Coinbase Global has removed ‘how to buy’ instructions from its website for at least three crypto tokens. The tokens in question have been the subject of ‘rug pull’ warnings that investors may lose their money. Coinbase said on Thursday that it is part of improving safeguards.
Rug-Pull in crypto
A ‘rug pull’ in crypto parlance occurs when a crypto or virtual asset project developers influence a token’s apparent worth and then abandon the project — taking investor funds.
A spokesperson for Coinbase informed that the links were removed from the exchange after it was brought to the notice of the exchange by Reuters. The spokesperson further added that an upgrade in safeguards on its auto-created web pages is being created.
Nasdaq listed Coinbase offers advice about investing in tokens, and the pages removed were informational rather than making them available to trade on its app or wallet.
The spokesperson added that the pages also featured a disclaimer that the information was not investment advice. The release also adds that the exchange was not liable for “errors and delays” and was created automatically from information carried by the data website CoinMarketCap.
Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap said that it is not aware of the Coinbase pages, and its vice-president of growth and operations, Shaun Heng, said there was no partnership with Coinbase.
It is unclear if Coinbase has run its checks on these coins whose information pages it has removed.
‘MERCENARY’
The next casualty of Coinbase action was Mercenary which, like DeFi100, was not available on Coinbase’s app or wallet. Mercenary was launched in January, and its values surged to $20. However, on January 26, it tanked and fell just over $8 to a fraction of a cent, and its price has not since recovered CoinMarketCap data shows.
Coinbase develops an application programming interface (API) for developers and merchants to build applications and accept payments in digital currencies.