Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong discusses regulatory scrutiny and criminal use of crypto with Guy Raz.
Insight
Armstrong: Unanimous consensus committees miss breakthrough innovations
“I think there's a real danger in consensus, especially when you're talking about real breakthrough innovation, because yes, Every breakthrough innovation looks like a bad idea, but it's actually a good idea, and so you, I think you really want to avoid, like, …”
Assertion Supported
Armstrong: Only 5% of Coinbase employees took severance after 'no politics' memo
“It turned out it was about five percent of the company. We offered this exit package to people, anybody who was not on the same page and wanted to make it all win-win, about five percent of the company decided to take the exit package”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Armstrong: Crypto could become 20% of global GDP within two decades
“Crypto as a whole industry, I think could become 10, 20% of global GDP, like in maybe 10 or 20 years, something like that.”
Disclosure
Armstrong: Coinbase preferred shutting down over pivoting to enterprise banking software
“If we have to pivot this company to be an enterprise software company, I think we maybe just want to shut it down and return capital to investors. Cause like, I just didn't want to run that company. Like we really were in it for the mission. We were a mission …”
Opinion
Armstrong: Legacy financial services hold back innovation and human progress
“Financial services is really holding back innovation in the world. And it's holding back human progress because people don't have the freedom to participate in this global economy because of all the barriers to innovation.”
Insight
Armstrong: Startup co-founders should ideally be people known for years
“Having a co-founder is like getting married, basically. Like, it should be somebody that you have worked with for years, and you've, at least maybe you've known them for years, ideally.”