Coinbase has been dominating the app store since the year began. According to new data also observed by Morgan Creek’s Anthony Pomliano on Twitter, Coinbase beat five leading stock trading apps to record the highest number of downloads in January.
Coinbase had 1.3M app downloads in January.
— Pomp
That's more than E-trade, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Sofi had….combined.(@APompliano) February 2, 2021
These metrics indicate a surge in user interest, and further suggests that interest in cryptocurrency trading is on the rise. It may also mean that some stock traders are either transitioning into the crypto-market or that they are simply adding cryptocurrencies to their trading list. Coinbase’s announcement to go live on Nasdaq may have also driven the public’s interest last month.
While the debut date is yet to be revealed, the listing will make Coinbase one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges to hit the platform. Although Coinbase already boasts of over 35 million users in over 100 countries, the listing will boost its exposure to a wider audience. The company’s value which is estimated to have reached $50 billion, courtesy of existing shares traders actively trading on Nasdaq’s Private Market platform, could potentially skyrocket following the listing.
Coinbase is likely to remain a global leading exchange in the market, but the exchange must work to sustain its position as market competition continues to build up. Recently, Coinbase and other leading exchanges experienced what it called “performance degradation.” Fixing the issue required the disabling of the USD on its platform for a short period of time. As observed by analysts, this affected market movement caused prices to dip even lower. These events reflect the impact that exchanges have on the cryptocurrency market.
The exchange has also received its fair share of criticism from the crypto-community. Last year, analysts collectively spoke against the exchange’s reported sale of a forensic tool to the U.S. Government, alleging that the exchange was selling user information to the government, although Brian Armstrong, the head of the exchange was quick to debunk such claims.
Coinbase has also built its reputation as the go-to exchange for large Bitcoin buys from leading institutions. Per previous reports, universities and leading traditional firms have reportedly purchased large amounts of Bitcoin directly from the exchange.
These institutional purchases have also recently signaled an incoming bull trend for Bitcoin. The withdrawal of more than $500 million worth of Bitcoin from the exchange on the 31st of last month, is said to be an OTC deal that went to custody wallets. According to Ki Young of CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin outflow from the exchange is a strong bullish indicator for the near term.
