First, Coinbase is bringing decentralized crypto exchanges (DEXs) into its mobile app. This improvement will provide users with access to a significantly expanded catalog of digital goods. This dramatic shift opens the door for mainstream investors to trade almost any crypto asset. It addresses the biggest drawback with Coinbase’s existing service, which only supports 299 distinct crypto assets. This integration starts with DEXs operating on Coinbase’s own blockchain, Base, but will soon expand to cover other blockchains.
The announcement was made by Max Branzburg, Coinbase’s new head of consumer and business products. He gave it at an all-hands company conference held in lower Manhattan. Branzburg highlighted the potential for users to access millions of assets previously difficult to navigate. This new initiative is just one way that Coinbase is attempting to stay ahead of the tidal wave of new tokens. Its goal is to make the trading experience more user-friendly.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in late 2022 called for an extreme radicalization of the exchange’s centralized, token listing process. He’s worried about the unsustainable pace of almost a million new tokens being minted every week. He pointed out that the current evaluation process will be unable to handle this rate of exponential growth. There are currently no listing standards for tokens on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). This allows any user to quickly and conveniently create a trading pair with virtually any two digital assets. Decentralized exchanges on Base that will be incorporated immediately include Aerodrome and Uniswap.
"We've seen millions of assets get created and traded on decentralised exchanges, but only few people have been able to navigate those decentralised exchanges to access and trade the assets that they want." - Max Branzburg
"Coinbase will be going from one asset 13 years ago in Bitcoin to hundreds of assets today to soon having every asset onchain available to trade in the Coinbase app by default." - Max Branzburg
Coinbase is taking a big strategic bet with the integration of DEX trading. This expansion finally gives them the chance to go beyond their carefully curated list of assets. Coinbase might be leaning more toward decentralized exchanges. This new development provides builders and traders more access and opportunity to the ever-expanding world of cryptocurrency, empowering both parties.
"We've listened to your feedback on how late we can be to list an asset on Coinbase, which is where the speed of listings on DEX will empower both builders and traders with the trust and efficiency of our CEX alongside quicker turns based on market demand." - Coinbase spokesperson
