Coinbase set to address crypto limitations

One of the main criticisms of Coinbase is it has so far been limited to offering mainstream cryptocurrencies. Speaking this week at TechCrunch Sessions: Blockchain, Chief Technology Officer Balaji Srinivasan said he could not yet say how many coins would be added, but people should “look for a lot of announcements over the months to come”.

When it comes to picking coins, Srinivasan said Coinbase wants to make the process as much of an algorithm as possible. “An algorithm is predictable and it’s easy to evaluate and reproduce the results,” he explained.

However, there is a balancing act to be made between maintaining good relationships with governments and regulators, and ensuring the company keeps abreast of cryptocurrency developments.

“Our goal is to mainstream cryptocurrency and blockchain and build, in the long-term, an open financial system. That requires maintaining good relationships on both sides. What that means is we probably won’t be the earliest adopters of technology but we will be early adopters,” he said.

Srinivasan added that Coinbase will always be compliant with local law, but that local law varies throughout the world. “For Bitcoin alone, in some countries it’s a currency, in some it’s a commodity and in others it’s property. We want to be totally compliant with local law but recognise there’s a lot of diversity out there and seek to use that as necessary.”

The venture is also looking to develop educational content for blockchain via conferences and blogs. “There’s almost no undergraduate education yet it’s going to become this huge thing that’s revolutionising the financial system,” Srinivasan commented.