As we all know some key players within the crypto industry, have you ever wondered how someone could climb up the ladder and become one of the richest people in the industry? This is the case with Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States.
There isn’t a fairytale, as Brian is a self-made businessman who took his dual bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics and his passion for the cryptocurrency industry to the next level.
As such, in today’s article, we are delving deeper into Brian Armstrong’s estimated net worth and disclosing how Coinbase grew from surviving to thriving.
- Net Worth: $10.2B;
- Birthdate: January 25, 1983 (41 years old);
- Birthplace: San Jose, California, US;
- Nationality: American;
Brian Armstrong Net Worth: What is Valued at in 2024?
Brian Armstrong’s estimated net worth is around $10.2 billion, and he owns a 19% share of Coinbase, which makes up the largest portion of his wealth, thus making him one of the richest people in the cryptocurrency industry.
Moreover, Armstrong’s net worth is directly reflected in his Coinbase holdings, compensation earnings, and skillful returns from his investment portfolio, but let’s break it down even further.
It is said that the founder has 39.6 million shares of Coinbase, and Armstrong owns 19% of Coinbase ownership and 59.5% of voting power.
Even so, in 2022, he announced that he planned to sell 2% of his holdings in exchange for scientific research to fund two emerging projects: New Limit to increase human health span through epigenetic reprogramming and the ResearchHub, Armstrong establishes aims to accelerate scientific research and make it available to anyone.
At the end of 2023, Brian Armstrong sold 4,600 Class A common shares, valued at $100.2 and $105.6 per share, but after he converted 4,600 Class B Common Stock from The Brian Armstrong Living Trust into Class A Common Stock.
Moreover, Brian Armstrong received many achievements and rewards, including 10th place in Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list in 2017, Time Magazine’s 100 Next list in 2018, and 1st place in Forbes Crypto Rich List, with a net worth of $6.5 billion in 2021.
In 2023, he took 304th place on the Forbes 400 and ranked 1368 on the Billionaires list.
What is Brian Armstrong Known For?
There are many reasons for knowing and recognizing Armstrong’s efforts within the crypto industry, from being the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase to militating to make cryptos more accessible, legitimizing the market, and advocating for clear crypto regulation laws. On top of these, you could add up his philanthropic work, but get to that in just a bit.
Coinbase: Democratizing Crypto Access
Undoubtedly, Coinbase is one of the most well-known digital assets platforms, but what is striking is its UX design, which caters to this leading educational resource for all crypto fans and traders, regardless of their experience. The scope behind its user-friendly platform is to make the cryptocurrency industry more accessible to anyone who aims to buy, sell, and trade digital currencies.
The Advocate of the Crypto Adoption
Since Brian Armstrong is a crucial player within the industry, he actively promotes and advocates for mainstream crypto adoption, encouraging businesses to embrace cryptos as a financial investment tool.
As a result, Coinbase offers retailers a way to purchase, store, and trade their chosen digital currency through the Coinbase Wallet, thus providing access to DApps. On the other hand, Coinbase Pro is dedicated to all advanced crypto traders and offers advanced charting and trading options.
There’s Coinbase Prime for institutional investors, which enables access to multiple exchanges and financial options and secure storage through Coinbase Custody services.
Even for developers, Coinbase Cloud helps dApps devs through software dev kits and wallet infrastructure APIs to cater to crypto payments.
Early Life and Education Brian Armstrong
Born in San Jose, California, on January 25, 1983, to software engineer parents, Brian Armstrong is a billionaire entrepreneur. Armstrong attended Rice University in Texas, taking his bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science in 2005 and his master’s in computer science in 2006.
Since his early life, Armstrong has shown interest in becoming an entrepreneur and finding innovative solutions to common problems, such as when he started a business by connecting tutors with students in need. He also worked for a year for an educational company in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 2012, Brian Armstrong joined Airbnb as a software engineer and gained insights into the payment systems from over 190 countries, which have militated for economic freedom since then.
Brian Armstrong’s Success
The billionaire entrepreneur’s net worth and success are due to hard work, successful decisions, and the right people by his side. But let’s see a breakdown and go into more detail about Brian Armstrong’s success.
His devotement started in 2010 when he wanted to democratize people’s access to the cryptocurrency industry. Thus, he co-founded Coinbase along with Fred Ehrsam to make it more accessible to buying and selling Bitcoin.
But it all started in 2012 when Brian Armstrong used $150,000 from Y Combinator to co-found the most well-known CEX in the US. However, he had three days to find a co-founder and posted on Hacker News, which went viral.
In May 2013, it raised a $5 million Series A investment from New York-based venture capital firm Union Square Ventures, and then, in December, it raised another $25 million funding round from Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital, and other investors. However, in 2017, Ehrsam left the company with a 6% stake but still serves on the board of directors.
As a result, Brian Armstrong is known for being the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, one of the most well-known centralized crypto exchanges within the cryptocurrency industry. It was more complex as Coinbase grew under Armstrong’s mission and vision, expanding its offerings to the public.
Furthermore, the company expanded into the crypto market by introducing the Coinbase Wallet and Coinbase Pro, which offer services to advanced crypto traders. Also, in 2021, Coinbase became the US’s first crypto platform, which debuted on the NASDAQ stock exchange in April 2021 through direct listing.
In contrast, he developed additional Coinbase products that cater to retailers, institutional investors, developers, and businesses over the years.
Besides these, Brian Armstrong plays a pivotal role in digital currencies, stating: I wanted the world to have a global, open financial system that drove innovation and freedom.
As of 2023, the San Francisco-based company holds around $206.983B in digital assets on its platform, a 130.69% increase from 2022.
Books and Documentaries on Brain Armstrong
To comprehend Armstong’s success, we must look into other life extensions, such as books and documentaries. As a result, Armstrong’s first appearance was in 2014, in The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin, an American documentary. Then COIN: A Founder’s Story focuses on Coinbase’s story.
Moreover, in 2020, Brian was featured in a non-fictional book, Kings of Crypto: One Startup’s Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street.
Philanthropy
Brian Armstrong made the headlines again in 2018 when he was the first crypto executive to sign the Giving Pledge, vowing to give a part of his wealth to various philanthropic causes.
Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to encourage rich people to contribute to philanthropic causes.
Controversy
Indeed, Brian Armstrong is a controversial figure within the community, and some might admire him, while others condemn him for his centralizing tendencies. However, the billionaire entrepreneur has put all efforts into offering new grounds to all crypto enthusiasts.
Armstrong’s Crypto Regulation Efforts
From the beginning, Armstrong advocated for the crypto regulatory landscape to help the economic sector and offer consumer protection, aiming to provide crypto regulatory clarity.
Indeed, the Coinbase and the Securities and Exchange Commission relationship has seen turbulence and uncertainty, especially when, in 2023, the SEC warned Coinbase regarding asserting that cryptocurrencies were not classified as securities.
Even though Armstrong has taken any chance to expose his opinion on public forums, only in June 2023 did the SEC take legal action, suing Coinbase for trading at least 13 cryptos that should have been qualified as securities.
Since then, the lawsuit has been settled, and Armstrong was quoted as saying: I just want there to be clear rules because, in the absence of that, the SEC has just been on this path of regulation by enforcement or harassment, if you will, where every startup in the space gets a subpoena or a Wells notice, and that’s not sustainable.
Brian Armstrong’s Net Worth FAQ
How Did Brian Armstrong Make His Money?
Armstrong’s net worth comprises his ownership of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Only in 2023, the company had $206.983B in digital assets on its platform, a 130.69% increase from 2022.
How Many Shares of Coinbase Does Brian Armstrong Own?
The former Airbnb engineer and the co-founder of Coinbase owns 19% of Coinbase’s shares and 59.5% of voting power.
What is the Net Worth of Coinbase?
Usually, the value of a company is determined by its market capitalization. As of March 2024, the Coinbase Global net worth is $62.06B.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, in today’s hectic world, anything is possible, not to mention that there are vital personalities within the crypto industry that are constantly working towards improving the community and the landscape around it.
