Coinbase rolled out an over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading desk earlier this month, but until now has been hesitant to openly discuss its ambitions. The widely followed startup, recently valued at $8 billion, wanted to test interest in the product from professional traders first, and work out the kinks quietly. "We wanted to make sure we had all the boxes checked before we went public," Tim Plakas, head OTC trader for Coinbase, told CNBC at the company's New York headquarters this week. "We needed to have some of our trusted institutional clients on board and were in a beta mode to make sure that all the pipes ... (full story)