*By Madison Alworth* The most popular Bitcoin trading platform announced changes Tuesday that were designed to attract institutional investors to its exchange. Coinbase, the six-year-old digital currency platform, said it was launching four new initiatives, including a secure way to store crypto assets, something institutional clients had long requested. "We really pride ourselves on being the most trusted, the most secure venue, within the cryptocurrency space," said Eric Scro, Coinbase's vice president of finance. The storage feature, called Coinbase Custody, is accepting applications as of Tuesday. Institutions who want to participate must have at least $10 million in deposits. The company also introduced a Prime service that gives institutional investors more traditional investing tools and controls; a Markets product that creates a centralized pool of liquidity; and an Institutional Coverage Group that provides client services like sales, research, and market operations. With more than 20 million accounts, Coinbase is the most popular exchange for Bitcoin and other digital currencies, but it faces stiff competition from ambitious rivals such as Robinhood. That free stock market trading platform [recently announced](http://fortune.com/2018/05/10/robinhood-stock-crypto-trading/) $363 million in new funding, some of which will go toward building a cryptocurrency trading product by the end of the year. The [New York Stock Exchange](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/technology/bitcoin-new-york-stock-exchange.html) is reportedly interested in developing a crypto exchange too. "We at Coinbase, we view ourselves as the cryptocurrency place, the cryptocurrency company," Scro said in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar. "And yes, there is going to be competition, but we welcome that competition." Scro said that the interest in cryptocurrency that he has seen from institutional investors and would-be rivals like the NYSE is a sign of "the evolution and the maturation of the asset class." For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/coinbase-goes-after-a-new-customer).

Share:
More In Business
Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul Among Slew of Celebrities to Settle With SEC in Crypto Case
Actress Lindsay Lohan appears at the Christian Siriano Fall/Winter 2023 fashion show in New York, Feb. 9, 2023. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday, March 22, that Lohan, rapper Akon and several other celebrities have agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to settle claims that they promoted crypto investments to their millions of social media followers without disclosing they were being paid to do so.
The Day Ahead: TikTok CEO on Capitol Hill, More Earnings
Cheddar News breaks down what to look for on The Day Ahead, as TikTok CEO is scheduled to testify before Congress on Thursday while earnings from General Mills and Darden Restaurants are on tap. Residential sales data for February is also scheduled to be released.
Jack Daniels Trademark Lawsuit Against Dog Toy Company Heads to Supreme Court
Jack Daniels was at the U.S. Supreme Court today. The whiskey-makers argued that a dog toy company violated federal trademark law with a product that parodies the distiller's iconic bottle. The toy is the Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker toy by VIP products. The first amendment case pits the rights of a famous trademark holder against parody products. Jack Daniel says the toy damages its reputation, especially the references to dog poop.
White Claw Announces Branded Vodka
Alcohol brand White Claw is moving into spirits amid an industrywide shift away from hard seltzers. The spiked seltzer brand announced a new line of regular and flavored White Claw premium vodkas. The bottles are available in select markets across North America and come in an unflavored option as well as pineapple mango and black cherry white Claw has dominated the Heart Seltzer market for years. Now bringing the category into the mainstream as more consumers sought those low calorie alcohol drinks.
Load More