Coinbase to Suspend XRP Trading
Coinbase will suspend trading and deposits in XRP (XRPUSD), the world's third biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, starting Jan. 19, 2021. The San Francisco-based exchange cited the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) decision to file a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Inc., the company responsible for issuing XRP, for its decision. It also announced in a blogpost yesterday that trading in XRP will move to limit-only, meaning crypto traders will only be able to place limit orders on the cryptocurrency, starting tonight.
Crypto traders will be able to withdraw and access XRP in their wallet even after the trading suspension. Coinbase also said that it will support the distribution of free Spark tokens, which provide smart contract functionality to XRP, equal to the XRP amount in customer wallets on Dec. 12. The airdrop, the term used to describe such distribution events, is expected to occur at a future date.
«We will continue to monitor legal developments related to XRP and update our customers as more information becomes available,» Paul Grewal, Coinbase's chief legal officer, wrote in the post.
Ripple's XRP has faced blowback from within the crypto ecosystem, and its price has crashed after the SEC filed a case against it. The complaint charges XRP's backers with conducting an unlawful issuance of securities and personally profiting from the endeavor.
Coinbase is the third exchange to take action against XRP in recent days. Belgium-based Bitstamp earlier announced that it was halting all trading and deposit operations related to XRP from Jan 8. OKCoin, another San Francisco-based exchange, has also stated that it will suspend XRP trading and deposits starting Jan. 4.
However, Coinbase's case is notable
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