PlayIconNav
BTC
$69,424.45-0.85%
ETH
$2,486.88-1.40%
BNB
$568.98-1.32%
SOL
$164.08-1.75%
XRP
$0.51057402-1.27%
DOGE
$0.15839521-2.20%
CD20
$2,036.27-1.21%
TRX
$0.16663486-0.27%
ADA
$0.35448408-0.30%
SHIB
$0.00001749-0.90%
WBTC
$69,449.45-0.67%
AVAX
$24.26-3.12%
Ad
Markets
Election 2024

Coinbase Listing Brought Attention to Crypto, Says Tezos's Kathleen Breitman

Coinbase's direct listing is bringing attention to crypto, but there's some "hopium" going on in DeFi, says Breitman.

By Damanick Dantes
AccessTimeIconApr 15, 2021 at 7:17 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 19, 2021 at 8:48 a.m. UTC
Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto
screen-shot-2021-04-15-at-3-11-43-pm

The direct listing of Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) on Wednesday has generated excitement in the cryptocurrency space, says Kathleen Breitman, co-founder of the smart-contracts blockchain platform Tezos.

The Coinbase stock price rose after its initial trade at $381 a share on Wednesday though has since settled back to about $320.

VolumeMuteUnmute

Guild of Guardians Built to 'Win' the Web2 Mobile Space: Game Director

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0

    • "It's great to have Coinbase in the spotlight," Breitman said in an interview on CoinDesk TV. "It's fantastic they were able to do a direct listing."

    • Asked about the decline in the overall crypto-market share of bitcoin (BTC) and the rise of altcoins, she said: "Bitcoin has been fantastic for getting people acquainted with the idea of a digital asset. I see smart-contract platforms as a movement forward."
    • "A lot of new projects tend to overpromise and under deliver," she said.
    • There is a lot of "hopium," she said, especially in decentralized finance (DeFi). "Yield farming looks more like gambling than financial innovation."
    • "Some lending protocols have negative NIMs, which you don't see in institutional finance." NIM stands for net interest margin, or what a lender collects in interest from borrowers minus what it pays out on deposits and other funding.  

    The rapid growth in smart contracts has underpinned significant price rallies in ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, and other alternative coins (altcoins) over the past year.

    Many altcoins have appreciated in the lead-up to COIN's direct listing, including Tezos' token XTZ.

    Tezos has lagged behind bitcoin over the past year however, tripling in price versus a nine-fold gain for BTC. Ether has increased 16-fold.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.

    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.