Coinbase Surprises Users With Monday’s “12 Days Of [Christmas]” Feature

Last Monday, Coinbase, the world’s most valuable crypto company, revealed that it would be launching a “12 Days of Coinbase” initiative, an obvious reference to the age-old holiday song of a similar title. In an announcement pertaining to this program, the San Francisco-headquartered platform divulged that 12 Days was a culmination of its development efforts for 2018.

Keeping this in mind, the firm explained that it would make one pertinent announcement each day, whether it be a new feature, company program, or anything in between. Just one week after the launch of this holiday-inspired initiative, on day 8, the upstart valued at $8 billion has arguably released the most exciting feature of 12 Days so far.

Starting today, you can convert one crypto to another on Coinbase. Conversions are available between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), 0x (ZRX), or Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

It's Day 8 of 12 Days of Coinbase. Learn more: https://t.co/VshJf7FOMZ pic.twitter.com/wLyJPfkKcA — Coinbase (@coinbase) December 17, 2018

At noon on December 17th, Coinbase took to its Twitter page to unveil a feature that its retail users have been clamoring for since Ethereum (ETH) added to the multinational platform. Per a blog post released in tandem with Coinbase’s tweet, this feature, dubbed “Convert.” will allow users to trade one cryptocurrency to another on the firm’s consumer-focused offering.

Convert will allow traders to issue crypto-to-crypto instantaneously, and purportedly at a “lower than if done via two separate transactions.” The startup will be charging a targeted spread of 1%, but the fee incurred may vary, specifically due to “market fluctuations.” This feature will be “gradually” rolled out to Coinbase’s clients in the 34 countries that have access to “native payment access.”

In closing, the firm maintained that this newest feature is part of Coinbase’s mission to build a open financial system for the world.

Coinbase Opening Up To Altcoins

This move only underscores Coinbase’s newfound affection for altcoins, which has shocked the industry at large, as formerly, the startup expressed copious amounts of hesitance towards listing non-Bitcoin digital assets. Still, the fact of the matter is that amid 2018’s bear market, the American juggernaut likely weighed its options, and decided to move its business in a unique direction.

Per previous reports from Ethereum World News published in September, Dan Romero, Coinbase’s general manager, took to CNBC’s “Fast Money” segment to discuss the matter. Romero, who has quickly risen to the top of the startup’s pecking order, explained Coinbase’s vision for its altcoin-friendly plan:

Ultimately, crypto is a global phenomenon. You have software developers and entrepreneurs around the world building products on top of crypto, and it’s unlocking a lot of use cases, particularly in emerging markets. I think we need to shift as a company to a more global perspective.

Just months after this revelation, the platform has remained true to its word, listing an array of altcoins, some well-known, others not so much, in rapid succession. At the time of writing, Pro, the startup’s testing ground for altcoin support, currently lists the “Coinbase Five” (BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, and ETC), ZCash (ZEC), 0x (ZRX), BAT, Decentraland (MANA), LOOM, Civic (CVC), and district0x (DNT).

The startup has also expressed that it intends to “explore” offering support for an extensive list of altcoins, namely Stellar Lumens (XLM), XRP, Cardano, NEO, and Tezos (XTZ). Seeing that the company has made good on its “exploration” of assets previously, it can be assumed that the tokens on the list, partially conveyed above, will be added in due time.

Title Image Courtesy of Marco Verch Via Flickr