# Coinbase

By [Bunin](https://paragraph.com/@bunin) · 2023-04-13

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**Coinbase Global, Inc.**, branded **Coinbase**, is an American publicly traded company that operates a [cryptocurrency exchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_exchange) platform. Coinbase is a [distributed company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_company); all employees operate via [remote work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_work) and the company lacks a physical headquarters. It is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States by trading volume.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-bloomberg1-5) The company was founded in 2012 by [Brian Armstrong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Armstrong_\(businessman\)) and [Fred Ehrsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Ehrsam).[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-jtimes-1) In May 2020, Coinbase announced it would shut its [San Francisco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco), California headquarters and change operations to [remote-first](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote-first), part of a wave of several major tech companies closing headquarters in San Francisco in the wake of the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic).

History
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### 2012–2019: founding and early years

Coinbase was founded in June 2012 by Brian Armstrong, a former [Airbnb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb) engineer. Armstrong enrolled in the [Y Combinator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator) startup incubator program and received a US$150,000 cash infusion.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-Wired-9) Fred Ehrsam, a former [Goldman Sachs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldman_Sachs) trader, later joined as a co-founder after noticing Armstrong's posts on [Reddit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit).[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-10)[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-11)[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-12)[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-13)[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-14) British programmer and [Blockchain.info](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain.info) co-founder Ben Reeves was originally supposed to be part of the Coinbase founding team but parted ways with Armstrong just before the Y Combinator funding event, due to their different stands on how the Coinbase wallet[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-15) should operate.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-Wired-9) The company is named after coinbase transactions, which are special transactions that introduce cryptocurrency into circulation in [proof of work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_work) cryptocurrencies.[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-Antonopoulos2014-16): ch. 8  In October 2012, the company launched the services to buy and sell bitcoins through bank transfers.[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-17)

In May 2013, the company received a US$5 million [Series A](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_A) investment led by [Fred Wilson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Wilson_\(financier\)) from the venture capital firm [Union Square Ventures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Square_Ventures).[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-18) In December the same year, the company received a US$25 million investment, from the venture capital firms [Andreessen Horowitz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreessen_Horowitz), [Union Square Ventures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Square_Ventures) (USV), and Ribbit Capital.[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-andreessen-19) [Olaf Carlson-Wee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Carlson-Wee), a graduate from [Vassar College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassar_College), was hired as the first employee in the same year.[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-20)

In 2014, the company grew to one million users, acquired the [blockchain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain) explorer service Blockr and the web bookmarking company Kippt, secured insurance covering the value of bitcoin stored on their servers and launched the vault system for secure bitcoin storage.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-21)[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-22)[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-23) Throughout 2014, the company also partnered with [Overstock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overstock.com), [Dell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell), [Expedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia), [Dish Network](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dish_Network), and [Time Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Inc.) allowing those firms to accept bitcoin payments.[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-24)[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-25)[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-26)[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-27) In the same year, company also added bitcoin payment processing capabilities to the traditional payment companies [Stripe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stripe_\(company\)), [Braintree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braintree_\(company\)), and [PayPal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal).[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-28)[\[28\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-29) In January 2014, Coinbase Global, Inc. was incorporated in [Delaware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware) as a [holding company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holding_company) for Coinbase and its subsidiaries. The corporate reorganization that saw Coinbase become a subsidiary of Coinbase Global was completed in April of that year.[\[29\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-SEC_S1-30)

In January 2015, the company received a US$75 million investment, led by [Draper Fisher Jurvetson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draper_Fisher_Jurvetson), the [New York Stock Exchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange), [USAA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAA), and several banks.[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-31) Later in January, the company launched a U.S.-based bitcoin exchange for professional traders called Coinbase Exchange.[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-32) In September, Coinbase began to offer services in [Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) and Singapore.[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-33)

In May 2016, the company rebranded the Coinbase Exchange, changing the name to Global Digital Asset Exchange (GDAX).[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-34) In July, they added retail support for [Ether](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethereum#Ether).[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-tc20160721-35) Also in July, they announced they would halt services in August after the closure of Canadian online payments service provider Vogogo.[\[35\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-36)

In January and then March 2017, Coinbase obtained the [BitLicense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitLicense) and licensed to trade in Ethereum and Litecoin from the [New York State Department of Financial Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Department_of_Financial_Services) (DFS).[\[36\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-37)[\[37\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-38) In November, Coinbase was ordered by the [U.S. Internal Revenue Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Internal_Revenue_Service) to report any users who had at least US$20,000 in transactions in a year.[\[38\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-39) On December 19, Coinbase listed [Bitcoin Cash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_Cash), and the Coinbase platform experienced price abnormalities that led to an insider trading investigation.[\[39\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-TC_investigation-40)

On February 23, 2018, Coinbase told approximately 13,000 affected customers that the company would be providing their taxpayer ID, name, birth date, address, and historical transaction records from 2013 to 2015 to the [IRS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS) within 21 days. In March, Coinbase appointed Emilie Choi, a former LinkedIn executive, as Vice President of Corporate and Business Development.[\[40\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-41) She was promoted to the role of president and chief operating officer in May 2019.[\[41\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-42) On March 26, 2018, Coinbase announced their intention to add support for [ERC-20](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERC-20) tokens.[\[42\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-43) On April 5, 2018, Coinbase announced that it had formed an early-stage venture fund, Coinbase Ventures, focusing on investment into blockchain- and cryptocurrency-related companies.[\[43\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-44)[\[44\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-45) On May 16, Coinbase Ventures announced its first investment in Compound Labs, a start-up building Ethereum smart contracts similar to [money markets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_market).[\[45\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-46) On May 23, GDAX was rebranded as Coinbase Pro.[\[46\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-47) Also in May, Coinbase launched Prime, a platform dedicated to institutional customers.[\[47\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-techcrunch1-48) In August, Amazon cloud executive Tim Wagner joined Coinbase as vice president of engineering.[\[48\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-49) In September, Coinbase, along with [Circle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_\(company\)) and Bitcoin miner company [Bitmain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitmain), was part of a consortium called Centre that launched a digital coin called [USD Coin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USD_Coin), pegged to the U.S. dollar.[\[49\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-:1-50)[\[50\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-bloomberg2-51)

In January 2019, Coinbase stopped all trading on Ethereum Classic due to a suspicion of an attack on the network.[\[51\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-52) In February, Coinbase announced that it had acquired "blockchain intelligence platform" Neutrino, an Italy-based startup, for an undisclosed price.[\[52\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-53) The acquisition raised concern among some Coinbase users[\[53\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-54) based on Neutrino founders' connection to the [Hacking Team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacking_Team), which has been accused of providing internet surveillance technology to governments with poor [human rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights) records.[\[54\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-55) On March 4, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his company "did not properly evaluate" the deal from a due diligence perspective and thus any Neutrino staff who previously worked at Hacking Team "will transition out of Coinbase."[\[55\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-56) In April, a U.K. corporate filing stated that Coinbase's non-U.S. revenue grew 20 percent to €153 million (US$173 million) in 2018 resulting in a net profit of €6.6 million.[\[56\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-57) Coinbase U.K. CEO Zeeshan Feroz said the company's non-U.S. operations accounted for nearly one-third of the company's overall revenue and Reuters estimated that the company's global revenue totaled "around $520 million" in 2018.[\[57\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-58) In August, Coinbase announced that it was targeted by a sophisticated hacking attack attempt in mid-June. This reported attack used [spear-phishing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing#Spear_phishing) and [social engineering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_\(security\)) tactics (including sending fake e-mails from compromised email accounts and creating a landing page at the [University of Cambridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge)) and two [Firefox browser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox) [zero-day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-day_\(computing\)) vulnerabilities. One of the Firefox vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to escalate privileges from JavaScript on a browser page ([CVE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CVE_\(identifier\))\-[2019–11707](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019%E2%80%9311707)) and the second one could allow the attacker to escape the browser sandbox and execute code on the host computer ([CVE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CVE_\(identifier\))\-[2019–11708](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019%E2%80%9311708)). Coinbase's security team detected and blocked the attack, the network was not compromised, and no cryptocurrency was stolen.[\[58\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-MITTR-20190808-59)[\[59\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-Reg-20190620-60)[\[60\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-CB-20190808-61)

In May 2020, during the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic), the company announced it was shifting completely to [remote work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_work) and would no longer recognize a formal headquarters.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-hrdive1-6) Also in May, the company announced the acquisition of New York-based digital asset trading firm Tagomi for a price between US$75 and $100 million.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-bloomberg1-5) In June, Coinbase received internal backlash after CEO Brian Armstrong initially refused to make a statement about [Black Lives Matter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter), citing the company's apolitical culture, but Armstrong later reversed his course on [Twitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter).[\[61\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-:0-62) In September, Armstrong published a blog post emphasizing that Coinbase would not engage in [social activism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_activism), citing that such activism had hurt other technology firms such as [Google](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google) and [Facebook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook), and offered a severance package for those who disagreed with this direction.[\[61\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-:0-62)[\[62\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-63) The company also faced complaints by employees saying they were treated unfairly due to their race or gender.[\[63\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-64) In October, Coinbase announced the launch of a Visa debit card program.[\[64\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-verge1-65) In December, _The New York Times_ reported that based upon data up to 2018 (already two years old as of the date of publication) women at Coinbase were paid an average of eight percent less than men at comparable jobs and ranks within the company, and Black employees were paid seven percent less than those in similar roles.[\[65\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-nyt1-66)[\[66\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-67)

In March 2021, the company fell under review by the [Office of Foreign Assets Control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Foreign_Assets_Control), with concerns that the company may have provided their blockchain service to blacklisted individuals or companies, noting that the nature of blockchain technology makes it "technically infeasible" to prevent specific users from making transactions.[\[67\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-68)[\[68\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-69)

In March 2021, the company agreed to pay US$6.5 million to settle regulatory claims that it had reported misleading information about its trading volumes.[\[69\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-70)[\[70\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-71) Also in March, Coinbase announced that it was establishing a business presence in [India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India) and hiring employees for IT services, including engineering, software development and customer support operations. The company also announced plans to open a physical office in [Hyderabad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabad).[\[71\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-72)[\[72\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-73)

In April 2021, with its final earnings release before its April 14 direct listing, the company reported a nine-fold increase in first-quarter revenue, to US$1.8 billion, up from US$190.6 million the previous year. The jump was attributed to the increase in the price of Bitcoin over that period.[\[73\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-74)

On April 14, 2021, Coinbase became a [public company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_company) on the [Nasdaq](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasdaq) exchange via a [direct stock listing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_stock_listing).[\[74\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-75)[\[29\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-SEC_S1-30)[\[75\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-76) Before the listing, Nasdaq set a reference price of US$250 a share, giving the company an estimated value of US$47 billion.[\[76\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-SCMP_2021-04-14-77) At the end of its first day of trading, Coinbase closed at US$328.28 per share.[\[77\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-78) In May, the company's chief people officer published a blog post announcing that Coinbase was eliminating salary and equity negotiations during recruiting, citing salary disparities with women and minorities. The announcement said that "all employees in the same position, in the same location, receive the same salary and equity offer."[\[78\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-79) In June, Coinbase added [Dogecoin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogecoin) to its tradable assets for Coinbase Pro users.[\[79\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-80)[\[80\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-81) In September, the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission) reportedly threatened to sue Coinbase if the company decided to launch a cryptocurrency lending product called Lend.[\[81\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-82) The company initially responded in a blog post that it was confused for being singled out by the SEC, but later announced it had canceled the planned launch. Technology publication TechCrunch covered the story and noted the existence of similar cryptocurrency lending products already on the market.[\[82\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-83) In November, Coinbase made its first acquisition in India by purchasing AI-powered support platform Agara for an estimated US$40–50 million. The company stated that it would utilize Agara's technology to automate its customer experience tools.[\[83\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-84) On December 15 a display glitch vastly inflated balances such that numerous users were, albeit briefly, [trillionaires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillionaire).[\[84\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-85)

#### Super Bowl advertisement

Coinbase's 60-second [commercial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_commercials) during [Super Bowl LVI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_LVI) achieved [viral status](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing) and was considered to be the most effective of any commercial during the game.[\[85\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-86) The ad, credited to [Accenture Interactive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accenture), cost US$217,000 per second (total US$13 million)[\[86\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-87) and featured only a black, [screensaver-like](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver) screen with a bouncing color changing [QR code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code). The code directed users to a web page advertising US$15 in free [Bitcoin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin) for new accounts plus entry into a promotion for a sweepstakes to win three US$1 million prizes for Bitcoin. The low-tech image evoked the [retro look](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_style) of the old [DVD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD) screensaver logo bouncing around the screen.[\[87\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-88)

The advertisement had no narration and only music. The influx of users caused Coinbase's website to crash. Coinbase's [landing page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_page) received 20 million hits in one minute. Its iOS app jumped from No. 186 to No. 2 in overall downloads after the advertisement.[\[88\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-Protocol_Coinbase_App-89)[\[89\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-The_Verge_Coinbase_App-90)[\[90\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-SFGate_Super_Bowl_Ad-91) The ad was parodied later in the night by [Meta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms) (which posted its own, similar ad on social media to advertise a streaming [Foo Fighters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo_Fighters) concert after the game). Meta quipped "Hopefully this doesn't break."[\[89\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-The_Verge_Coinbase_App-90)[\[90\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-SFGate_Super_Bowl_Ad-91) The Super Bowl which has been nicknamed the "Crypto Bowl" also featured commercials by [Crypto.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto.com), [eToro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EToro), and [FTX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTX) on the American telecast.[\[88\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase#cite_note-Protocol_Coinbase_App-89)

[The Martin Agency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martin_Agency) CEO Kristen Cavallo, criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong for not acknowledging the role that agencies had played in the creation of the ad.

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*Originally published on [Bunin](https://paragraph.com/@bunin/coinbase)*