Bitcoin exchange Coinbase launches early-stage venture fund

“By giving them access to capital we hope that they will grow great businesses,” he said. “It’s not about investing in the token, it’s not about trying to line up tokens that we would put on our exchange.”

Cryptocurrency exchanges 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.

The company is not adding any new cryptocurrencies at the moment but Hirji said as soon as there is more regulatory clarity, it will start listing more assets.

Meanwhile, Coinbase Ventures will not give preference to companies they invest in when it comes to choosing new cryptocurrencies for the platform, he said.

“We are not investing in currencies because we do not want even the appearance of a conflict of interest,” Hirji said.

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.