Billionaire CEO of Coinbase, the most popular cryptocurrency exchange for users in the US (meaning where you go to change your dollars into crypto).
Early days and starting Coinbase
Armstrong was a previous software engineer at AirBNB, IBM, and a consultant for Deloitte.
Armstrong started Coinbase in 2012 with his partner Fred Ehrsam. They enrolled in the prestigious Y Combinator incubator and received 150,000 dollars investment from the program.
Social justice warrior… or not?
In 2018 Armstrong signed the Giving Pledge (made famous by Warren Buffet and the Gates family).
He also created givecrypto.org, and platform for philanthropic donations – though it is unclear if the program is still functional. Their last blog entry was in March 2021.
In 2020, Armstrong earned media attention for a post on Coinbase’s blog regarding his thoughts on the inappropriateness of social justice and political discourse at work.
Meaning, he would prefer for everyone to remain focused on generating profits at all times.
Coincidentally, this comment came around the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement which coincided with an NY Times article alleging that Coinbase had not only an openly hostile attitude towards black workers, but also it had underpaid its female and black workers.
At some of the first House Financial Services Committee crypto hearings at the end of 2021, he sent his CFO Alesia Haas to speak on behalf of Coinbase rather than accepting the invitation himself, making Coinbase the only company whose CEO was not present.
Since then, Coinbase seems to be positioning itself as the exchange that is the most accepting of government regulatory oversight.
Real estate
In early 2022, when his net worth was nearly 10 billion dollars, he purchased a gigantic home in Bel Air on five acres of land for 133 million dollars.
Super Bowl ad debacle
Armstrong was certainly thrilled with the Coinbase Super Bowl 2022 ads and their overall positive response, despite the website crashing after being overwhelmed by website traffic. His twitter feed following the Super Bowl was filled with clips of dogs watching the bouncing QR code and “C” on the television.
However, he ruffled some feathers when he assumed these brilliant ads were simply a product from his core team at Coinbase, rather than the actual advertising agency they employed. Armstrong publicly apologized for the misunderstanding.
Co-founder of NewLimit
Armstrong is a co-founder of NewLimit, “a biotech developing epigenetic reprogramming therapies to extend human healthspan.”
He provided over 100 million dollars to start the company in 2022.
He is not the only crypto mogul to take serious interest in funding anti-aging research. In particular, Vitalik Buterin is associated with SENS Research Foundation. In addition, Justin Sun donated to the Longevity Prize.
