Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., is exploring the possibility of adding five new coins to its platform: Cardano, Basic Attention Token, Stellar Lumens, Zcash, and 0x.
Thus far, Coinbase has not committed to listing any of these assets, and they warned in a statement that even if listed, they might come with preconditions, such as “being listed solely for customers to buy and sell, without the ability to send or receive using a local wallet. We may also only enable certain ways to interact with these assets through our site, such as supporting only deposits and withdrawals from transparent Zcash addresses.”
Currently, Coinbase allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and has enabled deposits for Ethereum Classic in anticipation of allowing trading.
In November last year, Coinbase released its “Digital Asset Framework” that details the conditions a coin must meet to be listed on Coinbase.
The framework has several categories of conditions that must be met, including technological, legal, and market requirements.
One important condition is that Coinbase will not list any security tokens, which are tokens deemed to be securities under US law. This significantly restricts the pool of possible additions, especially given the hype surrounding equity tokens.
Coinbase is also restricting its pool of potential applicants to cryptocurrencies that are already highly liquid. They require that a cryptocurrency have both fiat and crypto trading pairs, as well as global investor access.
Coinbase Cryptocurrency Framework
The framework also has specific conditions for cryptocurrencies that were released through an ICO or similar distribution method. Coinbase requires the token to have been distributed fairly, with the development team holding a minority of all tokens outstanding.
In a statement, Coinbase said, “This framework is not intended to be a definitive methodology, investment advice, or a commitment to support any specific asset. As the technology, use cases, and regulatory environment evolve, so too will this framework. We are committed to supporting more assets, but our priority is always to protect customer funds and comply with regulatory requirements.”
One coin that many investors have been hoping Coinbase would add is Ripple, the third largest cryptocurrency. Although Ripple seems to meet most of Coinbase’s conditions, its semi-centralized network may be giving Coinbase pause.
Although this framework gives us a good idea of what types of coins Coinbase is considering adding, the ultimate decision lies solely with Coinbase’s executive team.
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