San Francisco-based digital currency exchange operator Coinbase has entered into a deal to acquire Paradex, which will allow its customers to trade hundreds of tokens and keep it ahead in the competitive cryptocurrency space.
The Paradex platform enables its users to exchange cryptocurrencies directly with each other without the need of a middleman. What distinguishes Paradex from other exchanges is that it does not maintain custody of the tokens on behalf of its customers. Instead, user exchange coins peer-to-peer directly from their “wallets.”
Coinbase president and chief operating officer Asiff Hirji commented on the deal:
“This will significantly enhance the proposition for our customers in terms of what they want to trade and how they want to trade it. As soon as we can we're going to turn it on in the U.S. We're greatly increasing the number of things you can trade, and we're doing it in a compliant way.”
Coinbase also disclosed that it plans to improve on Paradex’ technology before launching its services to customers beyond the United States. No details of the financial terms of the transaction were released.
The company also said in a blog post:
"This peer-to-peer trading removes the need for third-party custodianship and the associated security risks. It is another step toward creating a truly decentralized crypto economy."
The decision to acquire Paradex will significantly improve Coinbase’s position in the increasingly cutthroat virtual currency world by increasing the number of coins they can trade. Currently, Coinbase is offering four of the largest cryptocurrencies, namely: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Litecoin.
Coinbase makes series of moves
The past couple of weeks, Coinbase has announced a series of moves which is a deviation from its traditionally moderate business model.
Last week, the company announced the launch of four new products intended to entice institutional investors that are interested in trading digital assets, such as high-frequency trading firms and hedge funds.
Coinbase General Manager Adam White said the move is part of the firm’s positioning with the expected inflow of institutional investor in the digital currency space. White stated:
“The cryptocurrency market is maturing rapidly as more sophisticated institutional participants enter the space. In fact, in the past few months over 100 hedge funds were created that exclusively invest in and trade cryptocurrency. Some of the world’s largest financial institutions have also recently announced their plans to begin trading cryptocurrency.”
Early this month, Coinbase claimed to have a state-of-the-art cybersecurity program in compliance with the newly-enforced New York cybersecurity regulations.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
