coinbaseHere at Coinbase, we’re committed to creating an open financial system for the world. We’re hard at work building our own set of products. And we’re also eagerly rooting for the best and brightest minds in the crypto space, both in and outside of Coinbase, to develop products and services that create meaningful user and customer value.
As Vitalik said so well in December last year, the digital currency ecosystem has the opportunity to transform the lives of billions of people, but we have only just scratched the surface of what’s possible.
That’s why today, we’re announcing the formation of Coinbase Ventures. We’ll be providing financing to promising early stage companies that have the teams and ideas that can move the space forward in a positive, meaningful way.
At least in the beginning, our goal is simply to help the most compelling companies in the space to flourish. This means that we don’t have the strategic requirement of formalizing partner relationships with such companies, as some corporate venture programs do. Our focus is on building strong relationships and helping to spur on the development of the ecosystem.
We also have a strong Coinbase alumni network, which we’re very proud of. People who have worked at Coinbase are encouraged to think entrepreneurially, and you can expect that we’ll enthusiastically invest in ideas from our own alumni network.
You may also see us invest in companies that ostensibly look competitive with Coinbase. There may be nuance to the way these startups are building out their products. Or, in some cases, we may be comfortable investing in companies that are potentially competitive, because it’s in everyone’s interest to see the ecosystem innovate. We’re taking a long term view of the space, and we believe that multiple approaches are healthy and good.
In short, it’s in all of our interest to see this space evolve, expand and mature. We’ll learn a lot along the way, and we’re excited to get started.
