Future of Crypto Payments Remains Bright, Says Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, remains optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency payments, believing they will become mainstream within this decade.

Reflecting on his earlier predictions, Armstrong noted that while he initially thought payments would be the primary driver for crypto adoption, trading turned out to be more dominant in the sector’s first decade.

In a recent social media post, Armstrong highlighted the growing use of stablecoins as evidence of increasing crypto adoption in payments. He also mentioned other advancements, such as user-friendly names and simplified onboarding, that could help accelerate the mainstream acceptance of crypto payments.

Armstrong recently revisited Coinbase’s early days by sharing a job listing from March 2012, which was posted on Y Combinator’s website.

The listing, which sought a co-founder for a “Paypal for Bitcoin,” emphasized the need for a technical expert with a strong work ethic. Armstrong’s goal was to create a digital currency platform capable of reducing transaction fees and initially anticipated significant adoption in countries with unstable currencies.

He also shared a screenshot of Bitbank, an early version of Coinbase designed for BTC payments via email. Armstrong actively promoted Bitbank on various social media platforms before co-founding Coinbase Beta with early Bitcoin entrepreneur Ben Reeves.