Exchange "Launch Curse" Investigation: Why do 89% of new coins ultimately become retail investor harvesting machines?

Author: Gilmo
Translation: Yuliya, PANews

Why have many tokens launched on Binance failed?
Recently, while browsing X or cryptocurrency communities, you may have encountered the phenomenon of “listing on exchanges leads to liquidation.” The days when being listed on Binance meant “soaring to great heights” seem to have become a thing of the past. Instead, a “listing curse” is circulating within the community, with many investors watching their account balances evaporate daily, heartbroken.
So, what exactly is happening behind the scenes?

1. Overview
   2025 revealed a harsh reality. Most tokens listed on Binance’s spot market struggle to maintain their value.
   

In 2025, 89% of tokens listed on Binance had negative returns.

+ Price Performance
Approximately 89% to 94% of listed tokens are in a state of severe loss. The average retracement after listing ranges from 71% to 80%. Many tokens do not experience a sharp crash but instead exhibit a slow decline pattern, with prices gradually dropping over time, silently draining funds.
+ Reputation
Being listed on Binance used to be an important milestone. Now, it is often viewed as a liquidity event for early investors to cash out. Due to significant selling pressure after listing, many traders even refer to it as the “retail exit zone.”
+ Attention Cycle
Most projects garner extremely high attention in the first few days. But after that, interest quickly wanes. If there is no real product or user demand, this momentum fades rapidly.
+ Operations
Some projects slow down their development pace after reaching this listing milestone. Subsequently, weak activity and low liquidity lead to their delisting from exchanges.

For example: A2Z, FORTH, HOOK, IDEX, LRC, NTRN, RDNT, SXP

Earlier in 2026: ACA, CHESS, DATA were also delisted

It is clear that Binance no longer supports underperforming projects.
2. Listing Categories
In 2025, Binance listed 87 projects covering 16 sectors.
+ Networks
Ethereum dominated with approximately 36%, followed closely by BNB Chain and Solana.
Notably, Binance has begun supporting emerging ecosystems like Nillion and 0G Labs, but due to a lack of real users, this is also a high-risk group.

+ Sectors
DeFi leads with 18 projects, followed by AI and infrastructure.
Trend-driven sectors like Memes and RWA can quickly gain listing opportunities, but their failure rates are also higher due to a lack of core products.

3. So why do these tokens fail?
Several key factors can explain this pattern.
1. Insider Liquidation Events
Listings create deep liquidity. This enables teams and early investors to realize profits. Airdrop hunters also increase selling pressure immediately after listing.
2. Overvaluation
Some projects are valued at billions of dollars at launch but have a small user base. The gap between valuation and actual usage puts heavy pressure on prices.
3. Weak Market Capital Flows
During 2025, funds were primarily concentrated around BTC and ETH. New altcoins received limited and short-lived inflows of capital.
4. Heavy Narrative, Light Product
Many teams invest heavily in storytelling and marketing. Meanwhile, real product development progresses slowly. Once the initial hype fades, user interest plummets.
5. Market Saturation
Over 11 million tokens were launched in 2025. The supply rapidly increased while user attention remained limited. Simply being listed on an exchange is no longer enough to drive sustainable growth.
4. Conclusion
During the period from 2025 to 2026, tokens listed on Binance will resemble the final round of insiders cashing out rather than an opportunity for retail investors to get rich.
Only projects with real products and strong communities have a chance to survive.
You can refer to @defikadic’s list to understand which are the truly high-quality projects: