Coinbase Acquires Decentralized ERC-20 Trading Platform Paradex

On Wednesday, May 23 the San Francisco based exchange Coinbase announced the acquisition of a decentralized digital token relay-trading platform called Paradex. Alongside adding the decentralized exchange (Dex), the firm has also revealed it is retiring the name GDAX and that platform will soon be known as ‘Coinbase Pro.’

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Coinbase Exchange Acquires Decentralized Token-Relay Platform Paradex

Coinbase has revealed some interesting decisions today as the cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage service purchased a peer-to-peer Dex that allows users to swap “hundreds of tokens” like ERC-20s. According to various reports, Coinbase plans to “enhance” the Paradex protocol and launch the service to international customers located outside of the U.S. Reuters details that Coinbase purchased the platform for an undisclosed sum.

Basically, the Paradex development team of ten, explains the platform allows the peer-to-peer relay of ERC-20 tokens on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The system is entirely decentralized by utilizing the 0x protocol which provides “handling settlement without necessitating user accounts or taking custodianship of users’ funds,” explains the Paradex team.

Today the Paradex website states:

We know we’ve been a little quiet, but we’ve been hard at work, and we’re incredibly excited to share that Paradex is joining Coinbase — While we work to integrate with Coinbase, the Paradex app will be temporarily unavailable, starting today, May 23, at 3pm ET. This doesn’t change our commitment to our users — We’re still working hard to build the best relayer, now with a larger team and more resources.

GDAX Will be Overhauled Into ‘Coinbase Pro’

Coinbase also told the press it would “eventually” provide Paradex services to U.S. customers but it needs to make compliance changes first. The firm headquartered in San Francisco also announced the same day that it was completely overhauling and rebranding the GDAX exchange. This summer GDAX will be known as ‘Coinbase Pro’ the company explained on Wednesday.

The Coinbase Pro Trading Interface.

David Farmer, the General Manager of Coinbase Pro, detailed the trading platform will be more intuitive with a simplified deposit and withdrawal process. Further, the exchange will offer improved charts and access to historical data while also offering a new portfolio feature called ‘My Wallets.’

“As the decentralized ecosystem advances, we expect there will be many more opportunities for customers to interact with digital assets in new and unique ways,” Farmer states.

The news follows the trading platform’s plan to offer institutional custody services, and purchasing the website Earn.com.

What do you think about Coinbase purchasing Paradex? What do you think about GDAX turning into Coinbase Pro? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Coinbase, Paradex, and GDAX blog. 

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