WhiteBIT Coin

What it is

WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) is the exchange token of WhiteBIT, a crypto exchange founded in 2018 that has grown into one of Europe’s larger trading venues. An exchange token is a coin issued by a trading platform for use within its own ecosystem, and its fortunes are tied to the health of the business behind it. WBT launched in 2022, and the memorable thing about it is the destruction schedule: WhiteBIT commits a share of its own revenue to buying the token out of existence, week after week.

How it works

WBT began with an issuance of 400 million coins. According to WhiteBIT’s own token documentation, 54 million were sold privately at $1.62 each, 1 million went to users through a launchpad sale, 25 million were burnt at the outset, and the largest portion was locked in ecosystem funds that unlock over several years. Burning means sending coins to an address nobody controls, permanently removing them from circulation.

The ongoing programme, described on WhiteBIT’s burn page, retires WBT weekly using the equivalent of 33 per cent of trading commissions and 5 per cent of other exchange revenue, and continues until half the original issuance, 200 million coins, remains. As with other exchange tokens, holding WBT unlocks better terms on the platform itself. The token began life on public blockchains and now also serves as the native coin of Whitechain, the blockchain WhiteBIT has built.

The story so far

WhiteBIT was founded in 2018 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs and built its business in Europe. The token arrived four years later, with the first burn in August 2022 removing 973,841 WBT, worth about $4.4 million at the time. A Whitechain whitepaper followed in 2024 as the company moved from running a token on other networks to running a network of its own.

The striking part of the story is the climb. By 2026 WBT had risen into the top 20 crypto assets by market value, unusual territory for the token of a single private exchange. One reason deserves plain statement: CoinGecko data shows only about 118 million WBT circulating out of roughly 294 million in existence, so a thin free float supports a large headline valuation. That is a fact about supply, not a judgement about the business.

Where it stands

As of late July 2026, CoinGecko ranks WBT 17th among crypto assets, with a market value of about $6.6 billion and a price of about $56. It is notable for sitting only about 13 per cent below its December 2025 all-time high while most major coins trade far deeper below theirs. Things to watch from here: the pace of weekly burns, the unlock schedule for the ecosystem funds, and how European exchange regulation under MiCA shapes the business the token depends on. As ever with exchange tokens, the coin is only as strong as the company standing behind it.