Coinbase: Holy Grail or White Whale?

Late last year, as Dash surged in price, rumors were swirling about a possible Coinbase integration. With euphoria, like the price, at all-time highs, it seemed like Dash in particular and cryptocurrency in general were unstoppable. Random people on every social media outlet were talking of the integration as if it were an unassailable fact.

Dash has yet to be added to Coinbase or the company’s exchange, GDAX.

But then again, neither has Ripple. That currency twice soared in value off Coinbase integration rumors, once in January and again in March. The rumors reached such a fever pitch that both times Coinbase had to step in, once with a blog and again with a tweet, to let people know that no such integration was planned at the time.

Coinbase is unquestionably one of the easiest to use and best known cryptocurrency exchanges, especially in the US and UK. Announcements of Ethereum and Litecoin integrations caused both currencies to soar in value. The addition of Bitcoin Cash to the platform led to a massive surge in that currency’s value as well and sparked a major insider trading scandal. That scandal has arguably slowed the adoption of any further digital currencies while the company regroups.

Wherefore, Coinbase?

Being added to Coinbase would be a huge boon to Dash, giving a plethora of new investors an easy on-ramp and raising Dash’s profile significantly. But is that really what the community should be focused on?

The Dash Core Team is currently building something – Evolution – which will revolutionize Dash and digital currency in general. Making Dash so easy to use that “even your grandmother can do it” would create far greater inroads among the general population than would a Coinbase integration. Dedicated community members and contractors are working within the Dash budget system to build out other projects which will expand the ecosystem and public awareness of the project.

With so many things going for Dash, perhaps it’s time to let all the other cryptocurrencies vie for Coinbase integration, while we simply sit quietly on the sidelines, working behind the scenes. Should Evolution be successful, and there’s every reason to believe it will be, Coinbase will have no choice but to add us.