Brian Armstrong (born January 25, 1983) is an American business executive, billionaire,[2] and investor who is CEO of cryptocurrency platform Coinbase.

[5] While at Rice, he started a business matching tutors to students, and after graduating, spent a year in Buenos Aires while working for an education company.

In 2012, Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase, as a way for cryptocurrency enthusiasts to trade bitcoins and other digital currencies.

[13][14][15] Following a direct listing in April 2021, Coinbase's market capitalization rose to $85B,[16] and according to Forbes, as of May 2022[update], Armstrong has a net worth of $2.4 billion.

[18] He was featured in the 2020 nonfiction book Kings of Crypto: One Startup's Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street.

[22] Armstrong wrote a blog post[23] in September 2020 calling Coinbase a "Mission Focused Company", discouraging employee activism and discussion of political and social issues at work.

[25] Prior to this, Armstrong supported the Black Lives Matter movement and tweeted when George Floyd was murdered: "I've decided to speak up.