Thread by @ramahluwalia

Really enjoyed @brian_armstrong interview on the @BanklessHQ podcast. Here's a thread with the key highlights

Time for a thread...

Brian sees Coinbase as on a spectrum. On one end you have traditional FIs. There are tech companies in the middle. And then there are web3/crypto companies on the other extreme.

Coinbase aspires to be a fully decentralized company. Think here Web3/Dapp a la Uniswap. It's a great aspiration... The hard part is how do you get there as a publicly traded company legally, operationally, customer UX?

It's clear that Brian is a hands-on operator motivated by the core value of expanding "economic freedom" as expressed via crypto

Brian is willing to cannibalize Coinbase's core business to live up to its aspiration. For example, Coinbase is investing both in its core CeFi infra but also in Coinbase Wallet...

...a non-custodial solution that obviates the need for Coinbase's core business. He is taking the Innovator's Dilemma head-on and choosing to disrupt himself. (A good move)

It's very clear that Brian is also a "customer first" and "vision" and values-driven CEO. He is constantly referring back to his customer segments, articulating the principles behind decision making, and linking those principles to core values

One example: "Can't be evil (is better than Don't be evil"

Brian also takes an "ecosystem" mindset. He is complimentary of OpenSea - which clearly his NFT marketplace is hell bent on destroying...

In Alt History world: Coinbase contemplated building its own L1 chain. The success of FTX in building out Solana is the comp. Coinbase passed due to the desire to be "agnostic". A tough call, but says volumes about Coinbase's values

Coinbase and Facebook are one of the few founder-led companies. There were several discussion points around decision making and creating a strong culture to maintain high tolerance for innovation and risk appetite

example - Staying humble & Beginner mindset. Brian has an investment committee whereby if any one on the team sponsors a concept/project, it gets the funding. The team also includes junior protocol engineers.

Brian recognizes the difference in incentives & approach that a professional CEO would make vs. a founder-led CEO. Coinbase has a well-documented culture, values, and behavioral model to inclucate innovaiton and tolerance for (appropriate) risk

On the metaverse - Brian sees Facebook's move to re-brand as both commercially sound and the right move for a tattered brand. To paraphrase "AR/VR/Metaverse is the successor to the mobile internet."

It's suprising that Goog and other Big Tech's led by professional CEOs are missing the shift to digital; similar to how Microsoft missed mobile computing.

@bankless argues that there is a wolrd Meta chooses to builds on the crypto metaverse infrastructure (e.g., Polygon, Layer 2, ERC 721 primitives, etc.). It's not clear that Meta should develop a closed system if they want to engage the hears & minds of the crypto community

Facebook and Coinbase share a board member in Marc Andreeson. Marc's take is that Facebook is cognizant of the 'big brother' concerns and is incorporating this into the UX (e.g., no SSO via your Facebook login)

Note Marc is also on the board of Carta and OpenGov - wouldn't be surprised to see these orgs roll-out crypto relevant offerings

All-in-all, a great interview. TLDR; @brian_armstrong extremely thoughtful and playing the long-game with a Founder mindset. Hope you find time to listen and enjoy!