Bitcoin exchange Coinbase launches early-stage venture fund

The goal for the project, called Coinbase Ventures, is to help the most "compelling" companies in the crypto and blockchain space get off the ground, and to focus on building relationships within that ecosystem, Coinbase said.
In order to do that, Coinbase could be investing in its competitors, the company said.
"You may also see us invest in companies that ostensibly look competitive with Coinbase," the San Francisco-based company said. "We're taking a long term view of the space, and we believe that multiple approaches are healthy and good."
Coinbase did not offer a dollar figure for Coinbase Ventures' efforts.
The new investments will not be focused on security tokens, which have come under scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this year. The SEC announced in March that it is looking to apply securities laws to everything from cryptocurrency exchanges to digital asset storage companies known as wallets.
Coinbase is the leading U.S. marketplace for buying major cryptocurrencies. Its GDAX exchange for professional traders offers bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin and ethereum but does not currently offer ripple, or XRP.
Adding a new coin to Coinbase would likely bring in many more buyers. Rumors that the exchange would add XRP sent prices up earlier this year.
Coinbase said it is not offering favored status to any companies they invest in when it comes to adding cryptocurrencies to the platform.
The company also announced support for withdrawal of bitcoin "forks," which are a method of giving holders of a certain coin free access to newly created coins.
"This change will allow customers to more easily withdraw assets associated with Bitcoin Forks across all Coinbase products," the company said in a separate blog post Thursday.