Final month, a founding father of a privateness infrastructure undertaking reached out to me. His workforce had spent eight months and over $400,000 attempting to safe listings on main exchanges. The undertaking had reputable know-how, sturdy audits, and actual utility. But each dialog with exchanges got here right down to the identical query: how a lot are you able to pay?
That is the second we discover ourselves in. The crypto business has advanced from the wild west of 2020 to the compliance-heavy panorama of 2025, however we nonetheless haven’t solved the basic drawback. Most exchanges deal with token listings as transactions relatively than partnerships. Tasks pay substantial charges, get listed, after which largely fend for themselves. When 89% of exchange-listed tokens crash after short-lived worth spikes, that failure belongs to all of us.
From Gatekeeping to Partnership
The itemizing panorama has remodeled dramatically over the previous 5 years. We moved from fundamental technical compatibility checks to complete KYC/AML necessities, exterior audits, and necessary compliance with rules like MiCA in Europe. This evolution was crucial and overdue.
However compliance alone hasn’t created more healthy markets. The fact is that many initiatives with actual utility and powerful technical foundations battle to achieve traction whereas speculative tokens seize headlines and buying and selling quantity. The business has change into targeted on short-term narratives relatively than long-term worth creation.
Essentially the most profitable alternate partnerships show what’s potential when dedication extends past the itemizing occasion. Binance’s assist for Polygon included complete advertising, world AMAs, liquidity incentives, and staking promotions. The end result was hundreds of thousands of latest customers and deep liquidity from day one, establishing a template for Layer-2 ecosystem development.
That’s the usual we must be constructing towards.
How Phemex Approaches Listings
At Phemex, I’ve constructed our itemizing philosophy round a easy conviction: our success depends upon supporting initiatives that create actual worth over time. This isn’t altruism. It’s recognition that wholesome ecosystems generate sustainable enterprise.
We begin with transparency. Tasks can apply by way of our easy software course of with suggestions supplied inside seven enterprise days. However what makes our method totally different is group involvement. We preserve a public suggestion kind the place merchants can advocate tokens. We periodically assessment these strategies and notify customers when their suggestions lead to listings.
This issues greater than it may appear. Merchants utilizing our platform have invaluable insights about which initiatives deserve consideration. By incorporating their enter, we guarantee listings replicate real market curiosity relatively than simply monetary preparations. We prioritize initiatives with sturdy, rising communities that actively assist their tokens and amplify their attain. It’s one of many methods we compete on high quality relatively than quantity.
As soon as we record a undertaking, the connection deepens relatively than ends. We offer ongoing assist by way of joint advertising initiatives, launchpool alternatives, AMAs with our group, and coordinated promotions throughout our social channels.
We repeatedly consider efficiency by way of our Particular Therapy mechanism. Belongings flagged with elevated threat obtain extra scrutiny. We are able to delist tokens that fail to fulfill ongoing requirements of compliance, liquidity, or exercise. Clear public bulletins and phased assist for withdrawals guarantee customers keep protected all through the method.
Our latest itemizing of Orochi Community exemplifies our give attention to technical innovation. ON token represents a Verifiable Information Infrastructure platform using Zero-Data Proofs and Totally Homomorphic Encryption. The undertaking focuses on knowledge integrity and privateness with actual technical utility.
However we additionally acknowledge that worth is available in totally different kinds. We record community-led initiatives and meme tokens that will not match conventional utility descriptions however have sturdy, engaged communities driving real adoption. These initiatives serve actual demand available in the market and deserve entry to high quality infrastructure and assist.
I don’t measure our itemizing workforce’s success by what number of tokens we onboard every quarter. I measure it by what number of of these initiatives, whether or not utility-focused or community-driven, are nonetheless constructing, nonetheless rising, and nonetheless serving their customers two years later. That metric adjustments all the pieces about the way you consider alternatives.
What the Business Wants
Once I discuss to different alternate leaders, I problem them on a easy query: are you choosing initiatives you genuinely imagine will matter in three to 5 years, or are you optimizing for short-term buying and selling charges?
The exchanges that thrive within the coming years gained’t be these with essentially the most listings or the very best volumes. They’ll be those that assist actual builders, preserve rigorous requirements, and foster real innovation. They’ll compete on the energy of their ecosystems, not the scale of their itemizing charges.
This shift requires three issues from exchanges:
First, real transparency in analysis. Tasks and founders deserve to grasp what really drives itemizing selections. Hidden charges and opaque processes profit nobody besides these gaming the system.
Second, assist that extends past the itemizing announcement. Co-marketing, liquidity packages, and academic initiatives must be commonplace, not exceptions.
Third, ongoing accountability. Itemizing isn’t the top of due diligence. It’s the start of a partnership the place either side have duties to customers and to the broader ecosystem.
At Phemex, we’re dedicated to this method. We’re constructing relationships with initiatives that create actual worth, whether or not by way of technical innovation or sturdy group engagement, not simply people who generate short-term quantity. We’re offering transparency in our analysis and ongoing assist after itemizing. We’re treating our function as curators and companions, not simply liquidity suppliers.
The founder I discussed in the beginning finally listed with us. His undertaking is rising steadily, constructing actual adoption, and creating real worth for customers. That’s the sort of success story that builds sustainable markets.
Token listings have advanced. It’s time exchanges evolve with them.