Coinbase, which earlier this week hit the headlines with its revamped listing process, will soon have a new European-based competitor as CoinMetro releases the Open Beta version of its trading platform ahead of a full launch at the end of the year.
CoinMetro raised $14 million in its February ICO, and has been quietly working on a regulated trading platform that aims to take on Coinbase and Coinbase Pro in the trading stakes by similarly catering to both ends of the crypto market.
Coinbase is renowned for being the most popular exchange for beginners – at one point last year, Coinbase was signing up 100,000 users a day and its popularity led it to becoming the first crypto unicorn. Its influence is such that even the rumour of a listing on Coinbase can cause a cryptocurrency to surge in value – the so-called “Coinbase effect” – although the new listing process is clearly aiming to lessen the effect.
As it stands, Coinbase enjoys a privileged position in offering both a simple consumer platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, and an advanced Coinbase Pro trading platform which includes all the functionality expected by professional traders. Not only does this appeal to newbies wanting to dip their toes in crypto, it also allows for an easy way to progress and try advanced trading tools. For Coinbase, the benefit is the basic Coinbase platform adds massive amounts of liquidity to the Pro trading platform, which reduces spreads, and further increases the popularity of Coinbase Pro.
CoinMetro has been developing its rival platform from its offices in Tallinn, Estonia, where it has obtained two government-issued trading licenses, and is currently in the process of securing an electronic money license from British Financial Conduct Authority.
Kevin Murcko, CEO at CoinMetro said: “Crypto needs a marketplace that is accessible to all – one that caters to both beginners and advanced traders. With our current version now live for the public, we’re showcasing just how far we’ve come in achieving that goal. Our web-based beta has been built with ease of use in mind and is a major stepping stone in terms of our ultimate goal of producing a fully-integrated and regulated exchange, trading, and ICO platform.
The team behind CoinMetro has prior form in creating regulated exchanges – they are the same group that’s behind the regulated forex broker, FXPIG, which has been catering to forex traders since 2009.
