BENGALURU (REUTERS) – Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said on Monday (Dec 28) it would suspend trading in cryptocurrency XRP after US regulators last week charged associated blockchain firm Ripple with conducting a US$1.3 billion (S$1.7 billion) unregistered securities offering.

The move by San Francisco-based Coinbase comes as the firm is preparing for a stock market listing and has confidentially applied with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to go public. It would be the first major US crypto exchange to list on the stock market.

Coinbase said trading in XRP moved into limit only from 2:30pm Pacific time on Monday, and would be fully suspended on Jan 19 at 10am.

The SEC has charged two Ripple executives for personal gains they received from the offering.

Ripple created and sold XRP, the third-biggest cryptocurrency by market value.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase is one of the most well-known cryptocurrency platforms globally and has more than 35 million users in more than 100 countries.