Coinbase’s Big Leap Into the S&P 500 Is Just the Beginning, Says CEO Brian Armstrong

As Coinbase counts down to its inclusion in the S&P 500 on May 19, the company’s CEO Brian Armstrong is already looking beyond the milestone.

While the listing marks a symbolic victory for the crypto industry, Armstrong’s attention is fixed on how digital assets will evolve within mainstream finance over the coming decade.

One area he believes will see significant transformation is retirement investing. With adoption expanding across institutional and individual investors, Armstrong sees cryptocurrencies becoming a staple in long-term savings tools like 401(k) plans. In his view, diversification strategies will increasingly include digital assets alongside traditional equities and bonds.

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But Armstrong’s vision doesn’t stop there. He also predicts that the Coinbase 50 Index—an internal benchmark tracking the largest and most liquid cryptocurrencies—could become a defining metric for the Web3 economy. In the years ahead, he suggests that inclusion in the COIN50 could rival the prestige of being listed in the S&P 500 itself.

Meanwhile, Wall Street responded positively to Coinbase’s upcoming index debut, with shares rising 7% in OTC trading. Despite reporting a $200 million revenue shortfall in the first quarter, the platform saw notable growth in user activity. USDC balances jumped 49%, and native tokens on Coinbase’s Base network gained momentum—DEGEN, for instance, doubled in value in just 24 hours.

For Armstrong, the S&P 500 listing is a stepping stone, not a finish line. His focus is on building the infrastructure that could one day make crypto investing as routine as buying stocks.

Alexander Stefanov