What is Exchange token?
A coin issued by a crypto exchange, usually granting fee discounts — BNB, OKB, BGB and kin. Its fortunes are welded to the platform behind it.
An exchange token is a coin issued by a trading platform — BNB, OKB, BGB, KCS and kin — typically granting fee discounts and other loyalty perks, often supported by buy-back-and-burn programs funded from the exchange's revenue. It's a loyalty card that trades like a stock in the company, without being one.
That last distinction is the risk: token holders usually have no legal claim on the exchange's assets or profits — the link is mechanical (burns, discounts) and reputational, not contractual. The category's cautionary tale is FTX's token, which collapsed with its exchange and helped cause the collapse. Fortunes here are welded to one company's health; our full explainer works through the model, and the screener's exchange-token filter shows the class.
See it in practice
Related terms: CEX (centralised exchange) · Burn · Market cap · full glossary
FAQ
Is holding an exchange token like owning shares in the exchange?
No — that's the trap. Shares carry legal ownership and claims; exchange tokens carry perks and a mechanical link to revenue via burns. When an exchange fails, shareholders queue as creditors; token holders usually just hold a worthless coin.
Are the fee discounts worth buying the token for?
Run the maths: discount saved per year versus the token's volatility risk on the balance you must hold. For high-volume traders it can pay; for occasional buyers the discount rarely justifies the exposure.
General information only, not financial advice. Definitions are maintained in our fact database and reviewed with the daily rebuild.