7 years to receive a $2 billion fee, Coinbase claims to be a unicorn unicorn

Brian Armstrong revealed that Coinbase has been profitable since 2017. He pointed out that since its inception in 2012, the exchange has generated about $2 billion in transaction costs. Armstrong said that their focus on technology is the reason for the exchange's profitability.

This week, on the stage of the New Establishment Summit, Armstrong recalled his early agreement in a coffee shop: "I won't deny that I have done business in a coffee shop."

The Coinbase co-founder and CEO discussed the company's development trajectory from the birth of the coffee shop to his expectations for the company's future, and Coinbase's position in the technology unicorn.

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"Crystal currency is creating a new economy, it is replacing and subverting a range of financial services. I don't want people to fall into the hype."

He said that the ideal situation is that as speculation is reduced, the market will stabilize.

"I think that in the next decade, cryptocurrencies will take up a larger proportion of GDP… The actual growth rate of this technology is linear compared to the bubble that appears around cryptocurrency."

He said that this technology is the focus of his own focus on Coinbase, and part of the reason why the company remains profitable. He said: "We have achieved profitability in 2017, 2018 and this year."

Since its inception in 2012, Coinbase has received nearly $2 billion in transaction fee income, and its operating profit exceeds the funds raised through venture capital – which is rare in unicorn companies.

Armstrong said, "Most of the profits have been reinvested in the business to develop new products. I think we are unicorns against the unicorn… I hope that Coinbase will become a repeatable innovation company."

As for whether Coinbase's $8 billion valuation can be classified as a unicorn, Armstrong said:

"This question is left to investors to think about it… I just like to use technology to create products."

Armstrong said he is trying to make cryptocurrency a widely adopted and used resource that will be the focus of his future efforts.

Coinbase is also a member of Facebook-backed Libra Association, which has been criticized by lawmakers for its potential to jeopardize user privacy and ignore regulatory requirements.

In response, Armstrong responded by saying:

"I really don't understand why everyone's reaction is so negative. I really hope to see the United States embrace this innovative field."

"There are a lot of people in the world who don't have bank accounts, or don't have enough bank accounts, and cryptocurrencies can help them. I hope the United States can accept this kind of innovation, even from companies that are dissatisfied like Facebook. ”

Recently, large companies including Visa, eBay and MasterCard have left the Libra Association. Earlier, Armstrong had criticized US lawmakers for asking Stripe, MasterCard and Visa to leave the association. After the two members of Brian Schatz and Sherrod Brown forced the payment giants to leave the association, Armstrong said:

"This is not very American. Two members wrote to Visa, MasterCard and Stripe and asked them to leave the Libra Association."

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