CoinUp 2025 Report Card: From Growth to Compliance, the Secret to Second-Tier Exchanges "Rising"

Written by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Exchanges have always been the most intense battleground in the cryptocurrency industry.

At the end of the year and the beginning of the new one, major exchanges have successively released their performance reports. The impressive data from big players has been widely circulated and discussed, but perhaps the annual reports of emerging exchanges offer a different perspective.

To a large extent, the strategies for breakthrough among second-tier exchanges are more aggressive and more focused on capturing new forces, new trends, and new directions. CoinUp, which proclaims the slogan “Crypto Oasis,” is one such example.

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2021, 2025 marks CoinUp’s fourth year of deep cultivation in crypto.

From a startup team of dozens to now over a thousand members, and with the goal of building a “global one-stop crypto derivatives trading platform” as a long-term endeavor, CoinUp has moved forward under pressure and hope over the past year:

The market moves rapidly, public opinion shifts quickly, competitors respond swiftly. CoinUp strives to improve user experience, seize every market window, build brand reputation, and handle public sentiment challenges. As a result, this performance report may better reflect the survival pressures and innovative strategies faced by second-tier exchanges.

From rigorous data analysis, tangible product iterations, to vibrant brand building, let’s explore the core breakthrough ideas behind the rise of second-tier exchanges through CoinUp’s performance report.

“Showcase Strength”: Data Perspective on CoinUp’s 2025 Achievements

Looking at CoinUp’s main achievements in 2025, it’s not about a single explosive point, but about advancing on three key fronts: scale, security, and compliance.

User Growth: Total users surpassed 10 million, covering over 200 countries and regions;

Active Trading Volume: Peak daily trading volume reached $5 billion, average daily volume exceeded $3 billion, supporting over 700 spot trading pairs and more than 100 derivatives/trading tokens, ranking 30th on CoinMarketCap derivatives exchange list;

Net Capital Inflows and Platform Revenue: Daily net capital inflow around $80 million to $120 million, daily revenue approximately $1.2 million to $1.8 million;

Compliance Breakthroughs: After obtaining licenses from Canada’s FINTRAC and the US MSB, in 2025 CoinUp achieved another significant milestone in global compliance by submitting a Form D exemption filing to the US SEC, indicating that CoinUp has officially passed SEC’s comprehensive compliance review.

Security Progress: CoinUp’s $500 million asset reserve passed an independent third-party CER PoR audit, with a core asset reserve rate of 100%, no misappropriation or leverage operations, maintaining a record of “no major security incidents in 4 years”;

Team Expansion: From fewer than 100 to nearly 1,000 members, with operational centers established in key global cities such as Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Abu Dhabi.

These data points collectively outline CoinUp’s 2025 performance: from a solid user base, to explosive trading volume, to increased capital confidence, laying a necessary foundation for CoinUp to move out of the second-tier exchange and sprint toward the first tier.

Solidifying Product Fundamentals for Long-Term Presence at the Table

Basic principles of exchange competition: good products retain users.

As a global one-stop crypto derivatives trading platform, CoinUp’s derivatives trading volume accounts for over 80%, reflecting user recognition of CoinUp’s derivatives module. Therefore, refining this core trading scenario has been a major focus of product iterations over the past year.

But a closer look reveals that CoinUp didn’t deploy flashy tricks this year; yet it maintained at least one iteration per month.

Beyond supporting leverage up to 125x, CoinUp introduced many new features in 2025: contract leaderboards to highlight top traders; a copy trading system linking order providers and followers for mutual benefit; and recently, in App version 6.0.5, further optimization of the contract demo account feature, which further stimulated user enthusiasm for contract trading.

In addition to features, more intelligent trading tools are continuously being improved: in 2025, CoinUp added AI market analysis, allowing users to trigger AI analysis on the K-line chart page with one click, quickly obtaining multi-dimensional market insights including trend judgment, support and resistance levels, intraday strategies, and more. Other smart tools include AI contract prediction, intelligent leverage, and combined with AI-driven trading robots and market-making systems, helping investors at different levels improve efficiency and lower barriers.

There are also small optimizations related to trading fees, trading thresholds, and user benefits. These may seem insignificant but can be felt by traders in practice.

From product iteration styles, we also see a prominent trait of the CoinUp team: pragmatic focus on honing core product skills.

Features may not always be stunning, but the experience becomes more stable with each upgrade. Every enhancement aims to make users feel “CoinUp has become much more user-friendly,” and through this layered experience progression, an impression is built in users’ minds: crypto trading, CoinUp is really smooth to use.

Additionally, a significant move in 2025 was the launch of CP Chain and the platform token $CP.

As CoinUp’s on-chain DeFi experiment platform, CP Chain features over 1000 TPS, 0.5-second confirmation, and EVM compatibility, marking an important step in CoinUp’s transformation into an integrated financial ecosystem covering CeFi and DeFi. $CP , as the only utility and governance token in the CoinUp ecosystem, offers fee discounts, participation in Launchpad/Launchpool, staking, governance, and payments.

Although the price of $CP fluctuated in 2025, its multiple utilities, combined with buyback and burn mechanisms, and CoinUp’s persistent development and layout under a long-term vision, may set the stage for a rebound opportunity in 2026.

Building a Crypto Oasis to Make Traders Feel Safe, Professional, and Warm

Unknowingly, the competition among exchanges has gone through several stages: “technical breakthroughs,” “product experience,” and “humanistic care.”

This is a contest of comprehensive strength—technical prowess is important, but soft power like branding is equally indispensable.

In 2025, you may have seen CoinUp’s core vision: Crypto Oasis.

Oasis symbolizes vitality and conveys a reassuring hope. Within this oasis, CoinUp aims to:

Enable global traders to trade efficiently and smoothly in a more stable, secure, and compliant environment;

Support builders to focus on construction and innovation with the backing of the CoinUp Foundation and CoinUp Research Institute;

And as a platform, continuously evolve toward the “Crypto Oasis” vision under the influence of more active users and innovative ecosystems.

To make this brand concept more perceptible, CoinUp launched a more intuitive brand expression: mascots CC and PP—two adorable otters conveying the brand philosophy of “making trading safer, faster, and more stable,” accompanying users as they explore the crypto oasis.

Over the past year, this vibrant green, unique to CoinUp, along with mascots CC and PP, has indeed stepped onto the broader global crypto stage: Singapore TOKEN2049, CoinUp’s 4th Anniversary DJ Night, Turkey Blockchain Week, Consensus 2025 Hong Kong, Web3 Future Night, Nasdaq Big Screen in Times Square, Abu Dhabi Global Blockchain Show… From Asia to Europe and America, at every major crypto event, you can spot CoinUp’s active presence.

By establishing closer communication channels with projects, investors, KOLs, and media worldwide, CoinUp further demonstrates its platform’s security capabilities, product roadmap, and long-term vision on a broader international stage. Meanwhile, the “Crypto Oasis” vision has evolved from a slogan into a tangible, visible experience for users.

2026: The road is long, but those who walk will reach

Looking back, it helps to better summarize the past and better envision the future.

In the context of the overall trend of the crypto industry moving toward institutionalization and regulation, the breakthrough of second-tier exchanges faces multiple practical challenges.

On one hand, fierce competition among exchanges creates invisible pressure: leading platforms continue to squeeze the survival space, with second-tier exchanges eyeing their share; on the other hand, as global crypto regulation becomes clearer, embracing compliance often requires greater effort and costs.

While the 2025 performance report is “weighty,” it is now in the past. Looking ahead to 2026, CoinUp will continue to refine:

Exploring more functions for trading traditional financial derivatives such as commodities, forex, US stocks, and indices, further becoming a global trading gateway covering multiple asset classes;

Targeting emerging markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe as key growth drivers;

Accelerating license applications in regions like the EU and Dubai, while building a more comprehensive security and risk control system;

Continuing to optimize products and services, grow the user base and community, and enhance revenue and commercialization efforts.

Of course, challenges remain significant—whether it’s the traffic monopoly of top platforms, continuous product and experience improvements, ongoing regulatory compliance, or the value rebuilding of $CP —each tests CoinUp’s strategic resilience and execution capability.

But these challenges also spark curiosity about how well CoinUp’s 2026 deployment will materialize.

In the ongoing process of crypto industry’s move toward institutionalization and regulation, platforms that truly create value for users and set industry benchmarks will ultimately stand where they should.

And CoinUp’s path of competition and breakthrough, guided by the “Crypto Oasis” vision, continues to unfold.