Coinbase has officially announced to “rapidly add” new assets to its system through open applications. This movement has marked a turn in direction for the exchange, which typically adds cryptocurrencies in a methodical manner.



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Currently, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, which are essentially three cryptocurrencies and the two largest forks of those currencies, are supported by Coinbase.

The plan is to have as many cryptocurrencies and tokens listed as possible, while still strictly following current set of guidelines.

Coinbase shared: “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. [. . .] The new process begins with a form for issuers to submit assets for listing at coinbase, which we will evaluate against our digital asset framework. The application form and the digital asset framework will be regularly updated, and our form will indicate the latest version of the framework we are evaluating against.”
The form covers what would be typically expected: Not being considered as a security and not preventing Coinbase from performing Anti-Money Laundering checks on their customers. Bearing that in mind, privacy coins are likely not eligible.

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But it does seem that ICOs that are not classified as securities will be taken into consideration. The digital asset framework mentioned in the announcement has a whole section dedicated to ICO funded tokens.
It is extremely hard to clarify right now how strictly Coinbase would follow their outline. It is unlikely that every benchmark has to be met. Otherwise, some of the coins already on Coinbase would be considered not eligible. One provision calls for a growing number of nodes under “Network Standards”.
“Growing number of nodes on the underlying blockchain. The project has a globally distributed node network, meaning operating nodes are not contained in a single country or geographic region.”
The number of Bitcoin Cash nodes has decreased since August and while historical data for Litecoin could hardly be found, it currently has just over 200 nodes worldwide. When it comes to Ethereum Classic, the situation is even worse, with an unclear number of nodes, but seems to be under 20.
So, unless Coinbase wants to remove one of their current coins or “grandfather” them in, it is unlikely that one failure would prevent a coin from being listed on Coinbase.
It is common to see crypto-only exchanges support hundreds of cryptocurrencies. By contrast, it takes Coinbase a long time to add currencies. It is one of the few means to connect fiat and cryptocurrencies in the United States, so that prudence was warranted. It will be interesting to see how their further acceptance of the altcoin and ICO markets will affect that status and the markets themselves.
Coinbase’s top brass must have taken it seriously when crafting the announcement,

“We think of coinbase as the global bridge from fiat to crypto, from the fragmented financial system of today to the open financial system of the future.” They explained in the release’s conclusion “We believe this new listing process allows us to quickly add assets while remaining compliant with local law and continuing to offer our customers the safe, high-quality experience they have come to expect from coinbase.”

The application process will be free-of-charge. However, Coinbase warns that could change in case of overwhelming demand.

Coinbase was accused of insider trading after Bitcoin Cash was listed on this exchange earlier this year. After being added to Coinbase, the price of Bitcoin Cash skyrocketed. Some advocated that Coinbase employees were in a position to profit off of the move. Coinbase then conducted an internal investigation, but it revealed no evidence of insider trading. However, there is an on-going civil lawsuit related to the matter.

Coinbase shared that it will no longer announce new asset additions far in advance. It is unclear if this will be of help or harm for their case when it comes to insider trading. It likely depends on how capable they are at limiting the number of employees who know that information in advance. It is also possible that they plan to make speedy additions so that a lengthy pre-announcement will be impossible.

Coinbase is famous for accepting relatively “safe” cryptocurrencies only. Adding coins and tokens “rapidly” even with their vetting process, however, will somehow put that reputation at risk.