US-based digital currency exchange, Coinbase has announced a new process for listing of the rapidly growing number of crypto-assets. The leading exchange obviously does not want to be left behind in a market that is growing exponentially.
Growing Competition for Market Share
Coinbase, one of the oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, through its official blog earlier on Tuesday announced a process, which would allow more cryptocurrencies, tokens, stable coins and other crypto-assets to be listed. Coinbase has over the years maintained its position as the most popular and trusted exchange for the purchase of cryptocurrencies in the US especially among retail customers.
Coinbase has always placed a high priority on compliance with local laws and regulations, and unlike other exchanges, Coinbase has maintained a cautious approach to the addition of new assets. In a market that is growing fast and with increasing competition, the company would not want to lose market share. The exchange now faces stiff competition from players like Bittrex who has recently included US dollar pairing. Until early last year, Bitcoin and Ethereum were the only assets that customers could buy on the platform. Coinbase added Litecoin in May 2017 and Bitcoin Cash in December 2017. Earlier this year there were speculations that the platform will be listing more crypto-assets leading to short rallies in the price of some assets.
Process for Listing
In the past, Coinbase has been slow and cautious in adding new cryptocurrencies. As per the blog, there have been repeated and growing requests from its customers to support more coins, tokens and other assets. The new process will allow for quick evaluation and a faster listing of new assets that comply with the local laws. The exchange will look at the compliance with respect to each jurisdiction that the platform serves, so the new assets listed may not be available in all the markets.
As per the announcement, organizations aspiring to list their asset on Coinbase would need to initiate the process by filling up an online form available on the company’s official website. The exchange will evaluate the application against the digital asset framework (available for reference on the platform).
Currently, there is no fee for applying. However, the blog clarifies that in the future the platform may charge a fee to take care of the operational costs involved with evaluation and listing of assets. Based on the assessment, and irrespective of the result (approval or rejection) the applicants will be informed of the specific reason for the decision. In a shift from its earlier policy of pre-announcing the addition of new assets, Coinbase would now make public announcements only near or at the time of listing.
Impact
The intention of Coinbase to list new assets and releasing the new process for listing is a positive and welcome development for the growing cryptocurrency market. While the move will help Coinbase retain and grow its customers by providing access to more assets, it will also help more cryptocurrencies, tokens and other crypto-assets to reach out to the platform’s existing customer base of over 20 Million across 32 countries.
What do you think the impact will be of Coinbase adding new cryptocurrencies to its portfolio of offerings on the overall market capitalization of cryptocurrencies and tokens? Let us know in the comments below.
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