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Coinbase is delisting six low-liquidity altcoin pairs to improve overall market health.
Trading is shifting from USDT and BTC pairs toward stronger USDC and USD markets.
NFT and gaming-related tokens like AXS and GMT are losing volume as hype cools down.
In late October 2025, Coinbase confirmed that it will remove six trading pairs. This list includes MASK-USDT, MASK-EUR, MINA-USDT, GMT-USDT, AXS-BTC, and SNX-BTC. The announcement was part of the exchange’s regular “market health review,” a process that checks whether trading pairs have enough liquidity, volume, and user activity to remain active.
The delisting does not mean these tokens will disappear from Coinbase. Instead, it means these specific pairs will no longer be available for trading. Users can still buy or sell the same tokens using other pairs, such as USD or USDC. However, the removal is a sign that certain parts of the market have become too thin or unprofitable to maintain.
Coinbase stated that it would stop trading for the six pairs because of “low liquidity” and “market health concerns.” In simple terms, there were not enough active traders using these pairs. When a trading pair has too few buy and sell orders, prices can move sharply with small trades, creating volatility and a poor user experience.
Also Read: What’s Holding Altcoins Back as Bitcoin and Ethereum Soar?
A look at recent 24-hour trading volumes shows why these pairs were targeted.
Mask Network (MASK) had about $21–25 million in daily trading volume across all exchanges. However, most of this volume happened on USD or USDC pairs. Its USDT and EUR pairs on Coinbase saw very little activity.
GMT (Stepn) recorded roughly $20–25 million in daily trading, but the GMT-USDT pair on Coinbase accounted for only a small portion of that.
Mina Protocol (MINA) showed about $10–12 million daily volume across all venues, again mostly in USD-based pairs rather than USDT.
Axie Infinity (AXS) reached around $34–38 million, while Synthetix (SNX) traded between $55–65 million. Both tokens had far more activity in USD pairs than in BTC pairs.
These numbers highlight that while the tokens themselves are still active in the broader crypto market, their specific Coinbase pairs lack volume and liquidity.
This is also partly driven by the regulative environment. The exchange has to adhere to changing global regimes, including MiCA rules in the European Union and securities laws in the United States.
Exchanges have grown cautious in an environment where regulators are looking at liquidity, market manipulation, and the fairness of trading conditions. Low-volume pairs can create compliance risks, as they could be more open to manipulation or harder to audit. Removing the weaker pairs allows Coinbase to align with regulations and maintain transparency.
The delisting of some pairs could have short-term consequences on the market. These traders would have to move to the next available options, such as routes through USD, USDC, or BTC. This may lead to temporary increases in slippage and spreads as liquidity adjusts to the new conditions.
For example, a trader who earlier bought AXS through BTC might have to go through USD or USDC now. This introduces one more stage of conversion and slightly increases fees.
Sometimes, when one pair suddenly loses liquidity, prices can be unstable for some time. In such cases, stability usually returns as the market makers readjust and focus their orders on the remaining pairs.
There are a few ways delisted pairs could return in the future: if overall trading volume for a token rises and liquidity deepens, Coinbase might reintroduce some of the pairs. The exchange periodically revisits delisted pairs, and if conditions improve, some may get relisted.
Project teams also play a role. When the developers of a token release new updates, partnerships, or events that are driven by the community, trading activity usually goes up. It helps the pairs of those tokens to stay active and relevant.
AXS could see volume return with renewed engagement in blockchain gaming or NFT projects. For MASK and MINA, further integration into key decentralized applications and Web3 tools may capture new traders. SNX and GMT should find some stability in their liquidity by maintaining strong community support and continuous use-case expansion.
Delistings are not about a few pairs; they signal broader trends in the crypto market. Exchanges are streamlining resources and shifting to prioritizing quality over quantity. Instead of offering hundreds of low-activity pairs, they'd rather focus their efforts on those with real demand and strong liquidity.
This approach benefits serious traders seeking tight spreads and consistent order execution, but it also means that speculative or smaller-market projects may struggle to maintain a presence on big exchanges unless they keep community interest alive.
Besides that, a stronger regulatory scrutiny is expected in 2026. Exchanges will probably keep on closely reviewing pairs very often and delisting those with poor turnover or uncertain compliance status.
Clear examples of such streamlining are the removals: MASK-USDT, MASK-EUR, MINA-USDT, GMT-USDT, AXS-BTC, SNX-BTC. It also goes to show that not every delisting is a failure for the token in question; these projects still have active communities, developers, and global trading volume.
However, pair-level weakness exposes the changing habits of traders: a move into stablecoin pairs with greater volume and away from fragmented or irrelevant markets. Tokens that adapt to such trends by building stronger ecosystems, partnerships, and liquidity channels will continue to thrive.
Also Read: Why Are Altcoins Dash, Mantle, Aster & Morpho Gaining Now?
Taken within a broader context, Coinbase's decision to delist six trading pairs underscores the changes afoot within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Pairs that are low in liquidity, tolerated during the bull markets of 2021–2022, are being removed as exchanges firm up their operations and regulators ask for greater transparency.
Tokens like MASK, MINA, GMT, AXS, and SNX do not go away. They continue to be very much alive in the wider market, with their trading activity henceforth concentrating on fewer and more efficient paths. This should, over time, contribute to greater stability in these markets, but it's also a shot across the bow for smaller projects-outside of steady trading demand and liquidity, pair delisting can occur at any moment.
This move underlines that when it comes to token health, technology and trading are both very important. Projects that can sustain engagement, maintain liquidity, and adapt to the evolving exchange standards will emerge stronger in the dynamic face of cryptocurrency.
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