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Coinbase has updated its listing policy and will start trading in the new currency

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This is the first time exchange executives have said they will launch a new token without a cryptocurrency and yet no trading volume.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed a change in its currency policy during the company's first quarter earnings call on May 13, according to Blockbeats. Coinbase will allow newly launched digital assets to be traded on its platform in the future, starting with the launch of "new coins".

Currently, the firm's criteria for evaluating cryptocurrencies are based on the security of the digital asset and whether it might be considered a security. This is the first time exchange executives have said they will launch a new token without a cryptocurrency and without trading volume.

"This is what we're going to have to do in the future -- be one of the first to launch these new tokens," said Brian Armstrong. Currently, the platform needs to deal with a large backlog of online requests and is speeding up the process, he added. Coinbase also downgraded to launch Dogecoin in the next 6-8 weeks.

Coinbase announced its Q1 financial information for 2021 at its first-quarter earnings conference, with a single quarterly revenue of $1.8 billion and net profit of $771 million, both far exceeding the Q4 of 2020. Coinbase shares rose as much as 3 percent during trading on May 14.

In terms of revenue, Q1 2021 ($1.8 billion) is more than 200% higher than Q4 2020 ($585 million). In terms of net profit, Q1 2021 ($771 million) was up over 300% from Q4 2020 ($177 million). Coinbase, meanwhile, has 6.1 million active users in QJanuary 2021, up 117% from Q4 2020 (2.8 million). Coinbase currently has 56 million registered users.

Coinbase, which debuted on Nasdaq in April at $381, is currently trading at $265, with a total market capitalization of $52.1 billion.