Canadian Crypto Exchange Gets Ready To Take On Coinbase With XRP

Canada's Coinsquare is getting ready to tackle Coinbase in the firm's quest to become the trading venue of choice for retail investors, and it's got a new weapon to do so: Ripple.

Toronto-based cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage platform Coinsquare announced via a press release, published August 1, that the firm has added XRP to its coin offerings.

The firm says the rollout is initially in beta, during which users will be able to fund their accounts with XRP and trade the cryptocurrency against fiat and other cryptos, but will not be able to withdraw XRP to an external wallet.

Expanding With XRP

Coinsquare’s CEO Cole Diamond first teased cryptocurrency news agencies with the addition of XRP to their platform in January of 2018, although several months passed without any word on when this would take place.

In their press release, Diamond says:

“Coinsquare aims to offer convenient and safe access to the highest-quality cryptocurrencies through its platform. XRP has been a highly requested asset which we are thrilled to now be offering to Canadians. Now that we have the technical infrastructure built out to add more currencies safely and efficiently, I’m excited to announce that we will be adding more coins to our offering in the near future.”

While XRP is the third-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, many exchanges are hesitant to list it due to regulatory issues on whether or not XRP is a security. Coinbase has declined to support it, despite listing four of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies and exploring the addition of Stellar (XLM) to its platform.

Coinsquare plans to expand its business reach, including opening platforms in the US and UK, both Coinbase-dominated markets. The firm plans to finance their expansion via an initial public offering (IPO) to be conducted on the main Toronto Stock Exchange, and Coinsquare hopes to raise CAD $150 million.