Coinbase is “carefully exploring” the initial exchange and security token offering spaces, according to the company’s Head of Institutional Sales in Asia, Kayvon Pirestani. The news comes as Binance bids farewell to US users and starts to switch them to the new Binance US, potentially leaving a gap in the market for Coinbase to exploit.
Token Sale Platform Seems Inevitable
Pirestani was discussing the evolution of cryptocurrency capital formation at Coindesk’s Invest: Asia when the subject of initial exchange offerings (IEO) and security token offerings (STO) came up, which he said presented a “a really interesting opportunity” for the exchange:
In a nutshell, Coinbase is carefully exploring not only the IEO space but also STOs. But I can’t make any formal announcements right now.
Upon being pressed as to when a Coinbase IEO platform might see the light of day, Pirestani suggested something might come along in the “next few months”, but any STO platform would be much further down the road due to the extra regulations involved. Coinbase is one of the more cautious operators in the space, usually allowing other exchanges to break new ground and smooth out the rough edges of a new idea in the space before it decides to make a move. This has the advantage of failure being far less likely, which, considering it appeals to a more mature type of investor typically with more capital at risk than other exchanges, makes sense.
Binance Says Goodbye to US Customers
Pirestani’s announcement may have been strategically timed to tie in with Binance kicking US traders off the platform, with the two events occurring just hours apart. Binance is currently the king of the IEO, with tokens launched on its platform on average seeing much higher returns, and it remains to be seen what the impact of today’s removal of US customers from the main platform will have on the next IEO. Other exchanges such as KuCoin and Huobi have have launched IEO platforms in Binance’s wake, but none of them carries the weight of the Binance name. A Coinbase IEO platform however would really put the cat among the pigeons in terms of competition, and might cause Binance’s crown to start slipping just a little bit.
