There has been unprecedented levels of hype regarding the idea of Ripple being added to Coinbase's library. This post serves to offer a more realistic approach on the subject rather than an opinion purely led by hype for one's own investment. I am seeing too often people talking about the concept of Ripple being added as a "no-brainer".

I will not be talking about any sort of leak as shown last month with the video of a Coinbase "beta tester" or what not. Although some of these leaks are persuasive, do not be fooled. You want to remain critical. Instead, go off of hard facts that could lead one to believe or not believe Ripple being added to the library, as I will discuss in this post!

Why Ripple will likely not be added to the library

In the opening paragraph of GDAX's Digital Asset Framework blog post, or in other words, Coinbase's and GDAX's criteria for adding a new digital asset to their library, the following is stated:

"GDAX will add assets which align with this framework and promote our mission of creating an open financial system for the world."

Take note of a very important detail in this quote, which is almost a motto for Coinbase, "creating an open financial system for the world."

Isn't this fact of creating an open financial system which they support completely different from what Ripple Labs aims to accomplish? Many people argue that the fact of the matter for Ripple is that its not decentralized. Plain and simple. Ripple is a cross-border bank payment utility that is simply contributing to financial centralization, in fact, just making it faster and less costly for banks.

Coinbase can or has been seen as a very large enforcer and early adopter of the idea of decentralized currencies, and it is hard to believe that they would neglect these founding ideas to add something like Ripple.

The question to ask

Does Ripple meet almost every other requirement for Coinbase digital asset addition? Yes. Does this mean it will automatically be a "no-brainer" for being added to Coinbase? No.

Coinbase could most certainly add Ripple to Coinbase and receive massive yields in fees. It is a known fact that Ripple has trended in the top 3-4 in market capitalizations over the course of several months. While this would mean big money for Coinbase, it is a meaningful fact that they have neglected to add one of the largest market caps that is hand in hand with assets already added to their platform.

Does Coinbase still hold true to its values? Does it favor fees over its ethics?

These are my thoughts regarding this rumor, comment your opinion and how you feel about where Coinbase stands in terms of values at the moment!

GDAX Digital Asset Framework blog post: https://goo.gl/to6MyK
GDAX Digital Asset Framework: https://goo.gl/F3qpUx