Coinbase Delists 5 Altcoins, Prices Plunge Immediately

Coinbase, the leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange, has decided to terminate all trading services for five digital assets: Clover Finance (CLV), EOS (EOS), League of Kingdoms Arena (LOKA), Muse Dao (MUSE), and Wrapped Centrifuge (WCFG). The announcement resulted in substantial price declines for all affected tokens, with the delisting scheduled to occur on November 26. The coins will be removed from Coinbase Exchange, Coinbase Prime, and the official website, significantly reducing their liquidity and accessibility while causing reputational damage.

The market reaction was swift and severe. Muse Dao (MUSE) took the biggest blow, crashing by 24% over the 24 hours following the announcement. League of Kingdoms Arena (LOKA) retraced by 13%, while Wrapped Centrifuge (WCFG) slipped by 9%. The remaining tokens witnessed less substantial but still notable losses. Coinbase has already moved its order books for these assets to limit-only mode, meaning limit orders can be placed and canceled, and matches may occur until the final removal date.

Interestingly, many users applauded Coinbase’s decision, describing some of the scrapped coins as scams and rug pulls. Social media commentary revealed significant community support for the exchange’s move to remove tokens with questionable use cases or those that have failed to meet expectations. The criticism was particularly focused on EOS, which was labeled as a ‘rug pull,’ and LOKA, described as ‘trash’ by some X users.

This positive community response highlights the growing demand for higher standards in cryptocurrency listings. Coinbase regularly monitors the tokens on its platform to ensure they meet necessary standards, and this delisting represents the outcome of recent reviews. The exchange’s willingness to remove underperforming or questionable assets demonstrates its commitment to maintaining platform integrity, even at the cost of reducing its available trading pairs.

While removing tokens that don’t meet certain criteria, Coinbase continues to actively expand its offerings by adding new promising assets to its platform. In July, the exchange placed BankrCoin (BNKR), Jito Staked SOL (JITOSOL), and Metaplex (MPLX) on its roadmap, which serves as a pre-listing stage. Such backing typically acts as a price catalyst, and indeed, BNKR and MPLX soared by double digits following the announcement, though JITOSOL surprisingly headed south after the disclosure.

More recently, Coinbase made a surprising move by including BNB on its roadmap. This decision shocked some industry participants because BNB is the native token of the exchange’s biggest competitor, Binance. The potential endorsement of a rival’s ecosystem represents a significant strategic shift. However, Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, saw nothing unusual in this development, reminding the community that Binance has listed several products part of Coinbase’s ecosystem over the years and urging his competitor to embrace even more BNB Chain projects.

The immediate price collapse following Coinbase’s delisting announcement underscores the enormous influence major exchanges wield over cryptocurrency valuations. When a leading platform like Coinbase removes support for tokens, it directly impacts their liquidity, trading volume, and market perception. The 24% crash in MUSE and 13% decline in LOKA demonstrate how vulnerable smaller digital assets are to exchange listing decisions.

This event also highlights the evolving maturity of cryptocurrency markets, where exchanges are increasingly taking responsibility for vetting projects and protecting investors from potentially fraudulent or underperforming assets. The community’s positive response to the delistings suggests growing market sophistication and demand for higher quality projects. As the industry continues to develop, the role of major exchanges in curating available assets will likely become even more significant in shaping market trends and investor confidence.