Community urges Coinbase to relist XRP as CEO fights for staking

Published at: Feb. 10, 2023

Amid Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange standing up for crypto staking and economic freedom, the online community has urged the company to support XRP as well.

On Feb. 9, Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal claimed that Coinbase's staking program is not affected by rival exchange Kraken shutting down its staking services. The executive argued that Kraken’s staking platform was “essentially offering a yield product,” while Coinbase’s staking services are “fundamentally different and are not securities.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also took to Twitter on Thursday to declare that the exchange will continue to oppose the government when it comes to protecting services like staking. He complained about the lack of clear staking regulations, adding:

“We will keep fighting for economic freedom — our mission at Coinbase. Some days being the most trusted brand in crypto means protecting our customers from government overreach.”

The community was quick to react to Armstrong’s “economic freedom” ambitions, with many criticizing Coinbase for staying away from the XRP (XRP) after delisting the cryptocurrency in 2020. The decision to suspend XRP trading came in response to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) taking legal action against Ripple, alleging that the firm violated securities laws by selling XRP tokens.

“Is delisting XRP a good example of Coinbase protecting customers from government overreach?” one crypto enthusiast asked on the Twitter thread.

The community has also once again pushed #relistXRP hashtag on Twitter, with many people stressing that XRP has not been declared a security yet, followi more than two years of Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC.

“If Coinbase really wanted to show they are standing up against the SEC they would simply #relistXRP I mean seriously it has not even been declared a security! Coinbase and Brian Armstrong are nothing but a bunch of cowards,” one industry observer also argued.

Many crypto activists also referred to a recent legal win involving the sale of LBRY Credits (LBC) tokens, bringing parallels with XRP. On Jan. 30, the SEC admitted on record that the sale of LBRY tokens in the secondary market doesn’t constitute a security, implying that players like Coinbase can offer LBC trading without any legal issues.

Coinbase should relist $XRP.Under the SEC vs LBRY standard, $XRP sold by secondary holders is not a security.

— LBRY (@LBRYcom) February 1, 2023

“Coinbase and others should immediately list XRP after LBRY’s legal team and Deaton succeeded in getting the SEC to confirm on the record that secondary market sales of cryptos, for example by exchanges, do not constitute securities transactions,” Twitter user Eviszen wrote.

Launched in 2012, XRP is a major cryptocurrency that is native to the Ripple protocol, aiming to provide financial tools like a cross-border payment method. Despite being involved in a major legal battle with the SEC for the past few years, XRP has remained one of the world’s top cryptocurrencies by market value. At the time of writing, XRP is the sixth largest crypto asset by value, with a market capitalization of nearly $20 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.