Coinbase Deflects Rumors of Ripple Integration

In establishing itself as a leading cryptocurrency, demand for Ripple (XRP) has naturally increased, sending many investors to seek an avenue to acquire as many shares of XRP as possible. Coinbase operates the GDAX exchange, and has seen its number of users skyrocket in recent months.

The recent surge in the price of Ripple can be partly attributed to rumors of Coinbase’s intention to add the virtual currency onto their exchange. Such a move would provide access to millions of investors to trade XRP, and would help to fulfill some of global demand that has been rapidly increasing. However, these rumors were swiftly shut down, when the company issued an official statement yesterday. “As of the date of this statement, we have made no decision to add additional assets to either GDAX or Coinbase. Any statement to the contrary is untrue and not authorized by the company.” The remarks have thrown cold water on the positive sentiment surrounding Ripple, with respect to entering the GDAX platform.

According to Coinmarketcap.com, Ripple’s value is holding steady at its current priced of $3.34. The integration into Gdax was highly anticipated, due to the company’s increasing client base. Amid the announcement of the CME and CBOE adding Bitcoin futures onto their respective exchanges, Coinbase experienced a surge of new users eager to enter the crypto frenzy, reportedly peaking at 100,000 new users per day at the time. Many advocates of XRP were surely eager to see the integration rumors become a reality, and will now need to adjust their expectations.

The Rise of Ripple

Over the past month, Ripple has enjoyed a substantial appreciation in value, climbing from roughly $0.25 to a high of $3.82 yesterday, according to Coinmarketcap.com. Several factors have contributed to what has been a superb rise to the top of the crypto world. One of the main driving forces begin the virtual currency’s rise, was the announcement of SBI Ripple’s formation of a credit card consortium in Japan. The partnership included some of the largest credit card companies in Japan, and created a strong positive sentiment regarding the feasibility of materializing Ripple’s blockchain payment technology and solutions into practical use.

The Coinbase rumors were also partly responsible for boosting investor demand for Ripple. Coinbase’s announcement yesterday clearly sheds new light into the matter, and it will be intriguing to view the market reaction to the news.