Topline
After teasing it earlier this month, Coinbase announced Tuesday it has officially listed dogecoin on Coinbase Pro, a major development that exposes the “joke” cryptocurrency to one of the world’s largest bitcoin and crypto exchanges.
Dogecoin was founded in 2013 as an alternative to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
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Key Facts
Coinbase said in a blog post that it will “immediately” begin accepting inbound transfers of dogecoin to Coinbase Pro in regions where trading is supported.
Trading will then begin at 9 a.m. PT on Thursday if there is enough liquidity, the post explained.
Coinbase will stagger the crypto’s rollout, it said, announcing it will only allow post-only orders and then limit-only orders before moving to full trading.
Per its trading rules, Coinbase said it will only move through each phase of the rollout when its assessment “for a healthy and orderly market” has been met.
“DOGE is not yet available on Coinbase.com or via our Consumer mobile apps,” the blog highlighted, noting there will be a “separate announcement if and when this support is added.”
Crucial Quote
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong teased the platform’s then-impending launch of dogecoin during a May 15 investor call, outlining his intention to “accelerate asset addition into the future.” “There are more and more assets being created in the crypto economy,” Armstrong said. “One of those is doge … which has been getting a lot of attention recently.”
Key Background
The Coinbase listing—which has generated excitement as a facilitator of more trading activity—is the latest in a series of momentum-inducing boosts for dogecoin, which was launched in 2013 as a jokey alternative to more mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed “dogefather,” has repeatedly sent the price of the coin flying through his personal investments and internet promotions. Doge’s value surged by 20% after Armstrong’s comments coincided with an announcement from Elon that he was “working with doge devs to improve system transaction efficiency.”
Big Number
$43.68 billion. That’s dogecoin’s market cap as of Tuesday afternoon, making it the seventh-largest cryptocurrency. The token has also seen its price increase over 5% over the past 24 hours and is now selling at $0.34. Comparatively, Bitcoin and Ethereum, still suffering amid recent market volatility, have both seen their prices drop since Monday.