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In a move that has left many crypto enthusiasts scratching their heads, the cryptocurrency exchange of Coinbase has announced that it was exploring listing another set of cryptocurrencies. This new list was announced before completion of the previous list of 5 digital assets. That list still had 2 digital assets yet to be listed on Coinbase: Cardano (ADA) and Stellar (XLM).
The exchange made the announcement via twitter as follows:
Coinbase is exploring the addition of 30+ new digital assets. It’s our goal to offer support for all assets that meet our standards and are compliant with local law.
A Total of 31 Digital Assets
Coinbase went on to announce via Medium.com that it was exploring the following new list of 31 digital assets.
Cardano (ADA), Aeternity (AE), Aragon (ANT), Bread Wallet (BRD), Civic (CVC), Dai (DAI), district0x (DNT), EnjinCoin (ENJ), EOS (EOS), Golem Network (GNT), IOST (IOST), Kin (KIN), Kyber Network (KNC), ChainLink (LINK), Loom Network (LOOM), Loopring (LRC), Decentraland (MANA), Mainframe (MFT), Maker (MKR), NEO (NEO), OmiseGo (OMG), Po.et (POE), QuarkChain (QKC), Augur (REP), Request Network (REQ), Status (SNT), Storj (STORJ), Stellar (XLM), XRP (XRP), Tezos (XTZ), and Zilliqa (ZIL).
The Observation that Coinbase Likes to List ERC20 Tokens First
In the previous list of 5 digital assets that Coinbase was exploring, it was noted that the exchange listed the ERC20 tokens of Ox (ZRX) and Basic Attention Token (BAT) first. This is in line with a March 2018 announcement by the exchange that it was supporting the Ethereum ERC20 technical standard. From a software integration point of view, Coinbase will have an easier time listing ERC20 tokens than listing Cardano (ADA), Stellar (XLM), XRP and any other coin with a different protocol.
25 Tokens In the New List
Out of the 31 digital assets mentioned by Coinbase, 6 are coins on their own networks. They include ADA, EOS, NEO, XLM, XRP and Tezos (XTZ).
This means that the other 25 are tokens that could be listed before the 6 aforementioned coins.
We can also assume that the exchange might choose to list Dai (DAI) next since it is a stablecoin. The past few months of market volatility has created a need for stablecoins for traders to hedge with during times of market turmoil.
The ‘Anomaly’ That was ZCash (ZEC)
The listing of ZEC by Coinbase a few days back caught many traders off guard. No one expected ZEC to be listed before ADA and XLM. This then led us to explore two speculative reasons as to why this was so.
Firstly, we put forth the idea that Coinbase wants to compete with the Gemini exchange by the Winklevoss Twins that already has ZEC. Secondly, we put forth the idea that ZEC was listed due to demand by institutional clients. Coinbase did a similar thing when they opened an OTC trading desk after requests from institutional investors.
The Silver Lining
However, in our attempt to explain how and when Coinbase will list XLM, XRP or ADA, we have missed the obvious: that the future holds the possibility of more digital assets being listed on the platform.
What are your thoughts on Coinbase announcing a new list of 31 digital assets before completing the earlier list of 5 that included ADA and XLM? Please let us know in the comment section below.
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Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of Ethereum World News or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.