Coinbase has added support for ether, the digital currency that powers the ethereum blockchain.The announcement comes just two months after the startup, which has raised $117m to date, added ether trading to its bitcoin exchange service, at which time it also formally rebranded the platform, Global Digital Asset Exchange (GDAX).With the news, Coinbase users can now buy or sell ether from an ethereum wallet on their accounts, as well as its Coinbase Buy Widget, announced in June. Users can also buy and sell ether using all of Coinbase's available payment methods, including credit card and bank transfer, and at the same limits as bitcoin purchases.In its full blog post announcing the news, Coinbase further addressed the recent controversies on the ethereum platform.This included the June demise of The DAO, a project whose failure forced a community decision that found developers altering the platform’s code in an effort to recover the funds.Here, Coinbase defended the ethereum platform, stating that it is still in an "early and experimental" phase, and that it expects ether to be used for different purposes than bitcoin.The company wrote:
"Ethereum is pushing the digital currency ecosystem forward and we are excited to support it as part of our mission to create an open financial system for the world."
The comments echo statements from Coinbase's major executives, who have been vocal in their praise for ethereum's development community and vision.Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Coinbase.Image via Twitter