Coinbase adds venture capital arm

Coinbase is adding a venture capital arm, Coinbase Ventures, to invest in early stage companies in cryptocurrency and financial tech, it said on Thursday.

Why it matters: Bitcoin has been around for almost a decade but the cryptocurrency industry is still nascent. It's no surprise that Coinbase, as one of the best known and well-capitalized companies in this space, would want to invest and form early relationships with other promising companies.