How do we rank coins?

By default, we rank coins based on their market cap supported by several other metrics. Our ranking methodology comprises a tiering system, price calculation and filters to prevent price manipulation. This ranking methodology is designed to be as useful and robust as possible to our users.

Tiering system

To ensure our rankings are relevant, we use a tiering system that prevents coins with low data quality and extreme volatility from entering our top ranking.

We categorize coins into three different tiers based on the following metrics:

• Supply verification
• 24h trading volume
• Volume / market cap ratio
• Number of exchange listings

As outlined in the table below, there is a specific threshold required for each tier.

Price calculation

We calculate coin prices by aggregating price data from numerous exchanges. For popular exchanges, prices are calculated in real-time and for others every 1-10 minutes. The price data from exchanges includes "tickers," which provide the latest price and 24-hour trading volume for every market.

Then, symbol matching is done automatically in our system with manual review to ensure accuracy. The top twenty markets by trading volume of each coin are used for calculation, to prevent small volatile markets from affecting the price. Furthermore, we use a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for our calculation, because it reflects the average coin price across all important exchanges.

Read more about our price calculation

Price manipulation

Price manipulation is fairly common in most asset markets. Cryptocurrencies are more vulnerable to this as they are a relatively new asset class that is less regulated than mature markets.

Some common manipulation tactics include:

• Pump and dump
• Whale walls
• Wash trading
• FUD

Pump and dump

Pump and dump usually involves insiders who “pump” the token by buying into it until it gains attention from other traders and investors. Once the wider public joins in, the insiders would then “dump” the token and profit from being an early investor.

This used to happen with penny stocks in the stock market and has now been implemented into low liquidity altcoins and meme coins. These coins often have low market caps, which makes it easier to manipulate their price.

Whale walls

Whale walls happen when a market participant places a large order without intending to have it executed. This creates the illusion that the coin has a large demand and so it is likely to result in a price increase. However, whale walls do not happen often as they can be detected and prevented. However, it does still happen on some obscure exchanges.

Wash trading

Wash trading involves buying and selling the same asset at the same time to simulate trading volume. This practice also creates an illusion of large demand and a higher probability of a price increase. Wash trading is illegal in mature markets but it still happens on obscure cryptocurrency exchanges.

FUD

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) is the most common type of manipulation that many inexperienced traders and investors fall into. It usually involves false news or information being spread on social media. This triggers investors to be afraid and sell their assets which results in a price decline.

Filters

To avoid the aforementioned price manipulation on Coinranking we use two filters:

1. 50x deviation filter: Price tickers are ignored if they are 50x higher or lower than the previous one. This means drastic price differences are ignored as it is likely price manipulation is involved.
2. Z-score filter: A Z-score is used as an indicator of market volatility by traders. If a Z-score is high, it indicates there are varying price differences from different markets. We keep the Z-score between -3.5 and 3.5 to maintain price consistency and stability.