Coinbase came out with another major announcement today, in the 8th day of 12 Days of Coinbase.
“Starting today, you can convert one crypto to another on Coinbase. Conversions are available between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), 0x (ZRX), or Bitcoin Cash (BCH).”
Conversions complete instantly and at a lower cost than if done via two separate transactions. We’ll be gradually rolling out the ability to convert cryptocurrencies to customers in all 34 countries in which Coinbase offers native payment access.
— Coinbase (@coinbase) December 17, 2018
As the announcement explains, customers will initialy be able to convert between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), 0x (ZRX), or Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Converting is available on Coinbase.com and in the iOS and Android apps. Conversions complete instantly and at a lower cost than if done via two separate transactions.
They’ll be gradually rolling out the ability to convert cryptocurrencies to customers in all 34 countries in which Coinbase offers native payment access. Coinbase will gather customer feedback along the way and continue to iterate on the feature over time.
According to the Diar publication from August this year, Coinbase — the most well-known cryptocurrency trading platform in the U.S. — has seen volumes plunge by 83 percent from their all-time high in January. In July, Coinbase processed an estimated $3.9 billion worth of trades, down from a peak of nearly $21 billion. Bitstamp and Kraken, both of whom offer USD trading pairs, have also experienced significant declines, though they have been less-pronounced than those seen on Coinbase.
As CryptoIQ writes, Coinbase’s approach of only listing three established cryptocurrencies appears to be vindicated as the SEC has now cast a shadow over cryptocurrency by hinting that a large majority of coins may be classified as securities.
As the cryptocurrency market (in the US at least) is being reshaped by the decisions being put forth by the SEC, Coinbase has made a sudden and unexpected change to its policies: it has begun listing more coins. At a time when almost everyone else is taking a wait and see approach, Coinbase has doubled the number of coins it offers and has said that it may add up to 30 additional coins in the future.
