XRP users call on FINRA to probe Coinbase for possible price manipulation
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News
Jessica Kuruthukulangara
Jul 16, 2018 at 5:50 PM
The Ripple community is not willing to let go of the fact that Coinbase excluded XRP from its possible listings. XRP investors have called on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to investigate the exchange for possible price manipulation.
Coinbase on Saturday had announced that it was exploring chances of adding Cardano (ADA), Basic Attention Token (BAT), ZCash (ZEC), Stellar (XLM) and 0x (ZRX) to its exchange. Soon after the announcement was made, all the mentioned coins saw their prices spike higher.
XRP investor Pete Dakin, on the same day, appealed to the U.S. regulator to investigate the matter, claiming that the exchange could possibly be abusing its market power.
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Even more surprising is the fact that FINRA replied to the tweet, which can be interpreted to mean that the regulator will be looking in to the matter.
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Many in the community have echoed Dakin’s concerns. Some even pointed out that the exchange is considering listing Stellar [XLM], which many claim is a clone of XRP, and this “screams manipulation”.
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XRP is currently ranked as the third most valuable digital currency, with a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, data from CoinMarketCap showed. However, the coin has been battling intense selling pressure. Though the broader cryptocurrency market is exhibiting bearish trends, this particular digital asset has been in the red zone for the past few months.
XRP decentralization issue could be main hurdle
Many believe that Coinbase is abstaining from adding the coin to its exchange since XRP is facing serious debate over the level of decentralization in the digital asset. Coinbase strongly emphasizes on the decentralization aspect of cryptocurrencies.
See also: Ripple to prioritize getting volume on RippleNet; eyes xRapid launch this year
Ripple had earlier disclosed that it owned 60 billion XRP while about 55 billion tokens are locked up in escrow. Few skeptics claim that the coin exists solely to fund the company and inflate its valuation.
The company is also facing legal battles on whether the digital asset is a security or not. Though the firm has asserted that the coin is not a security, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ambiguous stand on the virtual currency has further complicated matters.
Image via Shutterstock
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