Coinbase Continues to List More Assets but Where is #STEEM?

A couple of months after initially stating their intent to list new assets on their platform, Coinbase has completed the listing of 4 out of the 5 assets mentioned in the Summer. They also listed Ethereum Classic (ETC) in the same timeframe. The only asset missing from the original list is Stellar Lumens but many believe that will becoming fairly soon as well. Unfortunately for the communities of these newly listed assets, the launch of their listings have done relatively little to the prices of the asset over time. Most had initial price increases but most have had the same experience as the market in general which has been downward.

Coinbase has also just recently announced a much larger number of assets they are exploring to list in the future as they now state that “over time, (they) intend to offer customers access to greater than 90% of all compliant digital assets by market cap.” This is an interesting turn of events have they have always limited the amount of assets due to regulatory concerns as well as being able to handle the technical aspects of many assets. This could be a very positive sides from a regulatory perspective as the listing of assets on their platform could mean that some sort of clarity has been achieved regarding those assets that may be considered securities. However, Coinbase is also seeking to become a regulated National exchange as well so it will be interesting how they integrate those in the future as well. Unfortunately, #STEEM has yet to be listed on those being considered for listing.

My Letter to Coinbase

It was disappointing to see that #STEEM was not on that list for a couple of reasons. First, the community has made a couple of efforts to ensure that #STEEM be on Coinbase’s radar. If you recall, soon after the initial announcement from Coinbase in the Summer, there was a social media blitz to get their attention and draw them to consider #STEEM. Next, when the Coinbase site and application was updated with the ability to track and “favorite” assets, there was another effort for members of the community to log into their accounts and ensure that we tracked #STEEM as an indication to them our interest for a listing on their platform. Lastly, when recently had an initiative to actually send them letters as an effort to get listed as well. My letter was sent a couple of weeks ago and I feel that little by little we will be able to achieve some progress given the strength of the community and our social focus.

Despite not being added for consideration at this point, I would like to say that it is really not a big deal at the moment. The reality is that the listing has not really done much for those that have been listed as prices have all come down with the continued bear market trend seen this year. While most of the listed assets saw some healthy increases leading up to the listing, the prices came back down shortly thereafter which is the typical “buy the rumor, sell the news” mentality we see so often in financial markets. One benefit that has been seen is the increase in liquidity as volumes did see increases with the listing. Here is the chart of the latest addition, ZCash:

Source

You can observe that volumes have been slightly higher in December when it was listed. While volume will always fluctuate given market conditions, a good platform and exchange like Coinbase helps add to the assets liquidity. It also provides a great gateway to and from fiat currency which is probably the greatest benefit of the listing, particularly for assets like #STEEM that have limited alternatives to exchange with fiat currency. The gateway between fiat and cryptocurrency is one of the largest needs the community needs to broaden adoption and facilitate one of the main goals we have here in #STEEM which is to attract entrepreneurs to build on our blockchain and expand our ecosystem. This is why we must continue to emphasize the importance of getting a listing and push as a community to gain their attention for the due diligence process.

In looking at their process, I had been somewhat concerned about the lack of any Delegated Proof of Stake assets on their list. However, now their latest list includes EOS which is also Delegated Proof of Stake which could be a step in the right direction for #STEEM to be considered. There are a number of technical aspects that need to be considered in their process and the fact that #STEEM is different than most protocols could prove to be more work for them which is why it may be delayed. According to Coinbase:

”Adding new assets requires significant exploratory work from both a technical and compliance standpoint, and we cannot guarantee that all the assets we are evaluating will ultimately be listed for trading. Furthermore, our listing process may result in some of these assets being listed solely for customers to buy and sell, without the ability to send or receive using a local wallet. Finally, as per our listing process, we will add new assets on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, which allows us to add assets efficiently and responsibly.”

This should also be an opportunity for the developers in our community to become more involved in the process as their talent may be needed in the effort to get through these technical aspects for a potential listing. Providing Coinbase a roadmap to easily integrate with the #STEEM protocol would be valuable as they undergo their potential reviews of the asset. I would encourage those who have that knowledge to write posts that could provide some of that background which we can promote and share across social networks in an effort to get their attention.

This is currently a great opportunity to get their attention because they have now experienced the bear market and the significant reduction in trading activities as prices have come down and competitor have step up to more offerings. I think Coinbase after being in their comfort zone of being a leader in the market have fallen behind and need to move quicker to regain their leadership position. We recently saw how Square’s Cash App has made great progress as a viable option to exchange fiat for bitcoin. This effort to expand their list of potential offerings is surely an attempt to maintain interest from their customers to remain with the exchange and not leave to competitors. Therefore, if the community can show their strength in how we could impact volumes and liquidity, they would also become interest to cater to those more passionate about their blockchain communities. However, if the market reverse and go higher, we may lose the opportunity as they could no longer need more growth.

Despite the fact that #STEEM has not been listed as a potential candidate, we should continue to work as a community to increase our protocol’s visibility and value in the blockchain space. It will be a great example and demonstration of how truly powerful our community can be when working together like when we achieved the Netcoins listing months ago. If we are able to prove our interest as a community and demonstrate the great projects and DApps developed, Coinbase will surely get #STEEM on its list for review. What other ideas can we put forward to get the community moving for one more push for a Coinbase listing? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback in the comments below!

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