In a recent development, the prominent US-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has extended its trading services to encompass Ripple's native token, XRP, for users in New York. This move enables residents of the region to engage in various transactions involving XRP, such as buying, selling, converting, sending, receiving, and storing the asset through the Coinbase iOS and Android applications.

The introduction of XRP trading on Coinbase sparked a temporary surge in the token's price, surpassing the $0.53 threshold. However, this upward trend was short-lived as the market, including XRP, retraced following news related to an ETH ETF.

Coinbase had initially included XRP in its trading offerings in early 2019, except for users in the UK and New York. Nevertheless, the exchange later removed XRP from its platform after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated legal action against Ripple in December 2020. Subsequently, in a surprising turn of events last summer, Coinbase relisted XRP following a favorable court ruling for Ripple, where it was determined that Ripple's sales to secondary trading platforms did not violate securities laws.

During the same period, several other prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com, and Bitstamp, also introduced XRP trading services to their clientele. In a strategic move to diversify its offerings, Coinbase is set to expand its support for meme coins by introducing perpetual futures contracts for popular assets like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk Inu (BONK), and Floki Inu (FLOKI). These new contracts, including 1000BONK-PERP, 1000FLOKI-PERP, and 1000SHIB-PERP, will be available for trading starting May 30.

Perpetual futures contracts represent a derivative product within the cryptocurrency market that enables traders to speculate on the future price movements of digital assets without the need to own them. Noteworthy features of these contracts include their lack of expiration dates, provision of high leverage, and the necessity for users to maintain a specific margin level to sustain their open positions. This strategic move by Coinbase signifies a broader diversification of its offerings to cater to the evolving demands of the cryptocurrency market.