You are correct in assuming that lack of CMC listing is hurting us. We even missed out on multiple projects deciding not to get listed on Txbit because we are not on CMC yet.
Projects hesitate to list their coins on exchanges that have not yet appeared on coinmarketcap.com. It's the truth, and I am sadly to know that txbit.io missed some projects due to this.
Exact and fair enough! Binance appeared at the right time, and took lots of advantages of crypto area in 2017 to have a nearly perfect start. However, there were lots of their initiatives that help them growing faster too. You reminded me that back in 2017, listing requests on CMC surpassed very easily because that year, hundreds of projects, exchanges accepted to list on CMC, nearly without careful screening procedures. Consequently, we still have seen lots of scam projects on CMC, listed there since 2017.
But, the Binance comparison is not right. They released at the right place and the right time. The end of 2017 saw a massive influx of new people entering the crypto space, but since then the user count has been dropping hard and the interest is nowhere near the same. There is no new blood entering the space at all right now.