Coinbase to Expand Crypto Trading Roster after Listing Rules Overhaul

Coinbase, one of the largest digital currency markets, has revamped its listing rules by launching an online application process open to every crypto asset project, as announced on Wednesday.

The new policy will lead to a significant expansion as it will result in more cryptocurrencies being added soon, the California-based exchange said in an official blog post. Currently, the platform supports trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Litecoin (LTC).

“Today we’re announcing a new process that will allow us to rapidly list most digital assets that are compliant with local law, by satisfying listing requests in a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction manner. In practice, this means some new assets listed on our platform may only be available to customers in select jurisdictions for a period of time,” Coinbase explained in its announcement.

The crypto projects should fill an online application form and meet several criteria of the so-called Digital Asset Framework, including velocity and trade volume provisions, as well as Coinbase’s anti-money laundering (AML) rules. The candidates should not be considered securities under US laws, for example, projects basing their token on physical assets or fiat money.

“At our discretion, we may choose to list some assets on the basis of our own evaluation, even in the absence of an application. In other cases, we will attempt to give quick, specific reasons for the approval or rejection of particular assets,” Coinbase added.

The company has also changed its listing announcement policies and will publish official support statements “only at or near the time of public launch across one or more Coinbase products.” This revamp is a significant shift from the existing practice of revealing listings several weeks in advance. Such was the case with Ethereum Classic, where the announcement had a substantial impact on the ETH price.

Coinbase has licenses in several US states, including the special New York cryptocurrency permit BitLicense, and offers several products. The main Coinbase Pro platform clocked $135.5 million in trading volume over the last day.