How Ethereum Classic ETC managed to beat Ripple XRP in the race to being listed on Coinbase

Whether you like it or not, the Coinbase effect is real in the crypto space. As 2017 came to a close, the rumor of Ripple getting listed on Coinbase resulted in a spike in the price of XRP such that the coin hit unprecedented highs of almost $4 per XRP. Obviously, with the market dip that came almost immediately, XRP market price has corrected ever since and is now priced at $0.54 per XRP.

ETC to be added to Coinbase

Just recently Coinbase made an announcement on their blog about their intention to add Ethereum Classic to their trading and cryptocurrency exchange platform. The announcement that came about on Monday this week hit the crypto space by storm leaving most dumbfounded over how Coinbase made the move to list ETC and not one of the top altcoins like RippleXRP.

Ethereum Classic is now on its way to being the fifth cryptocurrency supported on Coinbase (one of the most popular crypto trading and exchange platform in the US). What took most by surprise is the fact that coins such as Ripple have been gunning for the coveted position of being listed on Coinbase yet Ethereum Classic (listed at position 18 on CoinMarketCap with a market cap of $1.6 billion) managed to beat the competition.

ETC price spike

In fact, right after the announcement, the price of ETC went up by over 20 percent going from $12.81 to $16.40, in a span of about 24hours. This happened even before Coinbase was able to put out a specific date for when ETC would be listed on the retail brokerage platform.

According to the announcement, ETC will be added to Coinbase’s Custody platform, Coinbase Markets, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Prime, and, Coinbase Asset management in the coming months. Coinbase has reportedly been pushing to get registered by federal registration as an alternative trading system and investment adviser. This will allow the company to list more cryptocurrencies to its exchange.

Coinbase move to pick ETC instead of XRP

Coinbase is known to be super choosy over the coins it supports, however, a couple of reasons as to why they decided to support ETC over other viable options like Ripple XRP are evident. To begin with, ETC (unlike XRP) is a fully decentralized cryptocurrency that was forked from Ethereum after an attack that saw investors lose money on the Ethereum platform. Although IOHK is currently in charge of running the Ethereum Classic Blockchain, ETC remains to be an open source Blockchain project that is transparent and stable. Perhaps it’s the decentralized, stable and transparent nature of Ethereum Classic that has made it worthy of being listed on the giant brokerage firm.

Is XRP a real cryptocurrency?

This is not to say that XRP is unstable. It’s just that Ripple XRP, operates on a centralized framework whereby it cannot be mined and transactions are verified by a centralized Blockchain framework controlled by Ripple labs (the company). It’s for this reason that most cryptocurrency enthusiasts do not consider XRP a “Real Cryptocurrency.”

However, there might still be hope for XRP to be added to Coinbase considering reports that Coinbase might be moving base to Japan where cryptocurrency regulations are much more lenient than in the US. Plus Coinbase has also promised to add more ERC20 cryptocurrencies in the future. Whether XRP makes the cut will be something we have to wait and see.

For the latest cryptocurrency news, join our Telegram!

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

Image courtesy of Pexels

The post How Ethereum Classic ETC managed to beat Ripple XRP in the race to being listed on Coinbase appeared first on Global Coin Report.