On September 4, 2020, Coinbase Pro users will be able to transfer UMA cryptocurrency tokens into their accounts ahead of scheduled trading. Support for the UMA digital currency will be available in all of the digital asset exchange’s supported jurisdictions, however, New York State residents won’t be able to trade UMA tokens due to regulatory restrictions.
As confirmed by Coinbase, “per previous launches, transfers will open during business hours, Pacific time.” The San Francisco-based digital asset trading platform has previously noted that it plans to add support for more than 90% of all cryptocurrencies in the long-term.
Although Coinbase has provided an extensive set of listing policies and guidelines (which it claims to follow before considering new tokens for trading on its platform), it appears that the exchange has joined others like Binance and OKEx in aggressively adding new cryptos during the current digital asset bull market.
Traders are more likely to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies when market sentiment is quite positive and investor confidence is a lot higher overall, when compared to bear markets when exchanges struggle to generate as much revenue.
As noted by Coinbase, UMA trading will be supported with BTC, USD, EUR, and GBP, but only after sufficient liquidity has been established on the exchange. (For more details about how trading will begin for UMA tokens on Coinbase Pro, check here.)
As explained by Coinbase:
“UMA (UMA) is an Ethereum token that describes itself as ‘an open-source protocol that allows developers to design and create their own financial contracts and synthetic assets.’ The protocol’s name comes from the team’s goal of creating universal market access (UMA).”
As mentioned on its website, UMA allows developers to write self-enforcing smart contracts (automated business logic) with certain economic “guarantees.” UMA currently has a market cap of over $1.26 billion with each token trading at $23.21 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data.
UMA trading won’t be offered on Coinbase.com, a crypto trading platform intended mainly for retail investors. Trading in UMA tokens also won’t be available through Coinbase’s consumer mobile apps.
Coinbase Pro recently added CELO, a cryptocurrency used by the Celo platform to easily send and receive stablecoins using smartphones.