Yesterday, the crypto exchange Coinbase added the projects Etherfi (ETHFI) and Bittensor (TAO) to its listing roadmap.
This step anticipates the actual listing of resources within the exchange platform, as part of Coinbase’s transparency and security process.
Both ETHFI and TAO pumped at the time of the news announcement, but now their trend is slightly declining.
Let’s see all the details below.
Coinbase adds the crypto assets ETHFI and TAO to its listing roadmap
Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, announced on X that it has added the coins ETHFI and TAO to its roadmap for listing.
At this moment the two crypto are not yet available for trading on the platform, and we will have to wait for the official listing announcement from Coinbase.
The inclusion of assets in the roadmap is part of the selection and addition process of the exchange, allowing for more accurate management of the various listings.
This approach allows for maintaining a balance between transparency and security, thus reducing the risk of fund losses due to premature transfers of assets not yet supported.
At the same time, Coinbase users can manage their expectations by observing which tokens are under consideration for listing, even though they are not officially listed.
Etherfi (ETHFI) is a liquid restaking project operating on the Ethereum blockchain, which at the beginning of 2024 attracted significant success among investors.
This platform allows users to deposit ETH and mint the liquid asset eETH, earning rewards for native Ethereum staking and restaking, as well as loyalty points (Eigenlayer points and Etherfi loyalty points).
ETHFI is the governance token of the ecosystem, with its holders able to vote on updates and proposals for change.
Bittensor (TAO) represents a project related to artificial intelligence, which combines blockchain with machine learning.
Its goal is to build a virtual network where users can contribute their computing power and access innovative AI models.
Bittensor also aims to democratize the development of learning models and the fair distribution of resources.
TAO is the utility resource of the ecosystem that guarantees external access, allowing users to extract information from the network while adapting activities to their own needs.
How does Coinbase determine which assets to list on its platform?
The crypto exchange Coinbase adopts a rigorous and multi-level process to decide which assets to include on its platform.
Before being added to the roadmap of listings, the ETHFI and TAO tokens had to undergo a tough initial selection.
According to what is described in the company’s blog, Coinbase must ensure that the assets interested in listing adhere to thorough standards for legal, compliance, and technical security.
These standards do not take into account market capitalization or the popularity of a project. This means that there are very popular assets still excluded from the exchange today, as they do not meet the criteria listed above or do not provide enough information to assess the quality of the project.
The compliance of these coins is assessed based on a myriad of on-chain and off-chain factors, following a lengthy verification analysis.
The final decisions regarding the new listings are made through a formal process of the special committee Digital Asset Listing Group, which reviews procedures and policies with the assistance of the competent regulatory bodies.
For transparency, this voting group does not include the CEO Brian Armstrong, or other members of the global board of directors of Coinbase.
Furthermore, there is a directive called “Proof of Alignment” that the exchange follows to provide users with a fair, transparent, and equal trading experience.
This guideline is used to coordinate decisions regarding the various listings, in order to avoid situations of insider trading and to manage the various technical processes in the best way.
It is important to highlight how Coinbase Ventures, the VC subsidiary of Coinbase that invests in various projects in the Web3 world, cannot sell any tokens resulting from investments it has made itself.
Analysis of the price of ETHFI and TAO coins
At the time of Coinbase’s announcement, both ETHFI and TAO experienced an increase in demand in the market, only to retreat under the bearish pressure of the bear.
In detail, at 11:00 PM yesterday, ETHFI rose by 33%, reaching the local top of 1.6 dollars and momentarily breaking the EMA 50 on the 1H time frame.
The buying pressure was, however, immediately absorbed, with the hourly candle closing with a wide shadow, followed by a follow-down of the supply.
At the moment ETHFI is at 1.13 dollars, at a price lower than that recorded shortly before the revelation of the future listing on Coinbase.
This downward movement was partly emphasized by the general situation of the crypto markets, with BTC, ETH, and other altcoin that accompanied the slight decline.
In any case, we can say that ETHFi is in a tough spot, with its value down 60% since December 2024.
The currency had skyrocketed in the first quarter of last year, only to continue with a constant price action colored in red.
For a return to the bull phase, it is essential that ETHFI quickly recovers the psychological level of 1.6 dollars, from which a new impulse can start.
The TAO chart appears to mirror that of ETHFI: the currency of the AI sector rose at the time of the Coinbase announcement, only to retreat in a bear trend.
In this case, the rise was “only” 11% in the hour affected by the news, while the subsequent candles reflected the current dominance of the bear.
Here too TAO immediately returned below the EMA 50 on the 1H time frame after the attempt to break out upwards, accompanying the general situation of the markets.
Broadening the horizons, we notice how the price of this token has halved compared to what was recorded in December, to the point of having canceled much of the previous progress.
Now to regain the positive trend, TAO should return at least above 400 dollars, marking unavoidably the local bottom below 250 dollars.
