Since Coinbase was founded in 2012, hundreds if not thousands of Bitcoin competitors (typically referred to as alt-coins) were created. But Coinbase ignored the noise and remained focused on supporting just one currency – Bitcoin.
But today that changes, as Coinbase is announcing that they are adding site-wide support for Ethereum , a digital currency with a built in programming language designed to support and execute peer-to-peer digital contracts. A Long Time Coming
The writing was on the wall for some time. In May, Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam published a post on Coinbase’s blog titled Ethereum is the Forefront of Digital Currency . Around the same time, Coinbase added support for Ethereum trading to GDAX , its online professional cryptocurrency exchange. But adding systemwide support for Ethereum on Coinbase is a much bigger step than just adding it to their exchange. Because while GDAX is mainly a professional exchange for traders, plain-old Coinbase is much more geared towards your average joe who is just dipping his toes into cryptocurrency for the first time.
In fact, that’s what made Coinbase so unique when it launched. It provided an easy to use interface to buy, sell, and safely store Bitcoin at a time when only nerds could figure out how to download a native wallet app and interface with an anonymous online exchange.
And now by supporting Ethereum, Coinbase is essentially repeating history. A still (comparatively) unknown digital currency will now be accessible to anyone with an email address and a debit card.
And this isn’t a half-baked integration. Ethereum will be getting the full treatment with the exact same functionality the platform provides for Bitcoin, even within their mobile apps and APIs. In Ehrsam’s own words…“Ethereum will be a first-class citizen on Coinbase”. But Why?
So now the big question is…why?
Ehrsam essentially explained that […]
