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- Coinbase on the road to financial dominance in the US.
- CEO compares Coinbase to financial giants.
- Coinbase as a complete and integrated platform.
Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been making great strides to establish itself as a giant in the financial sector. The company recently surpassed the $420 billion mark in customer assets, a feat that led its CEO, Brian Armstrong, to draw bold comparisons to the largest financial institutions in the United States.
Armstrong recently stated that Coinbase, the leading US exchange, is currently competing with major banks, brokerages and payments companies in the country. This statement demonstrates Coinbase’s ambition to become a full-fledged financial platform, offering a diverse range of services to its customers.
“If you think of Coinbase as a bank, we now have about $0,42 trillion in assets for our customers, which would make us the 21st largest bank in the US by total assets, and growing. If you think of us more as a brokerage, we would be the 8th largest brokerage today by AUM. If you think of us as a payments company… To be honest, I’m not sure where we rank on that list. There are a number of ways to measure it, but there was about $30 trillion in total stablecoin payments last year (not all of it was goods and services, though),” wrote.
Coinbase CEO stressed that the distinctions between the exchange and traditional financial providers are increasingly irrelevant. “The point is that with cryptocurrency, the lines between these categories are blurring. There are many legacy reasons why they are separate in the traditional financial system — and not all of them are good reasons.”
Armstrong believes the future of finance will be a single digital account that will bring together multiple financial functions, efficiently wrapping crypto systems. “Many people use Coinbase to invest, but also to spend, get a loan, etc. In the updated financial system, you will have a single primary financial account that serves all of these functions. A larger percentage of global GDP will run on more efficient crypto rails over time. We will have sound money, lower-friction transactions, and greater economic freedom for all.”
This futuristic vision points to a more integrated and accessible financial system powered by blockchain technology. Coinbase’s rise as a financial giant is a testament to the potential of blockchain technology to transform the financial industry. As the company continues to innovate and expand its services, we are likely to see even more disruption and opportunities in the global financial market.
It is worth remembering that, recently, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, rekindled the debate on the role of Bitcoin as a strategic reserve for governments. Amid questions about the volatility of cryptocurrencies and the search for safe assets, Armstrong argues that Bitcoin not only has the potential to outperform gold, but also presents itself as a more modern and efficient alternative for national reserves.