Quick answer: The market makers we track across the six exchanges most token projects list on — Binance, Bybit, OKX, MEXC, KuCoin and Gate.io — are EasyMM, Motion Trade, Wintermute, GSR, Keyrock, Flowdesk, DWF Labs, Kairon Labs, Amber Group, Auros and Cumberland (DRW). Which one fits depends far less on the exchange than on your token's stage and market cap, and on whether the deal is a retainer or a token loan. This is EasyMM's own list, built from each firm's publicly stated coverage, and yes, EasyMM is our own service, so we put ourselves on it too.
Most "best market maker" lists rank firms as though one desk is simply better than another. That is not how the decision works in practice. A desk built to quote a top-20 asset against the deepest books in the industry is the wrong counterparty for a token doing its first listing on MEXC, and the reverse is equally true.
This page is organised the way the decision actually gets made: what each venue demands, then which firms match that profile, then what to verify before signing. For a straight ranked comparison of the largest desks, see our Q2 2026 market maker ranking. For the red flags and fee structures to watch, see how to choose a crypto market maker.
How to Choose: Three Filters That Actually Narrow the Field
1. Stage and market cap. Several of the largest desks have effective minimums — not always published, but real. If your token is pre-listing or early small-cap, an institutional-only desk will either decline or quote a price that does not make sense for your treasury. Match the firm's typical client size to your own before anything else.
2. Pricing model: retainer or token loan. This is the single most consequential term in the contract. A retainer means a fixed fee for a defined service, and the market maker's incentive is to keep your book healthy. A loan-and-call-option structure means the desk borrows your tokens and profits from an option on your price — which can align with you, or can put its position directly against yours. Neither is inherently disqualifying, but you should know which one you are buying and price it accordingly.
3. Whether the desk works the review programs. Binance runs its Monitoring Tag, MEXC runs Assessment Zone and ST Warning, and most Tier 2 venues have an equivalent. Liquidity that is adequate at listing and thins out three months later is how tokens end up tagged. Ask specifically how a desk monitors for that drift and what it does when it sees it — not just what it quotes on day one.
Coverage by Exchange
Binance
The largest exchange by spot volume, and the only one on this list that publicly re-reviews already-listed tokens on a rolling basis through the Monitoring Tag program. A desk here needs enough capital and algorithmic depth to hold a competitive book against the tightest spreads in the industry, plus a process for catching a liquidity dip before it triggers review.
Profile fit: Wintermute, GSR, Cumberland (DRW) and Keyrock for large, established tokens. EasyMM and Motion Trade for growing projects that need hands-on coverage without an institutional minimum.
Bybit
One of the largest retail user bases in the industry, with heavy derivatives volume feeding spot liquidity. A desk here needs to keep pace with an active retail base while meeting Bybit's own liquidity and volume review thresholds.
Profile fit: Wintermute and GSR at scale; DWF Labs where the project also wants investment capital; Kairon Labs, Motion Trade and EasyMM for mid-cap and smaller engagements.
OKX
A mature futures and options business draws sophisticated trading flow, which in turn deepens spot books. That rewards algorithmic infrastructure built for advanced order flow rather than simple two-sided quoting.
Profile fit: Keyrock and Wintermute on the quantitative side, Amber Group where OTC and treasury services matter alongside quoting, EasyMM for stage-appropriate retainer coverage.
MEXC
A common first listing for early-stage tokens, with a fast listing process and a very large long-tail catalog. It also runs the most active review program of any venue here: MEXC tagged 156 tokens under ST Warning in August 2026 alone, and 45 more in the first eight days of September. Liquidity support cannot stop the day a token lists. See our running MEXC ST Warning tracker for the current cadence.
Profile fit: EasyMM, Motion Trade, Kairon Labs and DWF Labs take on engagements at this stage. Most institutional desks will not.
KuCoin
A retail-heavy global user base with one of the deepest altcoin catalogs of any Tier 2 venue. A desk needs to hold a tight book across smaller-cap tokens that a Tier 1-only firm would decline.
Profile fit: Kairon Labs, Motion Trade and EasyMM for breadth at small and mid cap; Keyrock and Auros where algorithmic precision is the priority.
Gate.io
One of the largest total token catalogs in the industry, with a launchpad-style listing flow that brings in early-stage projects. A desk here needs to onboard fast and hold liquidity steady through the volatile first weeks after launch.
Profile fit: EasyMM, Motion Trade, Kairon Labs and DWF Labs for launch-stage work; Flowdesk and Amber Group for projects that need a regulated or multi-service counterparty.
The Firms
EasyMM
Full-lifecycle CEX market making on a retainer-only model: a fixed monthly fee, no token loans, and direct relationships across 80-plus exchanges. Operating since 2022 across 200-plus projects, covering pre-listing preparation, launch execution and ongoing liquidity monitoring so a token does not drift into a review zone after it lists. Best for growing projects that need a hands-on partner without a nine-figure market cap.
Wintermute
The largest pure-play crypto market maker by trading scale, with more than $10 billion in average daily volume across 60-plus centralized and decentralized venues. In August 2026 it registered as an SEC broker-dealer to trade equities, options and crypto ETFs, and it has since entered prediction markets as a liquidity provider. Built for large, established tokens rather than early-stage listings.
GSR
Founded in 2013 by former Goldman Sachs traders, combining market making with OTC trading. In May 2026 it took a strategic investment from SC Ventures, Standard Chartered's venture arm, at a valuation above $1 billion — the first external stake in the firm since founding. It is expanding into token design, pre-issuance strategy and listing support. Serves institutional and large-cap clients primarily.
Keyrock
Belgium-headquartered, founded 2017. A delta-neutral, fully algorithmic desk across 85-plus centralized and decentralized venues with a team of over 220. Reached a $1.1 billion valuation in a March 2026 Series C led by SC Ventures with continued backing from Ripple. Strong on quantitative precision and EU regulatory alignment, less built for high-touch early-stage support.
Flowdesk
Paris-based, founded 2020, and the first market maker registered as a digital asset service provider with France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers. Runs proprietary infrastructure integrated with more than 140 centralized and decentralized exchanges, and raised a $102 million round to expand into OTC derivatives and a dedicated crypto credit desk. Built for projects that need a compliant European counterparty.
DWF Labs
Pairs market making with direct token investment, trading spot and derivatives on 60-plus exchanges with a stated portfolio of more than 1,000 projects, including around 20% of CoinMarketCap's top 100. Useful for projects that want capital and liquidity from one counterparty. If you engage DWF, be clear on how the two mandates are priced and governed separately, since the same firm is both your liquidity provider and a holder of your token.
Kairon Labs
Antwerp-based, operating since 2019. Runs customised algorithmic strategies for 500-plus digital asset issuers with support across 100-plus centralized and decentralized exchanges. Known for breadth across many venues rather than deep, concentrated support on a handful of Tier 1 exchanges.
Motion Trade
A centralized-exchange market-making and OTC desk, acting as a designated market maker across 80-plus venues and covering pre-TGE preparation through post-listing execution. Offers both retainer and profit-sharing models.
Amber Group
An institutional digital-asset services group whose subsidiary Amber International trades on Nasdaq as AMBR under the Amber Premium brand. Market making sits alongside OTC, margin and asset management across CeFi and DeFi venues. Positions itself as a broad digital-asset financial services provider rather than a pure liquidity specialist.
Auros
An algorithmic and derivatives-focused desk with a globally distributed team, running strategic and high-frequency market making. Worth knowing the history: roughly $20 million of Auros assets were stranded on FTX in late 2022, and the firm entered provisional liquidation in the British Virgin Islands before exiting through a debt restructuring and a $17 million investment round in March 2023 led by Vivienne Court Trading and Bit Digital.
Cumberland (DRW)
The digital-asset arm of Chicago trading firm DRW, running an OTC voice and API model built around institutional counterparties, funds and banks. Fits large block flow rather than early-stage project onboarding.
Where EasyMM Fits
EasyMM provides market making on centralized exchanges, including all six covered on this page. The work is order-book side: holding spread, depth and consistent volume on the CEX pair so a token stays clear of the mechanical thresholds that trigger Monitoring Tag, ST Warning and their equivalents. Our model is retainer-only — a fixed monthly fee, no token loans and no call options on your price.
To be clear about scope: EasyMM does not provide AMM, DEX or on-chain liquidity services. Several firms on this list do cover decentralized venues; we do not. If your token needs pool depth on a DEX, we are not the right counterparty. If it needs CEX order-book health, that is squarely what we do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the main market makers on Binance, Bybit, OKX, MEXC, KuCoin and Gate.io?
The firms we track across these venues are EasyMM, Motion Trade, Wintermute, GSR, Keyrock, Flowdesk, DWF Labs, Kairon Labs, Amber Group, Auros and Cumberland (DRW). The largest desks concentrate on Tier 1 venues and large-cap tokens; Kairon Labs, DWF Labs, Motion Trade and EasyMM are the ones on this list that regularly take on Tier 2 and early-stage engagements.
Does an exchange require a market maker to list?
Most do not require one at listing. But thin liquidity in the days and weeks after a listing is one of the most common reasons a token trades poorly or draws review attention, and on MEXC that review is measurably active — 156 tokens tagged in August 2026. Lining up coverage before launch closes that gap.
Is a retainer better than a token loan deal?
They are different trades, not better and worse. A retainer is a fixed cost for a defined service, with the desk's incentive tied to your book's health. A loan-and-option structure typically has no cash fee, but the desk holds your tokens and profits from an option on your price, which can run against you. If treasury preservation matters more than cash flow, a loan structure can make sense — as long as you have priced the option you are giving away.
What should a small-cap project look for?
A firm that takes engagements without a nine-figure market cap requirement, a retainer-based fee so incentives stay aligned, real-time reporting rather than periodic institutional summaries, and an explicit process for monitoring liquidity drift against the exchange's own review thresholds.
Can a market maker stop a delisting or an ST tag?
Not once the tag is applied — MEXC's standard window from ST tag to delisting is three days, which is not enough time to change the underlying metrics a reviewer is looking at. Market making is preventive here. It works by keeping spread, depth and volume above the thresholds in the months before a review, not by reversing a decision after one.
Which market maker is best for a pre-TGE token?
Pre-TGE is a different engagement from post-listing coverage, with different deliverables and pricing. See our separate breakdown of market makers for pre-TGE tokens.
Listing on any of these exchanges and want a market maker who takes on growing projects, not just nine-figure treasuries? Book a strategy session with EasyMM and get a liquidity plan built for your token's actual stage.
