may be left behind: the altcoin market that once depended on centralized exchanges for survival. Historically, CEXs played the role of primary liquidity providers for smaller token ecosystems, with listings, marketing support, launchpool-style distribution, and market-making assistance often determining whether a project could maintain volume and visibility. As exchanges redirect attention toward equities, derivatives, and custody, those support functions may become less central—pushing altcoin projects into a ‘survival of the fittest’ phase.

Market behavior is already shifting, Tiger Research notes. Investors are increasingly rewarding tokens backed by tangible revenue, product strength, or defensible distribution rather than those sustained chiefly by exchange-driven liquidity. The report points to Hyperliquid’s token, HYPE, as a symbolic case: despite the platform attracting on-chain liquidity with non-crypto products, its native token has shown strong performance, underscoring that the older CEX–altcoin symbiosis is weakening. The market’s center of gravity is moving from an ‘exchange-supported’ ecosystem to one where projects must prove their own value proposition.

Ultimately, the exchanges’ turn to traditional finance is not merely diversification—it is a signal that the industry’s identity is shifting from crypto brokerage toward comprehensive financial platforms. As exchanges develop pathways to grow with or without altcoins at the center, Tiger Research argues the implications for the long tail of tokens are stark: the gap between projects that can sustain demand independently and those reliant on exchange-driven liquidity may widen further, potentially deepening the next downturn for weaker segments of the altcoin market.