Coinbase not adding Ripple [XRP] yet: Does institutional money think the coin is a security?
A recent announcement by Coinbase confirmed that this famous US exchange platform is considering adding 5 new projects to its platform. The official announcement said:
“Today we are announcing that we’re exploring the addition of the following assets to Coinbase:
- Cardano (ADA)
- Basic Attention Token (BAT)
- Stellar Lumens (XLM)
- Zcash (ZEC)
- 0x (ZRX)”
The news left related communities happy as the coins in question immediately skyrocketed into the green, similarly to how Ethereum Classic [ETC] price reacted a couple of months ago when it had its own Coinbase confirmation. Granted it’s not certain which exact coin (or coins) from this list will end up being added to the platform but the market will take any hopium it can get at this moment. However, one particular community was left annoyed and disheartened by this latest development.
XRP, Ripple (aka “the company which uses XRP in its product”) and their community haven’t accepted these news as positive, to say the least. Long before BCH (now a Coinbase oldtimer) was confirmed as a part of the exchange platform’s portfolio, Ripple has insisted (to not use a harsher word like complained) that their coin should definitely become a part of the exchanges illustrious line-up. Still, Coinbase has so far refused to cave in and grant the Ripple community their wishes, and one wonders if there is a significant reason behind this. After all, XRP remains the 3rd most valuable cryptocurrency in the world and has a willing user base that would definitely boost Coinbase’s traffic and earnings. So what seems to be the problem?
Well, there is that little issue of XRP still not knowing for sure if it is a security or not. We recently wrote about Ripple’s latest attempts to fight the security-related FUD, as the company and the community have been pulling every trick in their hat to make the worries go away. Their efforts have apparently not been convincing enough for Coinbase, as the exchange still hasn’t added or even considered XRP for its portfolio. XRP is currently facing a lot of uncertainty regarding this issue, with several class action lawsuits claiming how the company fooled its investors by selling unlicensed securities.
Other thing to note is the fact that Coinbase is considering adding Stellar Lumens [XLM] over XRP. XLM and XRP have long been seen as two of the main competitors for cross-border payment settlements. This is somewhat true as XRP has more of a centralized use within payment institutions like banks, while XLM looks to become a peer-to-peer payment system that anyone can use. Still, the coins are known rivals for quite some time now and this could be interpreted as an indirect message to the project. As Wombat151181 from Reddit said:
“Adding XLM is a big “fuck you” towards Ripple and XRP. “
The general reaction of the community was strong, as the uncertainty surrounding the coin is becoming more and more palpable with each passing day and events like this one aren’t helping. Some are scared, feeling like this is a clear sign that Coinbase doesn’t want to go near their bags. Others are cocky and have their reasons why Coinbase made a grave mistake and feel that XRP is well on its way to overtake Bitcoin and Ethereum. Others are more moderate with their views; btc_clueless on Reddit thinks the following:
“Guys, please take a moment to reflect here. Coinbase adding some coins that happen not to be XRP = Coinbase is officially anti XRP? Are you serious? They don’t mention XRP once, they don’t say anything negative about XRP, how are they anti XRP?”
SovereignSoul76 stays cautious but still keeps his faith in the project:
“That’s fine. Adoption and use is more important than speculation pumps anyways. Would have been nice to have XRP included, but there is definitely something strange going on with Coinbase and Ripple. My faith and investment is in the Ripple team and their vision, not in the whims of the crypto community as a whole.”
For now, it’s unclear what Coinbase thinks of Ripple and XRP. Signs do imply that they are keeping their distance from the coin. At the same time they could announce XRP addition tomorrow. All we know that the road to reaching the final answer to the “Is XRP a security?” question will be an interesting one. As Bakla5hx from Reddit would say:
“I’m just here for the memes.”
