BNB Leads the Pack as Exchange Tokens Take Center Stage

In a rapidly changing and unstable crypto market, exchange tokens have taken center stage in shaping investor sentiment and platform allegiance.

In the dynamic and often turbulent landscape of cryptocurrency, exchange tokens have emerged as pivotal instruments in shaping investor sentiment and dictating platform allegiance.

With the crypto market exhibiting a period of instability over the past couple of months, a look at the performance of tokens native to five leading cryptocurrency exchanges—Binance, Bitget, OKX, Bybit, and Gate.io—reveals some interesting trends.

A $10,000 hypothetical investment in each of these tokens at the start of the past two-month period offers a glimpse into some of the best and worst places for exchange-aligned capital during that same stretch.

Exchange tokens, which usually provide some kind of utility within their respective ecosystems—like trading discounts, governance, and staking—tend to appeal more to long-term holders. However, their value is also quite sensitive to broader market conditions, trading volumes, and any kind of development relating to the platform, good or bad.

So how did a $10K position in each of the following tokens hold up over the past two months?

Binance Leads With Strong Fundamentals

Of the five platforms examined, Binance’s flagship token, $BNB, displayed the greatest gains over the two-month window, notching up a 10 percent rise.

This means if you had invested $10,000 in $BNB two months ago, you’d now have $11,000. While this might not seem like a massive 'moonshot' compared to some of the more speculative tokens (perhaps an NFT would be heating up more), it’s a significant improvement over the previous two-month period, which saw $BNB slide by 17 percent.

For a long time now, BNB has been recognized as one of the most developed and well-rounded tokens in the exchange ecosystem. It enjoys the advantages that come with a gigantic global user base and a varied product line—part of the reason why it is a core part of the Binance empire. Users can get discounts on trading fees, they can use BNB to participate in the launch of new tokens, and it is a very basic way that one can use to part in the DeFi and payment ecosystem that is Binance.

A 10% gain suggests that investor confidence in Binance’s infrastructure and ongoing ability to generate volume remains high—even in market conditions.

Bitget and OKX Hold Steady, Delivering Moderate Gains

Closely following BNB in terms of gains were Bitget’s $BGB and OKX’s $OKB tokens, which saw advances of 7% and 6%, respectively, over the same period.

This means that if you’d placed $10,000 into BGB at the start of the year, it would now be worth $10,700, and a $10,000 investment in OKB would presently be indicated as around $10,600.

The $BGB token from Bitget not only saw some price appreciation but it also really stood out because it delivered the highest yield farming rewards compared to everything else in our coverage group. That yield farming reward offering is likely to heighten investor interest. Yield farming remains a very popular strategy among crypto users who are looking for almost guaranteed passive income opportunities.

$OKB token from OKX, on the other hand, saw somewhat less growth but did manage to maintain price stability. The integration of products that are really cutting-edge and the focus on a truly multichain world seem to be engaging investors and keeping them on board with this particular token. OKB is not making headlines for the high returns that some investors are looking for, but it has built up a very respectable reputation for being consistent.

Bybit and Gate.io Fall Behind

Conversely, on the performance spectrum’s opposite end, Bybit’s $MNT and Gate.io’s $GT tokens notched up losses. $MNT slid 12% over two months, dragging a $10,000 investment down to $8,800. Gate.io’s $GT didn’t fare any better; it sank 13%, with the same $10,000 investment now being valued at $8,700.

💰 Holding $10K in Exchange Tokens: Who Came Out Ahead?

Here’s how $10K in native tokens performed across 5 major exchanges over 2 months:

• Binance $BNB: +10%• Bitget $BGB: +7%• OKX $OKB: +6%• Bybit $MNT: -12%• Gate io $GT: -13%$BNB, $BGB, and $OKB held up well… pic.twitter.com/baOzT07H6L

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) June 10, 2025