XRP on Coinbase Custody: A step towards adoption?

Opinion: Coinbase Custody has announced that they will be looking into XRP, as well as 36 other cryptocurrencies, for providing storage solutions. While this might not be the addition to Coinbase that XRP enthusiasts might have wanted, it is the one they need.

However, XRP has gained prominence in non-American markets. Asian markets are beginning to warm towards XRP, as seen by the launch of SBI Virtual Currencies. Moreover, XRP has begun to be adopted by exchanges as a base pair for trading due to its high transaction speed.

The Founder of TechCrunch, Micheal Arrington’s hedge fund is also denominated in XRP, allowing for more liquid access to digital assets. Small steps like these build towards the adoption of not ‘Ripple’ but of XRP as a cryptocurrency separate from Ripple’s use of it. Coinbase Custody listing the coin will ultimately contribute towards building XRP’s adoption.

Notably, Coinbase Custody is Coinbase’s newest offering for institutional investors. They fill the role of a trusted custodian as seen in a traditional financial system in order to ensure secure storage of the clients’ assets. This is an important step towards building the infrastructure of the cryptocurrency market.

The announcement was made by Sam McIngvale, the Product Lead of Coinbase Custody, who prefaced it with:

“These assets are only being considered by Custody at this time, and this announcement has no bearing on trading-based products.”

He went on to say that the assets will be added as quickly and safely as possible. However, these asset additions will not affect in any way the offerings on other Coinbase products. This is to say that the assets which are not listed time and again, or that do not pass Coinbase’s Digital Asset Framework, will most likely not be added in the near future.

However, these assets will now enjoy a level of security that is on par with that offered to Bitcoin [BTC]. This is notable as most of the security solutions offered today for custody, support Bitcoin and a few other coins.

A future line of communication was established between Coinbase and the community as they stated that they will provide updates to customers regarding the process. However, it is to be noted that the minimum amount that customers need to invest is $10 million, as the product is targeted at hedge funds and other large investments.

The service was previously offered only for Bitcoin, Litecoin [LTC], Bitcoin Cash [BCH] and Ethereum [ETH]. Now, Coinbase Custody offers support for notable cryptocurrencies such as EOS [EOS], Monero [XMR], NEO [NEO], Dash [DASH], VeChain [VEN], Dogecoin [DOGE], and NEM [XEM].

Bazza Jewell, an expert in the banking sector, stated on the move:

“Coinbase offering Custody Solutions allows institutional investors to have a ‘vault’ of sorts to store their valuable digital assets. While there are some out there offering solutions for storage, a move of this scale will allow investors to look at these coins in a more ‘serious’ light.”