Monitors display Coinbase signage during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Coinbase is finally getting into dogecoin.
Starting Tuesday, the crypto exchange is offering its Pro users the option to trade dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that was started as a joke and has taken off this year, helped by the frequent tweeting of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Dogecoin is currently trading at 32 cents, up almost 6,000% for the year. However, it’s dropped by more than 50% since reaching a high in May.
Coinbase is one of the largest crypto exchanges on the planet, and its Pro service, as the name suggests, is designed for professional traders. Dogecoin is also available for purchase on Robinhood’s app and through Gemini.
Coinbase said in a blog post that it will “immediately” begin accepting inbound transfers to Coinbase Pro. If there is enough liquidity, trading of dogecoin will begin on or after 9 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, in supported locations. However, trading will be staggered.
The company says it plans to launch in three phases: post-only, limit-only and full trading.
“If at any point one of the new order books does not meet our assessment for a healthy and orderly market, we may keep the book in one state for a longer period of time or suspend trading,” the company wrote, citing its trading rules.
Dogecoin is not yet available on Coinbase’s primary website or its consumer mobile apps. The company said there will be a “separate announcement if and when this support is added.” For now, that means that retail investors will have to look elsewhere.
Coinbase, which went public in April, makes most of its money from the trading and storage of bitcoin and ethereum, the largest cryptocurrencies.
CEO Brian Armstrong has been a public advocate of the meme-inspired dogecoin. On the company’s May 13 earnings call, Armstrong said that “asset addition is something near and dear” to his heart.
He referenced dogecoin as one of the cryptocurrencies that’s getting a lot of attention and shared the company’s plan to list the token in six to eight weeks.
