Coinbase Releases ERC20 Token Listing Criteria on Exchange

Coinbase hammers on four factors that must be met before any ERC20 token can make it for listing on its exchange.

By Victor Ugochukwu · Aug 18, 2020 . 7min read

Top cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase releases the most critical criteria for cryptocurrency projects developing an ERC20 token to consider to bolster their chances of getting listed on its exchange.

Coming in a season where many DeFi tokens with mad liquidity are propping up every day, the US-based exchange, which is known for strict compliance has decided to put out this guide.

In the blog post detailing what it considers crucial for token listing, Coinbase hammers on four factors that must be met before any ERC20 token can make it for listing on its exchange. These are:

• Verified source code
• Industry-standard library use
• Limited scope for privileged roles
• Simple, modular design

Necessarily, these are the four key areas crypto developers must put in mind if they want to list on Coinbase.

Meet these fantastic four and Coinbase might list your ERC20 token on its prestigious exchange.

Drilling down on these four areas, Coinbase notes that verified ERC20 token source code is the most crucial for it to list tokens on its exchange. Therefore, it implores project developers to upload the source code for all smart contracts to a reliable platform. Also, the codes must be in a sharable repo such as Github especially if not deployed yet.

Next, it advises developers to adhere to industry-standard library use while coding their smart contracts. With the deluge of popular and well-vetted open-source smart contract standards, developers can borrow from these. It says writing smart contracts from scratch is probably not a good idea. Especially with the possibilities of a human error which could prove fatal for the token.

Also, Coinbase says privileged roles like pausing transactions, modifying balances, or completely changing ERC20 token’s logic limits exchange listing chances.

Finally, on the core criteria, is a simple yet modular design. Coinbase makes it clear that even though complex protocols may enable advanced features for ERC20 tokens, the exchange prefers if things are kept simple. It says the lesser a token’s complexity, the lower the possibilities of failure.

Other less crucial but advanced factors for complex tokens

Other possible listing factors, albeit not crucial, include external audit and thorough documentation. Still, on the non-essential but advanced elements, it may consider also includes recent solidity version and test suites.

One may wonder why Coinbase decided to focus on ERC20 tokens, thereby dishing out an exchange listing guide. Most DeFi tokens are ERC20 which have been making huge gains recently. The chart below shows some of the top Ethereum tokens and exchanges where they are available for trade.

Clearly, Binance a strong Coinbase competition is leading the pack in terms of listing of these DeFi tokens. OKEx trails as second in terms of the readiness of listing DeFi tokens.

Perhaps this is a signal from Coinbase notifying of its readiness to join the party.

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