Coinbase to Let Users Withdraw Funds from Bitcoin Forks

Cryptocurrency startup Coinbase said Thursday that, in the coming months, it will let customers withdraw funds resulting from forks of the bitcoin network.

In a blog post, the startup announced that it was adding withdrawal support for the forks, though the post did not announce a firm timeline.

"This change will allow customers to more easily withdraw assets associated with Bitcoin Forks across all Coinbase Products," the startup wrote, adding:

"As always, we look at technical, operational, and legal considerations when deciding which Bitcoin Fork assets to support and will always state on our website which particular assets are supported."

That being said, Coinbase noted it was "not announcing support for any specific assets at this time."

In the announcement, Coinbase explained that it will work to support future bitcoin forks on its Coinbase Custody product, adding that this platform "will likely support more forked assets than GDAX or Coinbase for the foreseeable future."

GDAX, its digital assets exchange, will allow customers to withdraw bitcoin forks, but not trade them. Similarly, Coinbase's basic platform will also allow customers to withdraw the forked assets but without enabling trades. Further, the startup noted that an asset may be added to GDAX in the future without being added to Coinbase.

Coinbase Commerce, a merchant-focused service it unveiled in February, will not support any forked assets, and the Coinbase Index Fund will not list any assets that are not available on GDAX for trading, according to the statement.

In a separate announcement on Thursday, the startup unveiled a new early-stage venture fund that will provide financing to companies working with the technology.

"At least in the beginning, our goal is simply to help the most compelling companies in the space to flourish," Coinbase said.

Coin miniatures image via Shutterstock