Coinbase

Coinbase, founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, is the darling of the cryptocurrency world, trading in digital gold with the charm of Wall Street and the spirit of Silicon Valley. Known for its slick interface and user-friendly platform, it brought Bitcoin out of the shadows and into the mainstream. The company’s IPO in April 2021 was a defining moment, pushing its valuation to a dizzying $86 billion and making it the first major crypto exchange to go public. However, Coinbase’s journey hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns. It has faced regulatory scrutiny, outages during peak trading times, and controversies over internal culture, including accusations of discriminatory practices. Armstrong, the stoic captain, has navigated these turbulent waters with a mix of visionary zeal and ruthless pragmatism. Awards? Plenty, including being named to the CNBC Disruptor 50 list. Yet, its reputation is a rollercoaster, mirroring the volatile crypto market it serves. Coinbase stands as a beacon of both innovation and controversy, embodying the wild west ethos of the digital currency frontier.

News About Coinbase

RWA Platforms Keep Launching—Then Hitting the Same Regulatory Wall

Corey Billington, co-Founder and CEO of Blubird, examines why real-world asset (RWA) platforms keep stalling at the same regulatory wall despite growing institutional interest and trillions in projected market value. Billington argues that the key to global RWA adoption lies in building modular compliance systems, tools that make regulatory complexity as seamless as payment processing. Until then, every new RWA platform will keep running into the same border it can’t cross.

By Corey Billington

Decentralizing the Dollar: A Financial System Beyond Washington

Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Avail and one of the original architects behind Polygon, examines how decentralization could redefine the dollar’s future. As modular blockchain infrastructure advances, Arjun explores the provocative question: what happens when the dollar no longer depends on Washington? He argues that the next phase of the global financial system may not be led by governments, but by code, consensus and community.

By Anurag Arjun