- Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is integrating Binance’s (BNB-USD) BNB Chain and the Avalanche (AVAX-USD) chain into its wallet product
- The additions of these chains will make thousands of tokens available to Coinbase Wallet users
- While the news is quite good for users, COIN stock is taking a beating this afternoon
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is not going to fall behind its closest competitors. While companies like Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) and GameStop (NYSE:GME) roll out their own wallet products, Coinbase is looking to beef up its own. The company is taking on two new blockchain ecosystems, allowing users untethered access to thousands more tokens than were previously available.
The Coinbase Wallet, launch in the early 2010s, is one of the most popular options for storing one’s cryptocurrency. It’s one of the oldest non-custodial wallets around, allowing users the freedom of their own private keys. Since its launch, it has only grown in reach. Today, users across more than 100 different countries use the service.
But while Coinbase is certainly a “founding father” of the crypto wallet industry, it continues to face stiff competition. Institutions are cropping up with custodial crypto storage plays, like that of Anchorage Digital. These types of services tend to attract institutional investors — a growing demographic. Meanwhile, crypto-centric companies like Robinhood and GameStop might not be hard-nosed crypto players, but they are stealing market share away from projects like the Coinbase Wallet by making their own wallets for users.
Coinbase Wallet Sees Broad Expansion With New Chain Integration
So, how might Coinbase stand out in a market that’s rapidly growing crowded? By expanding its offering even further, of course. This week, Coinbase is taking on two new chains, providing Wallet users a host of new storage options.
A blog post from the company on Monday announced the integration of Binance’s (BNB-USD) BNB Chain and Avalanche (AVAX-USD) for Coinbase Wallet users. Previously, the service only allowed users to store Ethereum (ETH-USD) and Polygon (MATIC-USD) tokens. These two additions unlock thousands of new currencies for users to store on the service.
As the blog post details, decentralized exchange trading is up massively. Over $1 trillion in assets were traded on these exchanges. But given Coinbase Wallet’s limited integrations, users of the product could not swap their tokens anywhere. Now, these users can trade across four of the largest networks in the world. Coinbase says users only need the native coin of the network they wish to trade on in order to perform these swaps.
While the news is great for Coinbase, it is not doing a convincing job of catalyzing COIN stock gains. As the market winds down for today, COIN is down by about 7%. However, shares are trading at a slightly higher volume than normal.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
