The XRP Army Finally Got Their Dream!
After over a year of speculation, rumors, and endless tweets by the XRP community, Coinbase announced that it is listing XRP on its Coinbase Pro platform, offering trading pairs XRP/USD, XRP/EUR, and XRP/BTC.
“Support for XRP is initially available for Coinbase Pro users in the US (excluding NY), UK, supported European Union member nations, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. Additional jurisdictions may be added at a later date.” – Coinbase XRP support announcement
XRP will also be listed on Coinbase’s retail platform from Febuary 28th 2019 onwards.
Despite Coinbase and Ripple’s love/hate relationship with the cryptocurrency community, Coinbase adding XRP was always an inevitable event. Both Ripple and Coinbase sidestepped the topic throughout 2018, and in late 2017, false reports went viral about Coinbase integrating XRP, which triggered the price of XRP to explode from $0.25 to above $3.00.
XRP has retained a top-five standing in the cryptocurrency sector for years and regularly flips with Ethereum for the number-two spot.
Combined with the resources of payment company Ripple behind it and adoption though R3’s Corda blockchain, XRP and Ripple have a degree of influence in the sector.
Source: https://pro.coinbase.com/trade/XRP-USD
Why the Long Wait to List XRP Now: Desperation or Regulatory Patience?
Doubts over the regulatory status of digital assets such as XRP and its unique relationship with Ripple could be why Coinbase took so long to support it, but there could be urgency involved.
In 2019, the crypto sector does not just rely on one dominant exchange anymore (people learned not to do this from Mt Gox). Coinbase now has numerous contenders, such as Binance and SBI Virtual Exchange, who offer the same services and altcoins. This would likely motivate the company to integrate a wider selection of cryptocurrencies in order to stay relevant!
Binance CEO CZ stated in a livestream at 23:55 that he would be open to partnering with Ripple and its xRapid platform at some point in the future!
Coinbase is a business, and it has to stay ahead of competitors if it is to survive the fast-paced nature of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and technological advancements in general.
This is not investment advice; please always do thorough research and only invest what you are willing to lose, especially in times of uncertainty.