Coinbase secured $2B in transaction fees since launch

Speaking at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit held in Los Angeles, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong declared that the exchange has remained profitable since 2017. He noted that since its launch in 2012, the exchange has generated approximately $2 billion in transaction fees. Armstrong stated that their focus on technology is the reason why the exchange is making profits. Armstrong added:

“Most of these profits we’re plowing back into the business to create new products. I sort of think of us as the anti-unicorn unicorn [...] I want Coinbase to be a company of repeatable innovation.”

Armstrong also stated that he does not know why the US regulators are opposing Facebook’s Libra. He said:

“I’d really like to see the US embrace this area of innovation. There are a lot of people who are unbanked in the world, who are underbanked [...] My hope is the US embraces this kind of innovation, even if it comes from a company like Facebook that they’re not necessarily very happy with.”

Coinbase is one of the 21 members taking part in the Libra Association. The lawmakers around the world are currently inspecting Facebook’s Libra. The lawmakers believe that the stablecoin has the potential to jeopardize user privacy and flout regulatory rules. Recently, major companies, including Visa, eBay, and Mastercard, have left the association. Previously, Armstrong had criticized US senators for asking Stripe, Mastercard, and Visa to leave the Libra Association. After the US Senators, Brian Schatz and Sherrod Brown, compelled the payment giants to leave the association, Armstrong said: 

“Something feels very un-American about this. Two senators writing to Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe to ask them to withdraw from Libra.”