rss-bridge 2022-10-08T00:40:57+00:00

#627: Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase — The Art of Relentless Focus, Preparing for Full-Contact Entrepreneurship, Critical Forks in the Path, Handling Haters, The Wisdom of Paul Graham, Epigenetic Reprogramming, and Much More

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase — The Art of Relentless Focus, Preparing for Full-Contact Entrepreneurship, Critical Forks in the Path, Handling Haters, The Wisdom of Paul Graham, Epigenetic Reprogramming, and Much More | Brought to you by ShipStation shipping software, Athletic Greens all-in-one nutritional supplement, and Helix Sleep premium mattresses.

Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Coinbase. Founded in 2012, Coinbase is building the crypto economy—a more fair, accessible, efficient, and transparent financial system enabled by crypto. Coinbase serves over 103 million verified users, 14,500 institutions, and 245,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries. In April 2021, Coinbase listed publicly on NASDAQ as COIN.

Before founding Coinbase, Brian served as a software engineer at Airbnb, where he focused on fraud prevention. Before Airbnb, Brian founded and was CEO of UniversityTutor.com, an online tutoring directory and a subsidiary of Johnson Educational Technologies LLC. Brian also previously served as a consultant for the enterprise risk management division at Deloitte & Touche LLP. Brian has a BA in computer science and economics and an MS in computer science from Rice University.

Over the last three years, Coinbase has worked with ten-time Emmy®-winning filmmaker Greg Kohs on a documentary about cryptocurrency and Coinbase. COIN is now available on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Vimeo on Demand, and other platforms.

Please enjoy!

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This episode is also brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the #1 overall mattress of 2020 by GQ magazine, Wired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.

This episode is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1 by Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.

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[05:46] How Brian’s first book idea became a blog.

[07:21] Brian’s time in Buenos Aires.

[13:39] Present-day economic warning signs.

[16:13] Coinbase beginnings: from genesis to the Buy Bitcoin button.

[20:35] Influential human beings, books, and documentaries.

[23:15] Core principles learned from early startup days.

[26:39] Favorite Paul Graham essays.

[28:12] Controversy: Coinbase becomes an apolitical, mission-focused company.

[37:11] Cultivating resilience to resistance as a leader.

[44:57] Competition.

[46:51] What crypto skeptics and crypto bulls each get wrong often.

[49:30] Main use cases for crypto.

[50:18] Making the case that crypto is still in early days.

[54:55] Novel crypto ideas Brian thinks will prove worthwhile.

[59:57] Lessons learned from the launch of Coinbase’s NFT marketplace.

[1:03:44] How Coinbase is addressing NFT security.

[1:05:34] “Not your keys, not your crypto.”

[1:10:56] Self-improvement.

[1:14:14] Learning biology basics from a tutor as an adult.

[1:20:03] The goals of NewLimit.

[1:27:32] What is ResearchHub?

[1:31:41] How open bounties work.

[1:33:25] What excites Brian most about science today?

[1:36:52] Brian’s billboard.

[1:38:24] Parting thoughts.

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Tim Ferriss

October 7, 2022

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase — The Art of Relentless Focus, Preparing for Full-Contact Entrepreneurship, Critical Forks in the Path, Handling Haters, The Wisdom of Paul Graham, Epigenetic Reprogramming, and Much More (#627)

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Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

[Artist's rendering of Brian Armstrong.]

Illustration via 99desings

******“The greatest risk is not taking one.”******

— Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Coinbase. Founded in 2012, Coinbase is building the crypto economy—a more fair, accessible, efficient, and transparent financial system enabled by crypto. Coinbase serves over 103 million verified users, 14,500 institutions, and 245,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries. In April 2021, Coinbase listed publicly on NASDAQ as COIN.

Over the last three years, Coinbase has worked with ten-time Emmy®-winning filmmaker Greg Kohs on a documentary about cryptocurrency and Coinbase. COIN is now available on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Vimeo on Demand, and other platforms.

Please enjoy!

******Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, ******Amazon Music, ******or on your favorite podcast platform.****** ***You can watch the interview on YouTube here. ***

*********************Brought to you by ****ShipStation**** shipping software**, **Athletic Greens**** all-in-one nutritional supplement, and ****Helix Sleep**** premium mattresses.*********************

*The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.*

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#627: Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase — The Art of Relentless Focus, Preparing for Full-Contact Entrepreneurship, Critical Forks in the Path, Handling Haters, The Wisdom of Paul Graham, Epigenetic Reprogramming, and Much More

This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the best overall mattress of 2025 by Forbes and Wired magazines and best in category by Good Housekeeping, GQ, and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders at HelixSleep.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by ShipStation. Whether you’re selling on eBay, Amazon, Shopify, or over 100 other popular selling channels, ShipStation lets you access all of your orders from one simple dashboard, and it works with all of the major shipping carriers, locally and globally, including FedEx, UPS, and USPS. Tim Ferriss Show listeners get to try ShipStation free for 60 days. Just visit ShipStation.com/Tim!

This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. ****Right now, get a FREE Welcome Kit, including Vitamin D3+K2 **and AG1 Travel Packs**, when you first subscribe.** **Visit ****DrinkAG1.com/Tim**** to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones!****

******Want to learn more about Web3 and crypto?** ****Listen to my podcast episode with Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant, in which we discuss what the smartest people do on the weekend, solving proof-of-work problems, the real promise of Web3, why NFTs are more than the sum of their JPGs, how skeuomorphic design can be applied to Web3, why it’s still the early days of decentralization, the pros and cons of crypto regulation, how DAOs work and what they can offer to society at large, and much more.

#542: Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant — The Wonders of Web3, How to Pick the Right Hill to Climb, Finding the Right Amount of Crypto Regulation, Friends with Benefits, and the Untapped Potential of NFTs

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Brian Armstrong:

Twitter

Watch COIN: Amazon | iTunes | Vimeo on Demand

Trailer for COIN: A Founder’s Story | YouTube

Buy, Sell, and Store Hundreds of Cryptocurrencies | Coinbase

Find a Tutor in Your Area | University Tutor

Interview with Nomadic Entrepreneur and Author, Brian Armstrong | JetSetCitizen

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