Coinbase Global Inc. plans to offer joke token Dogecoin on its trading platform in six to eight weeks, the company’s chief executive officer said Thursday.
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange currently offers trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest coins, along with more than 100 other alternative coins., but it hasn’t added some of the tokens that have gained popularity in recent weeks.
Dogecoin has surged to be worth more than $50 billion after backing from the likes of Elon Musk and Mark Cuban.
Dogecoin price chartCoinMarketCap.com
Coinbase said the proliferation of of alternative coins, including Dogecoin and Binance Coin, is a challenge because competitors support them and Coinbase doesn’t. Trading volume has been huge in some lately, meaning potential customers have either left or opened accounts at other exchanges where they can transact.
CEO Brian Armstrong said on a conference call that Coinbase will accelerate the time it takes to add new coins. In the past, the company would add coins after they’ve reached scale, he said. In the future, it plans to add “debut” coins, and be the first exchange to list them.
Trading in other digital assets made up 40% of last quarter’s volume, and Coinbase supported 108 unique crypto assets on the platform through the end of March. Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for the other 60%.