Bitstamp just regained the title it hadn’t held since 2023. The Robinhood-owned exchange took the top spot in CoinDesk’s May 2026 Exchange Benchmark with a score of 90.26 and an AA grade, leapfrogging Binance, which dropped to fourth place.
There was a change in the ranking
CoinDesk raised the AA threshold from 80 to 85. This is a meaningful increase in a rating system where every point counts. As a result, there are now only 6 exchanges with AA status, down from 8 exchanges in the November 2025 edition.
Among the victims were Gemini and OKX, both of which fell from AA to A under the updated methodology. Binance maintained its AA grade, but lost the top spot it had held for the past three years.
The overall average score of all evaluated exchanges increased from 56.94 in November 2025 to 58.42. The number of top tier exchanges, defined as BB or above, increased slightly from 20 to 21. Coinbase International is a notable new entrant, scoring 70.62 and earning a BB rating.
How Bitstamp got here
Bitstamp’s rise didn’t happen overnight. The exchange has received its 10th consecutive AA rating from CCData. Ranked 2nd overall in Q4 2025 benchmark.
Robinhood acquired Bitstamp in June 2024 for $200 million, a deal that turned the U.S. brokerage into a European-licensed cryptocurrency exchange with deep institutional relationships.
Launched in 2019, the CoinDesk Exchange Benchmark evaluates global cryptocurrency exchanges across more than 100 metrics grouped into eight categories spanning market quality, regulatory compliance, security, and infrastructure.
In this edition, CoinDesk has introduced new sub-metrics that did not exist before. Flash Crash ratings are now incorporated into your score. This means that exchanges that experience sudden and extreme price movements or react incorrectly will be penalized. KYC non-compliance indicators have also been expanded, adding an additional layer of scrutiny to how well platforms verify users’ identities.
What this means for investors
Regulated financial products, from ETFs to structured cryptocurrencies, often reference exchange benchmarks when choosing price sources and trading venues. Exchanges with top-tier ratings are more likely to be included in these products. This means more trading volume, more liquidity, and better execution for everyone trading there.
By narrowing down the AA class to just six exchanges, institutions will focus their attention. When there are fewer top-rated platforms, they become natural magnets for the large, compliance-conscious capital that has been slowly entering the crypto market over the past two years.
Binance also falls to 4th place despite maintaining its AA grade and is worth monitoring. This methodology is moving into areas where smaller, more regulated exchanges can punch above their weight, such as governance, compliance infrastructure, and market integrity.
