Coinbase, the largest US-based digital currency exchange, has officially announced that it is “exploring the addition” of five new cryptocurrencies to its platform. The five cryptocurrencies being considered are Cardano (ADA), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Zcash (ZEC), and 0x (ZRX).
Remaining Transparent
Coinbase’s announcement claims to arrive for both employees and the public at the same time. Notes Coinbase:
We are making this announcement internally at Coinbase and to the public at the same time to remain transparent with our customers about support for future assets.
Coinbase has come under fire in the past — particularly regarding its listing of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which preceded allegations of insider trading.
Today we are announcing that we’re exploring the addition of the following assets to Coinbase: Cardano (ADA), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Zcash (ZEC) and 0x (ZRX). https://t.co/qoECyR0V1f
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) July 13, 2018
Despite the apparent attempt at remaining transparent, the statement of intent has led many to question why the exchange giant is even making an announcement of its “exploration” at all — especially following a cut-and-dry announcement of future support for Ethereum Classic. The company pre-emptively responded to such questions by explaining:
Unlike the ongoing process of adding Ethereum Classic, which is technically very similar to Ethereum, these assets will require additional exploratory work and we cannot guarantee they will be listed for trading. Furthermore, our listing process may result in some of these assets 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. Finally, some of these assets may be offered in other jurisdictions prior to being listed in the US.
Coinbase also noted that this is something users should get used to seeing, as future announcements of “exploration” will likely happen in the future. “Going forward, you should expect that we will make similar announcements about exploring the addition of multiple assets,” the exchange explains. “Some of these assets may become available everywhere, while others may only be supported in specific jurisdictions.”
Price Manipulation?
Coinbase competitor Kraken — a US-based cryptocurrency exchange and “the world’s largest bitcoin exchange in euro volume and liquidity” — nevertheless took the opportunity to troll the San Francisco-based industry leader, tweeting:
Exciting and important revelation for the community today. Kraken has been contemplating the exploration of maybe adding over 1600 new coins, pending the outcome of our highly sophisticated review process. For a glimpse of the possibilities:
Kraken provided CoinMarketCap’s list of all cryptocurrencies as those which it is considering.
Exciting and important revelation for the community today. Kraken has been contemplating the exploration of maybe adding over 1600 new coins, pending the outcome of our highly sophisticated review process. For a glimpse of the possibilities: https://t.co/dmfd5yr48s
— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) July 14, 2018
At the time of this writing, all of the coins featured in Coinbase’s announcement have experienced positive pumps in price.
What do you think about Coinbase’s announcement of ‘exploration?’ Do you think the company is guilty of insider trading? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter.
