Coinbase Adding Large List
To mitigate the risk of insider trading and promote transparency, Coinbase late last year began to announce its intentions to add crypto assets to its expansive roster of products. Last year, it unveiled some 20 potential assets that it was considering adding to its trading services. Not all of the ones mentioned have been added, presumably due to regulatory concerns and technical nuances.
But, the San Francisco-headquartered cryptocurrency unicorn today announced that it would be continuing its goal to support digital assets that meet its standards and are regulatory compliant.
In a blog post that was shared via Twitter (seen below), Coinbase revealed its latest selection of cryptocurrencies that it is interested in. The eight are as follows: Alogrand, Cosmos, Dash, Decred, Ontology, Waves, Matic Network, and Harmony. Most, if not all of these assets are well-known.
Cosmos is the ultra-popular ICO that has built the technology backing Binance Chain and has its own fledgling blockchain. Algorand is the up-and-coming PoS protocol that may eventually have a valuation higher than Ethereum’s current. Dash is one of the longest standing coins, as is Decred. Both Mat4ci and Harmony are IEOs that launched through Binance. Ontology is a popular China-centric coin. And Waves is a very popular project looking to “decentralize everything”.
Coinbase wrote:
Our decision to support any asset requires significant technical and compliance review and may be subject to regulatory approval in some jurisdictions. We therefore cannot guarantee whether or when any above-listed asset will be listed on a Coinbase product in any jurisdiction.
An Executive Exodus
This news comes as Coinbase has been subject to somewhat of an executive exodus. Over the past few months, purportedly due to conflicting visions (The Information), some of the most important individuals at the firm, save for the steadfast chief executive Brian Armstrong, have decided to depart the firm in search of new ventures and opportunities.
It seemingly began late last year, with early Coinbase staffer and vice president Adam White leaving for Bakkt — the New York Stock Exchange-backed crypto exchange that is poised to launch its physically-deliverable Bitcoin futures. This unfortunate trend was later accentuated by other large departures, including Coinbase’s Chief Technical Officer, Institutional Sales Head, other Vice Presidents, and other employees.
It is unclear whether or not the recent departures have anything to do with the newfound focus on altcoins, which has enraged many diehard Bitcoin-centric investors in the industry.
What’s interesting is that Coinbase has continued to chug along, pushing key product updates and continuing to make notable announcements. Aside from Tuesday’s unveiling of the potential addition of eight assets, Coinbase has continued to add assets to its rewards platform, Earn; has bagged a large custody deal with Bitcoin investment giant Grayscale; and is purportedly looking into an insurance offering.
Title Image Courtesy of Marco Verch Via Flickr