Coinbase announces it will suspend XRP trading as price drops another 10%

Coinbase plans to suspend trading on Jan. 19 for the coin, but added that it "may be halted earlier as needed."

 In reaction to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission taking legal action against Ripple, Major Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase will suspend trading for XRP.

The exchange will completely suspend XRP trading beginning on Jan. 19 at 10:00 am PST, according to a blog post published today by Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. Coinbase explained that to preserve the market health metrics of the exchange, "trading may be stopped earlier as needed." In addition, the suspension is reportedly not affecting the forthcoming Spark (FLR) token airdrop of the Ripple-backed Flare Network.

"The trading suspension will not affect the access of customers to XRP wallets that will remain available after the trading suspension for deposit and withdraw functionality," Grewal said. "On Coinbase Custody and Coinbase Wallet, we will continue to support XRP."

Following the Dec. 22 announcement that the SEC will charge Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the U.S.-based exchange is the largest to take a role on XRP so far To execute a "unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering." and co-founder Chris Larsen.

Crypto exchange OKCoin reported earlier today that it would suspend trading and deposits for XRP starting on Jan. 4. Bitstamp said that XRP trading for U.S. residents will cease, while smaller exchanges such as OSL, Beaxy and CrossTower have announced that they will take similar steps against token trading.

Now that a big player such as Coinbase has taken a stance on the token, some crypto users expect other exchanges falling in line like dominoes to delist or suspend XRP trading.

"You will soon see Kraken, Bittrex, Genesis, Grayscale and other members of the Crypto Rating Council delist it too," said Twitter user PratikKala. "Liquidity will dry up and the remaining market makers in Asia will have to exit it too."

Investments in Grayscale may have already distanced themselves from XRP. "According to "ShardiB2" Twitter user, the company is reportedly stopping subscriptions for By announcing that it will no longer accept new subscriptions or process pending ones, its XRP Confidence. The Grayscale website announces that "The Grayscale XRP Trust private placement is currently closed."

The price of XRP instantly fell more than 10 percent following the Coinbase announcement, dropping from $0.28 to $0.25 at the time of release. This is the latest in a series of token bearish moves, the price of which has dropped 44 percent since the announcement by the SEC.