Every bear market subtly reshapes the listing logic of centralized exchanges (CEXs). When liquidity tightens and retail investor enthusiasm wanes, exchanges become more cautious in their listing decisions, making them more significant indicators of future trends. Our system tracked new listing data from six major exchanges—Coinbase, Binance Spot, ByBit, OKX, Bithumb, and Upbit—as well as Binance Perpetual, from 2026 to mid-May, totaling 207 listing records covering 92 independent tokens. The data clearly reveals a core fact: listing is a highly structured path of verification and liquidity transfer. Who discovers and prices a project first? Who absorbs and amplifies liquidity in the middle? Who completes market coverage at the end? Different exchanges play distinct roles in this chain. From its initial listing to its final inclusion on Binance Spot, a token often undergoes multiple rounds of verification by various exchanges. This report will dissect this listing path from three core dimensions: the landscape and path (the differentiation of listing roles across exchanges and the circulation patterns of tokens between different exchanges), Binance Perps' selection logic (which tokens are more likely to be listed on Binance Perps), and price impact (how the timing of listing determines investors' entry points and the differences in actual returns after listing on different exchanges). For project teams, understanding this path means more precise and efficient listing strategies; for investors, identifying the differences in position within the path may be one of the most important sources of alpha in 2026. From 2026 to the present, we have tracked new listing data from six major exchanges—Coinbase, Binance Spot, ByBit, OKX, Bithumb, and Upbit—as well as Binance Perps, totaling 207 listing records covering 92 independent tokens. The number of listings on each exchange shows a clear stratification. Coinbase firmly holds the top spot with 45 new listings; followed by Binance Perps (33) and ByBit (31). Bithumb (30 tokens) and Upbit (27 tokens) are in the second tier, OKX listed 22 tokens, while Binance Spot listed only 19, the fewest among all the observed exchanges. Looking at the monthly pace, January is the peak period for token listings throughout the year. Binance Spot listed 15 tokens in a single month, and ByBit listed 14. From February onwards, the overall pace slowed significantly, with the average monthly listing volume for each exchange dropping to 5-8 tokens, entering a more cautious and stable selection phase. Coinbase, however, exhibited a different listing pace from other exchanges, with two concentrated listing peaks in February and April (13 tokens in a single month), demonstrating its independent and rapid listing decision-making characteristics.Simple differences in quantity only reflect surface-level activity; more importantly, there is a profound divergence in the timing and role of listings across different exchanges. Among tokens listed on multiple exchanges, a significant sequence exists. We define the earliest listing on our tracking exchange as "first launch," and the rest as "followers." Coinbase was the most prominent first launch venue in 2026, with 67% of its tokens being first launched on our tracking exchange, fulfilling the function of the first round of price discovery in the market. ByBit (39% first launch rate) and Binance Perps (48% first launch rate) also maintained high activity, with all three frequently listing the same token within the same week, forming the first tier of new project launches. Korean exchanges (Bithumb and Upbit) systematically occupy the end of the listing path. Bithumb has a follower ratio as high as 85%, and Upbit has an average ranking of 4.44, with a high probability of being the last to list among all exchanges, averaging about 28 days later than the first listing exchange. This is closely related to the lengthy regulatory review process in South Korea and the local exchanges' preference for introducing projects only after they have gained widespread consensus. Binance has a clear funnel-like division of labor: Binance Perps proactively launches projects in half the time, while the other half follows up very quickly after spot listings (averaging only 4.9 days), making it the fastest responding exchange. Its main function is to quickly test liquidity and market demand through the contract market. Binance Spot, on the other hand, lists the fewest projects (only 19), with a launch rate of only 28%, clearly indicating a preference for waiting for sufficient market validation before launching. OKX demonstrates strong independent coin selection capabilities, with a launch rate of 55%, but its overall number of listed projects is relatively restrained (22), with an average ranking of 3.58, indicating a higher selection threshold and a more cautious strategy. Looking at the token sample covering three or more exchanges, the listing order exhibits a highly stable tiered structure: early discoverers like Coinbase and ByBit launch their tokens first, followed by Binance Perps quickly verifying their listings within days. Binance Spot then selectively lists to complete the confirmation process, while OKX, Bithumb, and Upbit primarily provide supplementary coverage later in the listing path. A typical example is ROBO (Fabric Protocol). On February 27th, the DePIN project Fabric Protocol (ROBO) launched on Binance Perps, with Coinbase and ByBit following suit on the same day. The opening price was $0.022, and the price surged over 80% on its first day. The following day, the opening price had risen to $0.0405, almost doubling the initial price. Led by Pantera Capital with a $20 million investment, the project focused on the integration of blockchain and the robotics economy. Coupled with the popularity of the Kaito public sale and the "AI + Robotics" narrative, it quickly gained market attention.On March 15th, ROBO officially launched on Binance Spot, reaching a price of $0.0493 on the first day. This became the highest price point for ROBO throughout its entire cycle. When OKX subsequently entered the market, its opening price was already lower than Binance Spot's. On March 18th, Bithumb launched at $0.0303, briefly triggering a surge, but the token price subsequently fell steadily and is currently below its initial opening price. From its initial launch to its listing on Bithumb, ROBO only took about 20 days, completing a typical 2026 listing path: initial launches on Binance Perps, Coinbase, and ByBit → confirmation at the peak on OKX and Binance Spot → final purchase by a Korean exchange. ROBO is not an isolated case. In the sample of the first five months of 2026, a total of 28 tokens completed listings on three or more exchanges. The distribution of these cross-exchange cases all exhibit a highly consistent tiered pattern with ROBO. While the specific order may vary slightly depending on the project's characteristics, the overall path structure is stable and predictable. As a crucial entry point into the derivatives market, Binance Perps' listing decisions directly influence the inflow of a large amount of leveraged funds. Analysis of 33 Perps listing cases clearly reveals Binance's core logic for selecting tokens in a bear market. Of the 33 tokens that entered Binance Perps, 17 were first listed on other spot exchanges before being included in Perps. Tracking these tokens shows that Coinbase and ByBit are the most significant leading indicators for Perps. Specifically, ByBit listed before Perps in 71% of cases, while Coinbase reached 59%. Of the 17 cases where tokens followed Perps, 10 listed on Perps within 0-2 days of their spot listing, with an average delay of only 4.9 days. This extremely rapid follow-up indicates that Binance Perps highly monitors the listing dynamics of Coinbase and ByBit and uses them as important decision-making references. Looking at a larger sample, 75% of tokens listed on Coinbase eventually make it onto Binance Perps, while the figure for ByBit is 70%. When a token is supported by both Coinbase and ByBit and its price performance is relatively stable, it is highly likely to be listed on Binance Perps within a week. Price performance is the most critical criterion for selection. Projects listed on Coinbase and ByBit generally have an opening FDV of over $100M, so FDV itself is not a differentiating factor. What truly determines whether a token can be included in Perps is its price performance after listing. Tokens listed on Coinbase and ByBit but not included in Perps mainly fall into three categories: first, projects whose prices have consistently weakened after listing and lack market enthusiasm; second, meme tokens with excessively speculative attributes (such as WHITEWHALE and ELON), for which Binance's screening criteria are significantly stricter than ByBit's; and third, tokens that have not undergone Binance Alpha.Alpha, as a pre-screening channel within the Binance system, is a crucial prerequisite for entering Perps. Its price performance impacts not only on whether a token is listed on Perps but also extends to the subsequent conversion from Perps to Spot. Data shows that tokens successfully converted to Binance Spot (Converted group) had a 7-day return of -4.6% and a 14-day return of -6.6% after Perps listing; while tokens not converted to Spot (Perp Only group) had a 7-day return of -9.4% and a significant drop to -21.0% after 14 days. Although both groups experienced negative returns due to the bear market, the Converted group demonstrated significantly stronger price stability, indicating that Binance prioritized sustainability during the Perps stage. The actual impact of listing events on token prices is a primary concern for project teams, institutions, and traders. Price discovery mainly occurs during the initial listing window. When ByBit and Coinbase followed suit, their entry prices were roughly the same as or slightly lower than their initial offering prices, indicating a rapid convergence of prices among top-tier exchanges. Binance Perps, as a follower, had an average price 11.5% higher than its initial offering price, but thanks to its extremely fast follow-up speed (only 4.9 days), it remained in a relatively early position. Binance Spot's Price Position was -10%, indicating its tendency to list after a price correction, allowing users to obtain a relatively better entry price. Korean exchanges faced the most unfavorable entry positions: Bithumb averaged 19.4% higher, and Upbit even higher at 27.4%. In the bear market environment of 2026, the price performance of newly listed coins was generally weak, with no exchange achieving a positive 30-day average return. From 7 days to 30 days, the decline gradually deepened, indicating that the price decline after listing was not a short-term fluctuation but a continuous downward trend. In the current market environment, newly listed tokens primarily serve to release liquidity—providing an exit window for early holders rather than attracting a continuous inflow of new funds. The performance of the two Korean exchanges is particularly noteworthy: Upbit's 7-day return is -13.5%, and its 30-day return reaches -25.7%. Combined with its +27.4% price position, this means Upbit users not only entered at the highest price but also suffered the deepest drop. Although the final return after 30 days is generally negative, the initial rebound peaks (Peak Returns) of listed tokens exhibit a distinctly different distribution structure. First-day listings hold an absolute advantage: ByBit's average peak return is as high as +86%, and Binance Perps has the highest median (+49%). The first tier of listed tokens enjoys the highest price elasticity, providing a very high liquidity premium for early holders. Late-stage followers have limited room for maneuver: Bithumb and Upbit's peak returns are suppressed to around +35%, while OKX is only +25%.Due to the delayed entry timing, the buy orders on these platforms were more about absorbing profit-taking rather than initiating market movements. This difference confirms the liquidity transmission path: the initial exchange (ICO) undertook the main price discovery function, providing the best exit liquidity for early holders. The choice of exchange determines the risk-reward structure. While users of ICOs (Coinbase/ByBit) also faced negative returns, they had the best risk buffer. With the lowest entry price and the highest peak potential in the entire market, even if they failed to precisely exit at the top, the absolute loss from the ICO price was relatively controllable. In contrast, users of Korean exchanges faced a typical "buying at the top + deep drawdown." They entered at a premium of nearly 20% to 27%, but the peak potential had already been exhausted by the ICO, ultimately resulting in the deepest 30-day drop in the entire market. Binance Spot's situation was more special. Although its 30-day return was as low as -24.6%, because it tended to launch after a 10% price pullback, the actual principal loss was less than the surface data. This is a strategy of trading time for space, avoiding the sharp fluctuations of the initial launch phase, but also incurring a longer period of gradual decline. This divergence is particularly evident at the quantitative level. The difference in returns between the initial listing exchange and the follower exchanges after 14 days is most significant: the initial listing exchange averages -12.2%, while the follower exchanges average -16.7%, a difference of 4.5 percentage points simply due to the choice of exchange. In the bear market environment of 2026, the logic of CEX listings is shifting from "traffic-driven" to "validation-driven." Exchanges no longer simply chase hot topics, but have constructed a structured screening and liquidity release path through a clear division of roles: Coinbase and ByBit act as early discoverers, Binance Perps undertakes rapid validation and liquidity testing functions, Binance Spot serves as the final confirmation gate, and Korean exchanges provide exit liquidity at the end of the path. This path is not random, but the result of rational game among all parties. For project teams, the order of listing on exchanges should be regarded as an important alpha signal. Focusing on projects listed on both Coinbase and ByBit with stable prices as early access points for Binance Perps allows for better entry prices during initial listing windows or Binance Spot pullbacks, avoiding buying at high prices on Korean exchanges. Exchanges themselves have achieved ecological balance through differentiated positioning—aggressive players seize opportunities, while conservative players control risk, ultimately maintaining orderly flow in the entire listing market. In the future, as the macro environment improves, this path may gradually shift from "defensive screening" to "offensive expansion," resulting in higher premiums during initial listing windows and potentially shorter verification cycles. [IOSG]