Crypto market cheers Coinbase move to obtain SEC's license; Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple recovering from Wednesday's losses

Major cryptocurrencies are recovering from losses incurred on Wednesday. The digital assets market has moved into a green territory following the news that the largest American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is about to become SEC licensed broker-dealer. This status will allow the company to offer blockchain-based digital assets, thus drastically expanding the range of tradable instruments.

On Wednesday, the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Jay Clayton said that the regulator would not adjust its rules and definitions to cryptocurrencies and confirmed that ICOs were considered as securities.

With that in mind, Coinbase announcement is considered as a big step forward in making digital assets market more legitimate and more mature.

"There are now many types of blockchain-based digital assets, from cryptocurrencies to security tokens to collectibles. In the United States, some of these assets will be subject to SEC oversight. With this in mind, securing these licenses will bring us a step closer to our goal, which is to be the most trusted way for our customers to buy, sell, and use many different types of crypto assets," the company commented in its official blog. 

Since the beginning of the year startups raised over $9B via ICOs. That represents a huge business opportunity for Coinbase that now offer only a handful of the largest coins. 

"Ultimately, we can envision a world where we may even work with regulators to tokenize existing types of securities, bringing to this space the benefits of cryptocurrency-based markets — like 24/7 trading, real-time settlement, and chain-of-title."

Market reaction

Bitcoin leaped to $7,747 before settling down at $7,725 as the news was met with enthusiasm and interpreted as a harbinger of institutional money flowing to the market. Ethereum is trading at $614, off Wednesday's low at $586; XRP is changing hands at $0.68.

BTC/USD, 30-min chart