Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Sees Startups Going Fully On-Chain

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wants the entire startup process, from company creation to raising money and selling shares, to happen on the blockchain, saying it would help more people start and grow their businesses.

Speaking on the TBPN podcast, Armstrong shared his vision of a fully on-chain system where founders can register their startups, raise early funding, get instant payments in USDC, and later go public using tokenized shares. 

According to Armstrong, startups won’t need banks or lawyers for global money transfers since they can raise funds instantly through blockchain smart contracts. Once funded, founders can start generating revenue, accept crypto payments, and even take their companies public on the blockchain.

Brian Armstrong Pushes for Fair Fundraising 

According to Armstrong, raising money is difficult right now, and he suggested using blockchain fundraising to make it faster, fairer, and more open, using Coinbase’s new Echo platform.

Echo, now owned by Coinbase, has helped over 200 projects raise more than $200 million. Armstrong said it will run independently at first but will later integrate Coinbase’s systems, providing founders access to its large pool of investors and global assets.

Additionally, Coinbase is also working with U.S. regulators to make on-chain fundraising more accessible, as current accredited investor rules block many people from investing in early startup opportunities.

Armstrong pointed out that these rules are unfair, and he is hopes that Coinbase can find a balance between protecting investors and allowing regular people to take part in early-stage investments.

JPMorgan Boosts Coinbase Rating on Base Network Growth Potential

Meanwhile, Last week, JPMorgan Chase gave Coinbase a higher rating, saying it could grow a lot thanks to its Base network and new USDC reward plans.

Following the upgrade,Coinbase’s stock jumped over 9% on Friday to around $35, up 42% this year, lifting the company’s total value to roughly $90.6 billion.

According to some analysts Coinbase is focusing more on it Base layer-2 blockchain to benefit from the platform expansion. They believe that if a Base token is launched, it would create a market worth  $12 billion to $34 billion, with Coinbase’s share estimated between $4 billion and $12 billion.