Canada’s cryptocurrency exchange CoinField is exploring the possibility to employ Ripple’s XRP to facilitate transactions as a ‘base currency,’ the venue said on Twitter.
CoinField said XRP could be chosen for its fast transaction speed and low-cost settlement. The token’s Blockchain transactions typically settle in under four seconds, allowing for faster multi-exchange strategies and providing a speed advantage over other options.
If successfully implemented, a total of 30 Cryptocurrencies can be quoted against XRP, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Zcash.
"We've been evaluating the possibility of adding #XRP as the base currency for 30 direct crypto pairs along with USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, JPY & AED. Part of our expansion plan in 69 countries," the exchange tweeted.
The virtual coins marketplace purports to offer lower transaction fees, increased liquidity and the ability to conduct high-frequency crypto trading. Through Ripple and proprietary blockchain technology, CoinField could have a processing capacity of nearly one million transactions per second.
XRP rode on a lot of hype over the past week, showing a spike of about 180% in that time. XRP’s roller-coaster continued this week after then plunging more than 40 percent following that rally. At this point, it was down 30 percent from the recent high of $0.77 hit on September 21, CoinMarketCap data shows.
Additional Uses
Adoption of XRP, the third most valuable virtual currency, has begun in several exchanges and it defies the trend of using Bitcoin or Ethereum as sole base currencies. The move comes as cryptocurrency exchanges are beginning to copy the safeguards commonly used by their mainstream counterparts after a steady stream of hacks, asset thefts, and technical issues. The XRP protocol is seen as the most sophisticated in this context as it is already adopted or tested by several big banks.
The base unit is the currency using which users can buy the other quoted cryptocurrency. In this scenario, users can buy currencies on the platform using their reserves of XRP. Prices will be calculated against the price of XRP for a crypto-to-crypto trading experience.
CoinField’s decision follows on the heels of DCEX’s announcement that it is launching a new P2P cryptocurrency exchange which will use XRP as an exclusive base currency for all traded pairs offered on the platform. The San Francisco-based marketplace will allow users to trade 15 digital coins against XRP (XRP).
