Brian Armstrong, co -founder and CEO of Coinbase (COIN)He said in an interview on Friday that the long -term objective of Coinbase is to be a “super application” financial application, which offers cryptography along with a wide range of financial services beyond traditional banking.
Armstrong, speaking in “The Claman Countdown” by Fox Business, told Liz Claman that the impulse in Congress is the strongest he has seen, with legislators from both parties that advance the frames for the industry. A movement that increases the impulse of coinbase towards the construction of the super application.
He explained how his company wants to board the building during the interview.
Coinbase is intended to integrate the services that people usually obtain from banks and fintechs and deliver them in cryptographic. He pointed out a recently launched Coinbase credit card that pays 4% in Bitcoin as an early example and argued that 2% –3% of 3% slide rates show why payments need a review.
The long -term objective, he said, is an integral application that manages spending, savings, payments and investment, not just trade.
Armstrong explained the ambition explicitly: “We want to be a bank replacement for people, we want to be their main financial account,” and adds that Coinbase aims to “provide all kinds of financial services”, not just cryptographic. He agreed with the frame that this is equivalent to becoming a super application and said that cryptographic rails make it feasible by offering a faster and more cheaper agreement.
Washington and Big Banks
According to Armstrong, the way to the super application begins with legislators.
He pointed out the recent approval of the “Genius Law”, which established rules for Stablecoins, and a draft law of separate market structure now under debate in the Senate that would define how tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether are regulated.
“This load train has left the station,” said Armstrong, describing the growing bipartisan interest in putting clear rules in the books. He argued that clarity could resolve years of conflict with regulators under the previous administration, which often treated cryptographic tokens as unregistered values.
However, despite the historical impulse of legislators to help establish a regulatory framework, one last obstacle must be eliminated: the lobbying of large banks.
Some institutions, he explained, have tried to restrict rewards programs in Stablecoins, claiming that they would undermine the traditional payment business. Armstrong dismissed those concerns, saying that cryptographic rewards are not different from the miles of the airlines or the points of the credit card.
“American consumers want to earn more money in their money, that should be totally allowed,” he said.
Although he criticized lobbying efforts to block competition, Armstrong also emphasized that Coinbase is associated with the main banks such as JPMorgan and PNC to provide custody and payments services, showing that parts of the sector are adopting cryptographic.
Keep ahead of the rivals
While the construction of a super application is a monumental task that has gained impulse, Coinbase still needs to take into account rivals that could be fighting for market share.
However, Armstrong is not worried; Rather, welcome the competition.
With new exchanges by entering the US market, including platforms launched by Gemini and others, Armstrong said Coinbase benefits from his advantage. He argued that a prosperous ecosystem is essential for general adoption, and Coinbase’s advantage comes from trust.
According to Armstrong, Coinbase now stores more cryptography than any other supplier, which encourages customers to use their broader services set, from commerce to payments. He said that ambition is not only to facilitate transactions, but to become the platform that people use as their “main financial account.”
Armstrong’s “main account” echoes the comments of the CEO of Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, who asked at the All-In 2025 summit: “Can we be its comprehensive financial platform?” And he outlined the banking and wealth characteristics as steps towards that goal, according to a Business Insider report published on September 15. The comparison suggests that multiple Fintechs of the United States are handled to expand beyond trade to everyday finances.
Bitcoin perspective
The interview also touched the widest market.
Armstrong avoided short -term predictions, but said he sees “a good opportunity” that Bitcoin could reach $ 1 million by 2030.
He cited three main winds: the regulatory clarity, the creation of a strategic reserve of US Bitcoins and strong entries in the recently launched Bitcoin ETFs, 80% of which depends on Coinbase for custody.
He compared the role of Bitcoin in the portfolios with a gold and shares hybrid, noting that many investors now see it as a coverage against uncertainty and a long -term growth asset.
