Coinbase adds Polkadot's DOT to its selection of tradable cryptocurrencies, fueling the bull case for ethereum's closest rival

• Coinbase has added polkadot's dot to its Pro trading platform, the company said Wednesday.
• The polkadot network allows different blockchains to link up to transfer data and assets.
• Native token DOT, used to secure the network, has surged 200% over the past year.

Coinbase said on Wednesday it has added polkadot's native token to its cryptocurrency trading platform, which will reinforce the bull case many investors already see for the ethereum network's closest rival.

Polkadot is also available on Coinbase's Android and iOS apps. Users can trade, send, receive, and store DOT in Coinbase regions, except Singapore, Coinbase said in a blogpost.

Polkadot enables transfers of data and assets across different public blockchains. It has excited some investors who anticipate that future specialized blockchains will need to link up into a single network.

Polkadot's native token, DOT, can be used to stake, or validate, transactions on the network or connect new transaction chains, in similar way to ethereum's ether token.

Gavin Wood, the creator of the first version of the ethereum network, built polkadot.

A number of crypto investors have said they heavily favor polkadot to take on ethereum's supremacy. Keld van Schreven, the co-founder of venture capital firm KR1, told Insider recently his company had invested in polkadot because it was cheaper and faster than ethereum.

DOT has risen around 200% year-to-date, and was trading at $23.84 on Thursday. It's the ninth largest cryptocurrency, with a market value of around $23 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.