.jpg){kind=avatar}
Last month Coinbase announced that it would start support the trading of Ethers (Ethereum's digital currency) on its platform.
On the one hand, this represents how the digital currency/altcoin universe is becoming more nuanced, with the further development of alternative functionalities creating a more nuanced landscape of altcoins.
On the other hand, it raises the question of what the future of altcoins looks like? BitCoin, long the standard bearer of altcoins, has seen its dominance give way as alternatives such as Ethereum, Ripple, R3CEV and others.
Coinbase later said it accepted more than 2 million ethers in new deposits on its first day of accepting the digital currency. At the same time, critics of the move took to social media to voice frustration over what some perceived to be a betrayal of the company's initial user base. But according to some industry observers, the decision was ultimately a practical one, following other startups in the bitcoin space that have begun developing products around Ethereum.
http://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-ethereum-industry-observers/
