Ripple denies claims it paid its way to XRP's listing on Coinbase

Accusations have been sprouting that claim that Ripple, the San Francisco-based blockchain startup paid to have its asset XRP listed on Coinbase. The support of XRP on Coinbase Pro came as a surprise to many as the exchange company had declined to list the asset over a long period of time.

Ripple’s head of XRP markets Miguel Vias went on record to clarify that Ripple did not give Coinbase any funds as an incentive to list the digital asset. Vias wrote on Twitter:

“We’re happy to go on the record. Coinbase’s listing of XRP (also, not “our token”) was Coinbase’s independent decision - we did not give them anything to make it happen.”

This is not the first time Ripple has been accused of trying to buy its way into the exchange. A report by Bloomberg cited an anonymous source with “with direct knowledge of the matter” who claimed that the blockchain company had tried to give both Coinbase and Gemini in order to list XRP.

“[In 2017], a Ripple executive asked whether a $1 million cash payment could persuade Gemini to list XRP in the third quarter, according to people familiar with the matter. That followed other attempts by Ripple to get Gemini to add XRP, exploring strategies like paying out rebates and covering related costs, the people said.

During preliminary talks with Coinbase last fall, Ripple said it would be willing to lend the exchange more than $100 million worth of XRP to start letting users trade the asset, according to a person privy to that discussion. Ripple, without putting the proposal in writing, told Coinbase it could pay back the loan in XRP or dollars, the person said. If the exchange had chosen the latter, it could have profited had the tokens become more valuable upon being listed, the person said.”