Coinsquare wants to compete with Coinbase

Canadian crypto exchange and brokerage platform Coinsquare has added XRP to its listings, moving even closer to its goal of becoming the premier trading destination for retail cryptocurrency investors.

Toronto-based Coinsquare announced Monday that it is adding trading capabilities for XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency issued by Ripple. The listing will initially be in beta mode, during which users will be able to fund their accounts with XRP and exchange it for other cryptocurrencies, but they will not be able to withdraw XRP to external wallets.

Earlier in January, Coinsquare CEO Kole Diamond said that listing Ripple was on the platform's agenda, but almost half a year has passed since then. A statement released by the company recently stated:

“We are very excited about the launch of the new currency. We also recognize that it has taken too long and would like to apologize for the delay and lack of communication. We thank you for your patience and assure you that we are doing everything we can to become even better.”

Although XRP is the cryptocurrency with the third largest market capitalization, some exchanges refuse to include it in their lists. mainly due to regulatory issues and lack of confidence in the safety of the asset. Coinbase, for example, refused to list the currency even though they included four of the seven largest cryptocurrencies. The exchange is currently considering supporting a fifth cryptocurrency, Stellar XLM.

According to Diamond, Coinsquare has an ambitious plan to expand and subsequently dominate the US and UK markets. According to the company, this expansion will be funded through an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company hopes to raise $120 million in the IPO.

“We believe we will be a major competitor to Coinbase and other exchanges in the U.S. by the end of this year,” Diamond said in an interview with Bloomberg in January.