Coinbase’s Shiba gamble and NFT plan fuels Wall Street optimism

Coinbase’s Shiba gamble and NFT plan fuels Wall Street optimism

Bloomberg / New York

To chart Coinbase Global Inc’s momentum this year, just look at its main retail mobile app. On October 29, it became No 1 in the Google Play store for the first time.

Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange and a lightening rod for regulators and critics alike, was more popular, in other words, than Instagram, PayPal or Snapchat. As one of the earliest on the scene, it is now benefiting as crypto gains more adherents, and its reach into new markets and willingness to take risks is seen by many on Wall Street as setting the stage for further growth.  

Take Shiba Inu. The meme token featuring a dog’s face catapulted into the public consciousness and entered the top tier of cryptocurrencies by market value within months. Its provenance as a meme leaves Shiba without much of a fundamental reason to thrive, but investors like it – and Coinbase listed the token in September, even as rivals like Kraken have avoided doing so despite intense lobbying by day traders.

It’s one of indications that Coinbase, which has sought to project a public image as the crypto world’s version of a mainstream exchange, has been taking