Key highlights:
- Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, owns 39.6 million shares in the firm
- According to the stock’s average price this year, his shares are worth $13.6 billion
- Coinbase is preparing to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange
Coinbase CEO owns more than $10 billion worth of shares in the company
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012 that has a particularly big presence in the western markets. Coinbase is a key player in the crypto space, and it offers various services including trading, custody, OTC, and more. Through its applications and website, Coinbase provides crypto services tailored for retail traders, while advanced traders can use its Coinbase Pro platform. Coinbase also has an offering for institutional clients called Coinbase Prime.
The company’s CEO Brian Armstrong is one of the wealthiest people in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, and his net worth is poised to grow as his company becomes traded publicly.
Armstrong owns 39.6 million shares in the company, and considering the average price of each share ($343.58) during the year, his wealth from the shares can easily reach $13.6 billion. His salary and perks reached more than $59 million last year.
Coinbase’s business skyrocketed in the last year thanks to the major bull run in the cryptocurrency market which has attracted a wave of new customers to the platform. Bitcoin surged over 700% in the past year, and ETH had a stunning growth of more than 1,000%.
It was in September that Armstrong requested his employees to avoid political activism. At that time, there were protests around the United States country due to the pandemic and the presidential elections. He thinks activism and political divisions would have a negative impact on the company. He wants the employees to be focused on their job and avoid internal schisms.
A few months later, New York Times published a report about alleged discrimination of black employees at the company. Coinbase immediately responded to the report and denied it.
However, the aforementioned controversies didn’t stop the growth of Coinbase. As its direct listing approaches, Coinbase appears to be in a stronger position than ever.
