Ripple’s seemingly unstoppable bull run took a hit Thursday after US exchange Coinbase dispelled rumors it would add the asset.
‘No Plans For New Assets’
From highs above $3.60, the latest milestone in what has become the biggest-ever annual appreciation for a major cryptocurrency of around 35,000%, the platform’s XRP token swiftly fell by almost a fifth following the news.
As of press time Friday, XRP is correcting and is still down 9% versus USD and 15.4% against Bitcoin (BTC).
A blog post from Coinbase reads:
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.
Coinbase Treads Carefully
Rumors had previously circulated widely that XRP was due to debut on the largest exchange in the US. The veiled nod to those rumors is no doubt a prudent step as Coinbase is continuing to face major criticism and scrutiny after it emerged staff leaked information about Bitcoin Cash (BCH) being added to its books.
Meanwhile, the Coinbase blog post continued to say:
A committee of internal experts is responsible for determining whether and when new assets will be added to the platform in accordance with our framework.
It then added the following:
These individuals — and all employees at Coinbase — are subject to confidentiality and trading restrictions.
Ripple executives, like its investors, nonetheless remain tangibly confident about the asset’s prospects. As Bitcoinist reported Thursday, the token’s utility as a currency is a major boon to users and, thus, has a tremendous innate value, according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Co-founder and chairman Chris Larsen, who owns a 37% stake of Ripple’s implied value of $320 billion, could well be the world’s ‘implied’ new richest person, with a fortune topping that of both Bill Gates and crypto-skeptic Warren Buffett.
XRP also found its way into traditionally Bitcoin-critical media outlet Russia Today’s cryptocurrency recommendations for 2018, along with Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, and Litecoin.
What do you think about Coinbase’s decision not to add Ripple? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Pixabay and Bitcoinist archives.
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