HTX’s Growth Trajectory Positions It Among Top-Tier Exchanges: New Report

HTX has effectively leveraged a $3.3 trillion trading year and its longstanding proof-of-reserves tradition as a key argument for its relevance in the post-FTX centralized exchange landscape.

Among more than 500 trading platforms, HTX distinguishes itself as one of the few centralized exchanges consistently active since 2013, evolving into a multi-trillion-dollar platform.

By the end of 2025, HTX reported approximately $3.3 trillion in cumulative trading volume, with over 55 million registered global users, representing a 39% year-on-year growth in volume that highlights both liquidity and user retention.

Spot trading contributed more than $1.9 trillion in volume, with BTC and ETH trades forming the core of the activity, while futures and perpetual contracts accounted for around $1.4 trillion, about 50% more than the previous year, as indicated by the company’s 2026 introductory report. This blend of extensive scale and derivative engagement has positioned HTX among the largest exchanges for daily turnover, competing with Binance, OKX, and KuCoin in the low-fee, high-liquidity market segment.

Initially a spot-only exchange, HTX has developed into a comprehensive ecosystem offering spot, futures, yield products, OTC services, and structured token launch programs. In 2025, it listed between 166 and 218 new spot assets, depending on the method of counting, with its derivatives desk adding over 80 futures assets—nearly 70 of which provided returns exceeding 200%. This listing strategy leans into both early-stage narratives and meme-driven trends.

On the security front, HTX advocates a multi-layer architecture that includes hot-and-cold wallet segregation and institutional custody integrations, claiming to have maintained a “zero security incident” record throughout 2025 despite industry-wide hacks that resulted in an estimated $3.4 billion in crypto theft, according to Chainalysis. The exchange has committed to transparency by asserting a 100% reserve ratio for core assets for over 38 consecutive months through Merkle Tree proof-of-reserves, continuously publishing PoR data for user verification.

This transparency has now extended to 41-42 months of uninterrupted PoR disclosures into early 2026, with reserve ratios for significant assets like BTC, USDT-denominated “USDs,” and other major coins remaining at or above 100%, as per recent notifications from HTX and third parties. “Proof of Reserves is crucial in the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” the exchange states on its PoR portal, emphasizing that on-chain attestations allow users to independently verify aggregate backing without revealing individual balances.

This approach has garnered recognition. In February 2025, Forbes listed HTX as one of the “World’s Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges,” highlighting that it ranked sixth globally in spot market share and exhibited “exceptional performance” in BTC and ETH holdings and product diversity. BeInCrypto further honored HTX as “Best Centralized Exchange” in its 2024 Excellence Awards, outperforming contenders like Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitget.

HTX’s global advisor, Justin Sun, founder of the TRON network, graced the cover of Forbes’ digital assets edition in March 2025, with the publication emphasizing how the exchange pivoted towards compliance and monthly proof-of-reserves in a “post-FTX” world. “Under Sun’s stewardship, HTX has prioritized compliance, security, and user experience,” the press release noted, portraying the platform as a benchmark for integrating traditional finance standards with crypto innovation.

However, the journey has not been without challenges. A series of hacks in 2023 resulted in losses exceeding $100 million across HTX, the Heco bridge, and Poloniex, prompting users to withdraw approximately $258 million from the exchange following a $30 million exploit that November, as reported by DeFiLlama data. These incidents exacerbated industry-wide anxiety regarding centralized custody yet also accelerated the ongoing race among exchanges to enhance key-management practices and adopt independent PoR disclosures, a trend recognized by publications like Forbes and Chainalysis as a hallmark of the post-2022 market structure.

Looking forward, HTX plans to continue leveraging its strategy focused on “Global Expansion, Thriving Ecosystem, Wealth Effect, Security & Compliance,” aiming for further growth in user assets and international licensing while maintaining a reserve ratio above 100%. If it can sustain this momentum and avoid the operational pitfalls that have affected other centralized entities, HTX is likely to remain a key player for both aggressive derivatives traders and long-term investors seeking a liquid, feature-rich platform for $BTC, $ETH, stablecoins, and the next wave of emerging tokens.