While a lot of people in the decentralized community might not be the biggest fans of coinbase. You have to admit that they are driving innovation and publicity for the space.
It takes a lot for crypto news to gain any traction in mainstream media so when I'm on the phone to my mother last night and she is saying that,
"Those crypto people were on the news last night."
I knew exactly what she meant. She is a person who only knows about crypto from listening to me prattling on about it but our main news channel is watched by about a quarter of the population which says a lot for it's reach and advertising power.
This announcement put crypto in front of people who had never had any contacts with it before.
Who's only knowledge if any is that bitcoin is an internet money.
That had it associated with the NASDAQ which gives the term a certain legitimacy.
From the RTE news
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase lists on Nasdaq
Coinbase Global, the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange, is listing on the Nasdaq today, marking a milestone in the journey of virtual currencies from niche technology to mainstream asset.
The listing is by far the biggest yet of a cryptocurrency company.
It represents the latest breakthrough for acceptance of cryptocurrencies, an asset class that only a few years ago had been shunned by mainstream finance, according to interviews with investors, analysts and executives.
All of these steps are vital for the future adoption of crypto and blockchain technology. Until now a lot of people would fear the legitimacy of the crypto markets but it is big steps like these that will open it up to more people and expand it's use.
These are jumping off points for more people to do some research and to get involved in blockchain projects.
These people that are being reached by listing like this will have far deeper pockets than the generation that i jumped in with. People with more interest than money and looking to get in on the ground floor.
These are people looking for investments without all the risk. Just steady returns and the chance of a big payday. It's is an inevitable step in the adoption cycle of crypto but these are the first steps towards it.