Arkham Exchange, a subsidiary of blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, is reportedly preparing to shut down operations after struggling to gain meaningful traction in the highly competitive crypto trading landscape. The development is fueling fresh debate about sustainability among new exchanges, particularly as market consolidation accelerates and traders increasingly favor platforms with deep liquidity and strong reputations.
Arkham Exchange Fails to Capture Market Share
According to a recent report shared on X by Wu Blockchain, the blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence is reportedly shutting down its crypto trading platform, Arkham Exchange, due to insufficient trading volume and limited adoption. The update has drawn significant attention across the crypto community, especially given the firm’s aggressive expansion plans over the past two years.
Interestingly, the analytics firm first announced plans to launch a crypto derivatives exchange back in October 2024, positioning it as a major step toward expanding beyond blockchain intelligence into trading infrastructure. By early 2025, Arkham Exchange officially launched spot trading services, enabling investors across several U.S. states to access the platform.
Momentum appeared to build further toward the end of 2025. In December 2025, Arkham announced the launch of the Arkham Exchange mobile app, a tool that allows investors to access the trading platform directly from mobile devices. The app was made available for download on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
To boost early adoption, the firm also gifted users who downloaded the app with $100 in trading credit for a limited time after launch. Despite these incentives, user activity reportedly failed to scale to sustainable levels.
Market Conditions and Volume Gap Highlight Challenges
Arkham Intelligence launched in 2020 as a blockchain data intelligence firm and has since grown to reportedly boast over 3 million in users. However, recent trading data highlights the steep challenge its exchange platform faced in competing with industry giants like Binance and Coinbase.
In the past 24 hours, Arkham Exchange reportedly recorded a trading volume of just $620,000, a figure considered extremely small compared to leading global exchanges. In contrast, Binance, currently the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, recorded nearly $9 billion in daily trading activity. Meanwhile, Coinbase, which ranks second globally, posted roughly $2 billion in daily trading volume, according to CoinGecko data.
The massive liquidity gap highlights a critical challenge for emerging exchanges. Traders naturally gravitate toward platforms with deeper order books, tighter spreads, and a more substantial market-maker presence.
Without consistent high volume, it becomes difficult for newer platforms to maintain competitive pricing and attract professional traders. As of now, Arkham Intelligence has not made any official public comments on the reported exchange shutdown, leaving the crypto community awaiting clarification from the firm.
Evans Kelvin
Temitope Olajide
