Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has been accused by The Financial Times of profiting from the list of the digital asset it holds and failing to clarify the projects, the exchange has invested till date.
The world’s leading business news organization, The Financial Times, has published a report accusing Coinbase of listing only 12 tokens as holdings on its website out of the 20 cryptocurrencies that the exchange had listed for trading while holding an investment in a related project.
What Is The Accusation?
As per the report, after The Financial Times had sent a list of eight projects to Coinbase where its involvement hadn’t been disclosed, the cryptocurrency exchange immediately added seven of these projects to their website raising concerns of a possible discrepancy. However, a Coinbase spokesperson said that the company will help clarify and try resolve any conflict that intends to jeopardize the company’s reputation. He went on to add,
“All the tokens and digital assets will be evaluated based on the same criteria as all the other assets on the exchange platform.”
The chief legal officer of Coinbase, Paul Grewal, said that asset listing decisions are not coordinated with venture capitalists or outside investors and Coinbase executives only have input if they are directly involved with the review and listing process. He remarked,
“Coinbase Ventures has never sold tokens from investments that it has made, and is staffed by a separate team with no influence over which assets may be supported on Coinbase platforms.”
Grewal concluded by saying that, Coinbase will soon share more information publicly including the assets held by the company and whether they have been listed by the exchange.
Coinbase Building A Marketplace Defined By Users
According to a Financial Times analysis – PitchBook data and public announcements, in December 2021, a cryptocurrency issued by the social networking start-up Decentralized Social (DESO) skyrocketed in value after Coinbase had allowed trading of the token on the company’s exchange. DESO is one of at least 20 cryptocurrencies that Coinbase had listed for trading while holding an investment in a related project.
Earlier this month, Coinbase had issued a statement that will list only those assets that would meet the requisite legal and cybersecurity standards, allowing customers to gather as much information as possible to make educated investment decisions. They plan to lay down a clear demarcation of digital assets allowing users to choose from Coinbase-held and Coinbase-backed assets.
