Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has outlined an ambitious plan to move every stage of a startup’s journey, from incorporation to fundraising and public trading, to the blockchain.
Speaking on the TBPN podcast, Armstrong described his vision for an onchain lifecycle where founders could launch their startups, raise seed rounds, receive capital directly in USDC (USDC), and ultimately go public via tokenized equity.
“You can imagine this whole lifecycle coming into the chain,” he said, adding that such a shift “could increase the number of companies that are going to raise capital and get going in the world.”
Armstrong said startups will no longer need banks or lawyers to handle global transfers as funding can be raised instantly through onchain smart contracts. Once the capital arrives, founders can start generating revenue, accepting crypto payments, accessing financing, and even taking their companies public directly down the chain.
Related: Coinbase CEO reveals ‘private transactions’ coming to Base
Fundraising onchain
Coinbase’s CEO noted that the fundraising process is “quite tricky” at the moment. He proposed onchain fundraising to make capital formation “more efficient, fairer and more transparent,” leveraging Coinbase’s recent acquisition of fundraising platform Echo.
Echo, now part of Coinbase, has helped more than 200 projects raise more than $200 million. Armstrong said the company will initially operate independently but gradually integrate with Coinbase’s ecosystem, giving its founders access to its half-trillion dollars in custodial assets and a global investor base.
“If we can bring in great builders who want to raise money and connect them with investors who have the money, we are the perfect platform to help accelerate this,” he said.
Coinbase shares ended Friday down about 10%. Source: Google Finance
Coinbase is also working with US regulators to enable broader access to onchain fundraising. Armstrong claimed that current rules for accredited investors exclude many individuals from early-stage opportunities.
“In many ways, the rules for accredited investors are quite unfair,” he said. “We hope we can find the right balance between consumer protection and making it available to retailers.”
Related: Coinbase is investing $25 million to revive a podcast from the latest bull run
JPMorgan sees a $34 billion stake in Coinbase’s base
Last week, JPMorgan Chase upgraded Coinbase to ‘Overweight’, citing the high growth potential of its Base network and revised USDC rewards strategy.
Analysts said Coinbase is “leaning into” its Base layer-2 blockchain to extract more value from the platform’s expansion. They estimate that a potential Base token launch could create a $12 billion to $34 billion market opportunity, valuing Coinbase’s stock between $4 billion and $12 billion.
Magazine: Sharplink Manager Shocked by Levels of BTC and ETH ETF Hodling – Joseph Chalom