Coinbase to add ZetaChain, Aleo to experimental asset list

Coinbase will add lesser-known assets, using its experimental label. The latest projects with deposit wallets on Coinbase are ZetaChain and Aleo. 

Coinbase will add lesser-known assets to its list, after tracking them for several months. Coinbase will add support for ZetaChain (ZETACHAIN), only on its native version. Any other bridged or wrapped tokens will be lost if sent to Coinbase. 

ZETACHAIN will start trading at 9AM Pacific Time on September 19, establishing a pair with USD, if sufficient liquidity is reached at that time. Trading and deposit support may be restricted for some jurisdictions. 

ZetaChain is an EVM-compatible asset, launched by one of the creators of Basic Attention Token (BAT) and a former Coinbase team member. ZetaChain is a L1 protocol, which aims to offer cross-chain apps on any other network, even proof-of-work ones. ZetaChain is still building up its ecosystem of apps, recently including a decentralized exchange. The network is also in the process of testing a stablecoin backed by Bitcoin (BTC) reserves. 

Coinbase will add the asset under the Experimental label, which is used for all new assets on the platform, or ones with comparatively low volumes. The newly swapped POL token by Polygon is also carrying the experimental label, while all users switch their MATIC tokens. The Experimental label may be removed over time if the liquidity and security conditions are met. Coinbase already carries 247 coins and tokens, some with low volumes and market depth.

This listing may cause some confusion, due to the existing ZETA token on Ethereum. The asset is already traded on major exchanges, including Kraken. ZETA is held in more than 70K wallets. However, the newly listed ZETACHAIN asset claims to have more than 3.78M accounts, only running on the native ZetaChain network. The listing may be a call for loyal ZetaChain users. 

ZetaChain raised more than $27M in an IEO event, though the native asset now trades at a loss compared to the early sale level. 

Aleo (ALEO) next in line as an experimental trading asset

Coinbase will also add Aleo (ALEO) in its native chain version, again accepting no other tokens from other networks. Unlike ZetaChain, Aleo has yet to build its main net and is still marketing its approach to tokenomics. 

Initially, 1.5B ALEO tokens will be launched. Currently, there is no live asset under the ALEO ticker, and all assets are copycats. Aleo is still at the testnet stage and may incentivize early users with an airdrop. ALEO is not a long-awaited asset, but the new expansion of Coinbase listings sparks hopes of a potential altcoin market. 

The Aleo project has existed for years, even onboarding ambassadors, but is yet in the pre-launch airdrop stage. 

The move from Coinbase follows Binance’s decision to offer spot pairs for relatively small meme tokens, including a version of NEIRO. 

Coinbase adds CoWProtocol to its roadmap

The ability to list low-volume experimental assets allows Coinbase to consider a wider circle of promising projects. 

As of September 17, the CoW Protocol was added to the roadmap. The constantly updated roadmap gives a preview of potential listings, with no hard-set deadline. However, Coinbase aims to list all possible assets, based on its principles of legal compliance and technological stability. 

The recent announcements raised questions about why Coinbase was not listing some of the hot meme tokens or popular community coins. The exchange has refused to list based on popularity if the compliance and security conditions are not met. 

CoW Protocol is one of the staples in the Ethereum ecosystem, offering smart routing through decentralized exchanges (DEX). The protocol allows for selling coins or tokens without slippage and with optimal fees. 

The COW token has been trading since 2022, with some volatility and losses. COW currently trades at $0.25, depending mostly on Balancer decentralized pairs. Only 90M COW are in circulation, out of a total supply of 1B tokens. The COW token is still only held in 3,982 wallets, as a niche asset for DEX users. 

Other assets in the roadmap are ZKSync (ZK), a roll-up token that launched after a high-profile airdrop. Coinbase is also researching Moonwell (WELL) for an eventual experimental listing. 

Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva