MEXC March Trading Highlights: Regulatory Breakthrough Drives Compliance Rally, New Tokens and TradFi Both Surge

I. New Token Traders Up 39% MoM, Capital Concentrates Around Three Core Themes

In March, MEXC listed 135 new tokens, with 65% as platform-first listings. New token traders grew 39% month-over-month, and the Top 10 tokens by spot trading volume delivered an average peak gain of 1,375%, reflecting MEXC’s continued ability to identify and capture market hot spots.

Capital concentrated heavily around three themes this month. RWA and CeFi claimed 3 spots: GF (GoldFinger) focuses on bringing precious metals including gold and copper on-chain — against a backdrop of rising geopolitical uncertainty and increased safe-haven demand, on-chain precious metal exposure became an important allocation target; BSB (Block Street) positions itself as the unified liquidity layer for tokenized stocks and RWA; BP (Backpack), as the regulatory environment became clearer, saw its “compliance-first” positioning re-rated by the market, with trading activity rising sharply.

AI claimed 2 spots, covering both application and infrastructure layers. SIREN provides AI-driven market sentiment analysis and trading signals for retail decision-making; PRL (Perle Labs) builds a sovereign AI data layer, addressing the core bottleneck of increasingly scarce verifiable training data as large models scale. DeFi claimed 3 spots, spanning a decentralized financial infrastructure protocol (BTW), a DeFi-native L2 (KAT), and a yield aggregation protocol (UP). Prediction market token OPN also made the list, echoing the broad surge in prediction market narratives this month.

On the ecosystem front, BSC led with 6 spots, SOL contributed 2 entries showcasing dual strength in CeFi innovation and AI data infrastructure, and KATANA made its debut as an emerging DeFi-native chain.

II. BP Surges 4,363%, “Compliance Premium” Redefines March’s Pricing Logic

The Top 10 highest-gaining tokens averaged 1,463% in March. BP (+4,363%) topped the list, reflecting the market’s repricing of licensed CeFi exchanges. GF (+3,460%) and BSB (+1,295%) benefited from the genuine demand for traditional asset tokenization amid geopolitical uncertainty, with regulatory clarity further catalyzing capital concentration into the RWA sector. MEXC’s fast-listing advantage allowed users to precisely capture this wave of market action.

Three tokens made the highest-gain list without appearing in the trading volume rankings, representing emerging directions worth watching: EDGE (+768%) is a high-performance on-chain perpetuals DEX; CAPTCHA (+642%) is an AI Agent on Solana, together with PRL covering the full AI value chain from data to agents; BASED (+338%) integrates trading, prediction markets, and crypto spending into a single account — a representative attempt at the DeFi super app narrative, seeking to bridge on-chain finance with everyday consumption.

III. TradFi Contract Volume Up 45% MoM, Macro Uncertainty Drives Safe-Haven Demand

In March, MEXC TradFi contract listings expanded from 87 to 115 instruments, a 33% increase. Total contract trading volume grew 45% MoM, and the number of traders increased 26%. With instruments, volume, and users all growing in tandem, MEXC effectively absorbed the sustained increase in user demand for TradFi contracts.

The month’s highest single-day volume occurred on March 3, when Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a sudden surge in global safe-haven sentiment and sharp volatility in oil and precious metals markets. Among the Top 10 contracts by volume, precious metals (XAUT, SILVER, PAXG) claimed 3 spots and commodities (USOIL, UKOIL, NGAS) claimed 3 spots, reflecting the strong demand for precious metal and commodity price exposure amid macro uncertainty this month. US equities (TESLA, CRCL) and global indices (SPX500, NAS100) were also active.

IV. Launchpad Debuts Gold Project, Airdrop+ Sees Scale and Engagement Both Rise

Launchpad

This month, Launchpad‘s four projects saw cumulative subscriptions exceed $13.35 million USDT. Against a backdrop of elevated geopolitical uncertainty and growing interest in gold tokenization, MEXC was first to launch a gold tokenization Launchpad with GOLD (XAUT), converting market demand into a tangible early-entry opportunity for users. The project attracted 28,703 participants with total subscriptions reaching $4.31 million and a peak return of 68%. Additionally, BP achieved a peak return of 170%, EDGE 113%, and ETH 105% — all four projects delivered positive returns, allowing users to lock in positions in this month’s hottest tokens at lower entry costs.

Airdrop+

March saw 26 events hosted, up 44% from February, with 17,246 participants, up 46% MoM. The total prize pool exceeded 1.3M USDT, up approximately 30% MoM, with per-event engagement doubling and an 80% win rate. Token selection was precise — airdrop projects included OPN (+437%), PRL (+912%), BTW (+1,952%), and other top performers from this month’s gain rankings. Users who completed simple deposit and trading tasks received token airdrops, gaining exposure to this month’s highest-returning tokens. In the PRL campaign, the maximum single-user reward reached $1,000 USDT, with entry requiring only a basic deposit and trading task.

Spin & Win

Two Spin & Win events launched this month with a combined prize pool of $400,000 USDT. The EDGE campaign allowed users to participate and earn rewards around EDGE’s listing; the Commodity Carnival featured gold, silver, and crude oil as its theme, directly addressing the safe-haven demand that defined this month’s macro environment.