Brian Armstrong has outlined the ambitious roadmap for Coinbase, which includes promoting cryptocurrency beyond its use for trading.
Economic Freedom
In a video published on July 31, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong gave users an open house view of the exchange’s strategy and roadmap for the coming years. Besides continuing its role as a platform for cryptoasset trading, Armstrong sees Coinbase evolving into a portal for information and accessibility.
In particular, he wants the exchange to take a leading role in the dissemination of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, with the ultimate goal of getting “100 million or more people to start [using] cryptocurrency.” He also views Coinbase as a catalyst for political change, claiming that the platform could play a role in impacting law creation and crypto regulation, in addition to its financial impact.
Armstrong told his audience,
“The vision for Coinbase is creating more economic freedom for every person and business in the world over the next ten years.”
Coinbase has taken a proactive approach to cryptocurrency education through its Coinbase Earn program, which rewards users with coins for taking the time to learn about the technology and different assets. The exchange also operates Coinbase Ventures, an incubator program that invests in projects and startups that can provide value to the industry of crypto.
Crypto Education
Despite operating one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, Armstrong conceded that his team would not be able to generate his desired impact alone.
He told viewers,
“Coinbase can’t do it alone, there needs to be thousands of companies out there.”
However, he highlighted the work Coinbase has done in becoming the world’s largest cryptocurrency custodian as a possible model to be emulated. He said the key was focusing on compliance with regulators and creating relationships with existing financial institutions as opposed to subverting the system–an idea the Winklevoss Twins’ similarly pitched to Mark Zuckerberg in response to Facebook developing libra.
The CEO also set a lofty goal for his team, saying he wanted Coinbase to “have a billion people in say five to ten years accessing an open financial system through our products every day.”
Armstrong has previously expressed a desire to build beyond crypto trading. In an AMA hosted in July, the CEO predicted an abundance of crypto exchanges emerging over the next five years and that Coinbase would need to differentiate itself. He imagined the platform becoming a place where people “develop their crypto education,” before launching their own projects or contributing to the industry.
