Summary:
- Coinbase will suspend trading of XRP on January 19th
- However, XRP wallets will be available for deposits and withdrawal
- XRP holders will still be eligible for their Flare Networks airdrop of Spark Tokens (FLR)
- Coinbase suspending rather than delisting hints the exchange will wait out the lawsuit
A few hours ago, the crypto exchange of Coinbase announced that it would suspend XRP trading on the platform due to the recent lawsuit by the SEC against Ripple. According to the official announcement, XRP trading pairs will move into ‘limit only’ starting December 28th at 2:30 pm PST. Complete suspension of XRP trading will be implemented on January 19th, 2021 at 10 am Pacific Time.
XRP Wallets Available for Deposits and Withdrawals
The team at Coinbase further clarified that XRP wallets will still be active as only trading will be affected.
The trading suspension will not affect customers’ access to XRP wallets which will remain available for deposit and withdraw functionality after the trading suspension.
XRP Investors Will Still be Eligible for the Flare Networks Airdrop
Additionally, XRP investors who had stored their coins on Coinbase during the Flare Networks snapshot on the 12th of December will still be eligible for the Spark Token (FLR) airdrop scheduled for early next year.
Further, customers will remain eligible for the previously announced Spark airdrop (subject to approval in certain jurisdictions), and we will continue to support XRP on Coinbase Custody and Coinbase Wallet.
A Full Delisting of XRP by Coinbase was Considered as ‘the Final Nail on the Coffin’
Ever since news broke of Ripple being sued by the SEC, speculation was rife that major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken would delist XRP. Such a scenario was explored by Bitcoin and Crypto analyst MagicPoopCannon who explained such an act would have a ‘massively negative impact on XRP’.
His exact statement was as follows.
The fact that foreign exchanges have now started to delist XRP is not a good sign. The odds are very high that Coinbase will delist or halt trading in the near future, which will obviously have a massively negative impact on XRP. This could get very nasty before it gets better.
Suspension of XRP Trading Hints that Coinbase will Wait out the Lawsuit
Going back to the Coinbase announcement about suspending trading of XRP, the team at the exchange has clarified that the digital asset will still be supported on Coinbase Custody and Coinbase Wallet.
Therefore, it is prudent to assume that Coinbase will probably take a ‘wait and see’ approach regarding the SEC lawsuit against Ripple in anticipation of a possible favorable outcome.