Jaclyn sales, Coinbase's spokesperson, stated that the links were removed form the website of the cryptocurrency exchange after being brought to its attention by Reuters. She also stated that the auto-generated webpages would be upgraded to improve security.
Coinbase, a Nasdaq listed company, has pages that offer tips for investing in tokens. The pages are informational and not available to trade via its app or wallet.
Sales stated that the pages were automatically created from data provided by CoinMarketCap and contained disclaimers that the information was not intended to be investment advice.
CoinMarketCap stated that it wasn't aware of Coinbase pages, and Shaun Heng, its vice-president for growth and operations, said that there wasn't a partnership between Coinbase and CoinMarketCap.
Sales stated that it wasn't clear whether Coinbase had run checks on any of the pages that were removed from the coin information pages. The exchange informed Reuters via email that Coinbase would "build a stronger disclaimer for pages which are being automatically created."
Coinbase also said it would "build a process for taking down any other pages that CoinMarketCap has flagged to be scams", adding that assets that relate to scams are not tradeable on the exchange.
'RUG PULLS'
Coinbase removed one page that featured DeFi100. It advised users to visit CoinMarketCap to see where it can be purchased.
However, the DeFi100 page https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/defi100/historical-data on CoinMarketCap warns: "We have received multiple reports that this project has exited as a scam. Please be cautious.
CoinMarketCap does not sell cryptocurrency on its website. DeFi100's tokens, according to CoinMarketCap, have not seen any daily trading volume since Nov. 14.
DeFi100's website https://defi100.org and Medium blog page https://wrapp3d.medium.com are offline. Its last tweet was May 2013.
CoinMarketCap declined to comment on DeFi100 warning or provide any information.
Twitter users (NYSE: ) claimed that DeFi100 had done a "rug pull". This is where investors deposit money into fake projects, before the developers of a coin make off with it.
DeFi100 denied the allegations in one of its last tweetson May 23. It acknowledged that investors had suffered losses and said that it would "bring the project on its feet again".
It didn't respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
'MERCENARY'
Coinbase also removed a page that featured a token called Mercenary, which was, like DeFi100 on Coinbase's wallet or app.
January saw Mercenary launch, reaching a peak of nearly $20. It plummeted to just over $8 in less than a minute, and has not recovered since then, CoinMarketCap data indicates.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield tweeted on Jan. 26 that Mercenary had been hit by a rug pull and warned buyers off it.
Mercenary was not available for contact by Reuters, even though its Twitter and website are offline.
It is not clear when Coinbase created its page on Mercenary. However, archived webpages show CoinMarketCap was first listed on Jan. 15. CoinMarketCap didn't respond to a question about whether it had removed Mercenary from its system.
Coinbase also removed a page about a token called after Squid Game, which was almost worthless in November due to what cyber security experts believed was another rug pull. It was also not available in Coinbase's wallet or app.
After the project collapsed, the website and Medium account that was behind the SQUID token went down quickly. Twitter suspended the account of the project, claiming that it was in violation of the network's rules.
SQUID's developers stated on Telegram that they had abandoned the token in November, claiming that "someone is trying hack our project".
