Coinbase Exec. Unpacks About-Face on Crypto Listings

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 recognize 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.

Original article written by David Hundeyin at CCN