Coinbase Exec. Unpacks the Industry Giant's About-Face on Crypto Listings
December 17 2018 - 7:47AM
ADVFN Crypto NewsWire
Coinbase Vice President Dan Romero has given reasons behind the
platform’s recent announcement that it is
exploring support for dozens of new cryptocurrency assets, arguably
in contrast to its long-cautious approach to supporting individual
crypto tokens.
Speaking recently to Linda Shin on an episode of the Unchained podcast, he delved
into the factors that predicated the unusual move, coming against a
background of the platform’s historically conservative nature when
it comes to adding new assets.
In response to a suggestion that Coinbase may be loosening its
approach to add coins that are more experimental or less proven
than the big names like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and so on, Romero stated that Coinbase is, in
fact, revising its approach based on customer feedback and current
developments in the regulatory space. According to him, the recent
shift in strategy is particularly driven by customers who have
overwhelmingly requested the addition of new cryptocurrencies to
the platform.
Coinbase Adopts Customer-Driven Crypto Strategy
Coinbase has said it is exploring
support for more than 30 new cryptocurrency assets, including
ripple (XRP).
Explaining the reasoning behind Coinbase’s new strategic
direction, Romero said:
“I think our plan now is to list as many cryptocurrencies
possible within a compliant, legal constraints and also having
information and quality signals easily available for customers so
that they can kind of determine if a cryptocurrency makes sense for
them.”
In reference to cryptocurrency’s ongoing pivot into a utility
phase, Romero explained that in the event that customers decide to
change their crypto holdings on Coinbase and it cannot offer them that service due to
non-support for their cryptocurrency, they will only end up
exchanging the assets on less secure platforms, which serves
neither them nor Coinbase.
This he said, raises the need for Coinbase to recognise that
that “the ability to switch cryptocurrencies is the core piece of
functionality in the ecosystem.” Thus, he revealed, Coinbase now
intends to list as many assets as they can legally do in as many
jurisdictions as well.
Despite the SEC’s position on registering securities which
creates a risk of listing a token that later turns out to be an
unregistered security, Romero expressed confidence in the company’s
legal and security procedures working in tandem with in-house
checks and balances to ensure that this does not take place.
According to him, the company’s Digital Asset
Framework has enabled Coinbase to develop an efficient
process to ensure the quality bar and re-affirm the brand’s
identity of “trusted and easy to use.” Among the fail-safes
deployed in registering a new asset is the use of vetos by every
team before an asset is added to the platform.
Source:
CCN
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