Coinbase crosses 1 million wallet threshold

In less than two years, Coinbase has gone from providing a humble 13,000 Bitcoin wallets to an eye-popping 1 million. The San Francisco-based company officially celebrated their millionth download earlier today. According to the official Coinbase blog, that’s a growth rate of 7,592.31%.

Coinbase is actually the second Bitcoin wallet provider to cross the million mark this year, as rival Blockchain celebrated a similar milestone last month. No matter how you slice it, however, that’s a rapid growth almost of almost unimaginable proportions for most mainstream businesses. Coinbase is certainly aware of their good fortune being in the right place and right time with Bitcoin.

Since our founding in June 2012, we’ve been on the ground floor of an industry that has the potential to reinvent the way people transact online, and one that is just now beginning to show its full potential. We’ve seen an unprecedented number of merchants – more than 25,000 so far – using the Coinbase platform to attract new customers and conduct real business. And with more than 4,000 Bitcoin applications created using our API, we’re seeing exciting new businesses being built, weaving themselves into a community that is becoming stronger and more powerful by the day.

According to the company’s internal estimates, Coinbase is adding roughly five new users every minute. By providing a safe, simple method for buying and storing Bitcoin that’s friendly to newcomers, Coinbase has certainly contributed to the Bitcoin ecosystem. But the most interesting developments may be yet to come.

Speaking with CoinDesk about the Bitcoin’s post-Mt.Gox future earlier today, Coinbase cofounder Fred Ehrsam made a bold prediction: “I think 2014 is going to be the year where you see 10 $1 billion retailers, probably almost exclusively online ones, start accepting bitcoin.”