The world’s largest Bitcoin exchange platform Coinbase is making big moves to continue their growth and utility in the space by launching an early-stage venture capital fund and adding former global head of sales for NYSE Euronext Christine Sandler to their team.

Coinbase – Built for Success

One year after founding, Coinbase was accepted into the Y Combinator, which is best known for producing Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe. The seed accelerator was created in 2005, and as of this year, more than 50 of its invested companies are worth more than $100 million each.

Coinbase has now launched a project to return the favor with a program for early-stage venture capital, where they “will invest in companies that are in the space and are aligned with our values.” – COO Asiff Hirji

Inviting Wall Street to Cryptos

Amidst all the “bubble” talk currently going on, there seems to be sustained institutional interest in cryptocurrencies. Coinbase is making that transition simple and beneficial to help feed the expanding interest in venture capital for the cryptocurrency space.

Christine Sandler is the second recent addition, as last month Coinbase hired Eric Scro, who had been working as the New York Stock Exchange’s Head of Finance. There are signs of dwindling interest in cryptocurrency jobs, but where major hires like this are made, more will follow.

Coinbase Custody

These hires are key in the development of another new program called Coinbase Custody. Portfolios of $10 million USD or more are required, and it carries an initial setup fee of $100,000, as well as a fee of 10 basis points per month on assets stored. It is designed to meet the needs of the institutional investor seeking:

• Strict financial controls (multiple signers, audit trails, limits, etc)
• Dedicated account representatives and phone support
• SLAs on funds transfers
• A regulated digital currency custodian
• Multi-user accounts with separate permissions
• Support for a wide range of digital assets and currencies
• Insurance (in some cases)
• High levels of cyber and physical security