Coinbase offers ‘thousands of tokens’ in expanded swap service

America’s largest crypto exchange Coinbase has added the BNB Chain, formerly Binance Smart Chain, and Avalanche to the Coinbase Wallet’s list of supported networks where users can swap and store cryptocurrencies.

The Tuesday blog post from the exchange boasts that the added functionality will provide access to “thousands of tokens,” which constitute a “greater variety than most traditional centralized exchanges can offer.”

One Wallet. Even more networks. Thousands of tokens.Now supporting token swaps on @avalancheavax and @BNBCHAIN on Coinbase Wallet.Learn more -> https://t.co/ZdEg1T8s53 pic.twitter.com/prWhSlPYl8

— Coinbase Wallet (@CoinbaseWallet) May 23, 2022

The added functionality to BNB Chain and Avalanche brings the total supported networks up to four, including Ethereum and Polygon. Users of the wallet who wish to trade on-chain can use Coinbase’s own in-app decentralized exchange (DEX) on four networks. Token bridging is not yet available.

Coinbase Wallet allows users to self-custody their crypto and provides access to on-chain as opposed to the features available on Coinbase’s centralized platform.

Coinbase currently has only 173 tokens listed on its exchange. These numbers pale in comparison to the thousands available across the four networks Coinbase Wallet users now have access to. The exchange stated that in the coming months, “we’ll be making it possible to conduct swaps on an even greater variety of networks:”

“Not only will trading expand, but we’re also planning to add support for network bridging, allowing you to seamlessly move tokens across multiple networks.”

Network bridging involves sending tokens between networks without passing through a centralized exchange (CEX). Popular token bridges include Multichain and Wormhole.

Although only available for a small number of users at first, Coinbase is also rolling out its Web3 wallet and browser for the mobile app. This will give mobile traders access to the wide ecosystem of DEXs on supported networks beyond just Coinbase’s own.

Related: Coinbase launches new crypto think tank to help shape policies

BNB Chain had $74 billion in trading volume, while Avalanche enjoyed $68.5 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.