Coinbase Rolls Out Reinvented Trading Platform
Coinbase recently rebranded GDAX, the professional trading platform for individuals, as the San Francisco-based exchange intends to make the trading experience easier and more intuitive.
In a blog post, the digital currency exchange first announced the introduction of Coinbase Pro. This was later confirmed by Asiff Hirji, the company’s president and chief operating officer, in an interview with CNBC.
All transactions and balances from GDAX will still be available on the Coinbase Pro. It also features a simplified deposit and withdrawal process, as well as improved charts for users to easily access historical data.
Coinbase Pro will have a new consolidated portfolio view called My Wallets, enabling clients to check their accounts and balances. It will also incorporate all GDAX services including APIs, security, and trading fees.
Both Coinbase Pro and GDAX will operate side-by-side until June 29, with all users’ balances and transactions available on the new platform. All GDAX customers will be integrated to the Coinbase Pro after the adjustment period.
According to David Farmer, Coinbase Pro’s new general manager, the move is only one component of the firm’s greater commitment to growth the cryptocurrency industry.
Meanwhile, Paradex announced on its website the company is joining the Coinbase family.
“We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of Paradex, a relay platform that will allow our customers to trade hundreds of tokens directly from their wallets,” Coinbase Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said in a separate blog post.
Armstrong described the acquisition as a reinforcement to their “commitment to investing in decentralized infrastructure and participating in the nascent world of wallet-to-wallet trading.”
Coinbase Pro will also integrate the Paradex relay platform, expanding the choices of users for trading digital assets.
Initially, only international users can avail of the service. But Hirji said the company will offer the service to American customers as a bulletin board, as is common in the equities market, to ensure the service still adheres to US regulations.
Although the Paradex app will be temporarily unavailable to pave the way for integrating its services with Coinbase, the full service will be made available in the near-future.
Hirji stressed Paradex will not offer its exchange services in the United States, noting the differences of the regulatory frameworks for exchanges and bulletin boards.
He also disclosed the significant decrease in Coinbase’s trading volume, depicting the decreasing values of cryptos. However, the percentage of new accounts being opened on the trading platform has remained the same.
Hirji stated Coinbase is looking at listing more assets but the company is seeking regulatory clarity on whether some assets should be classified as commodity or securities.
Still, he is confident the likelihood of regulators deciding to categorize digital currencies as securities is extremely low though the implications would be significant.
