The world needs crypto, now more than ever.

- Debt is growing exponentially
- Inflation is crippling entire nations
- Economic freedom is declining

It’s time to increase economic freedom globally, with crypto.

Here's how we’re making it happen at Coinbase🧵↓ First, some background/context.

Economic freedom means it's your money. Cutting out middlemen, their high fees, and delays.

It means fast, cheap, global payments for anyone with a smartphone. Crypto is about freedom and individual sovereignty.

1/ I'm sharing the 10 ideas I'm most excited about in crypto right now. If you're building something in crypto or thinking about doing so - check it out.

We’re building lots at Coinbase, but we don't have time to tackle everything. So I figured I'd share these. Bear markets are the best time for building - why not start today? 2/ We’ll be hosting our inaugural @cbventures summit in Malibu, CA this October where we’ll bring together a small group of builders to discuss these ideas and others. If you already have a startup, or would like to create one, you can apply here: cbvsummit.com

1/ Today Coinbase received a Wells notice from the SEC focused on staking and asset listings. A Wells notice typically precedes an enforcement action. 2/ Two years ago the SEC reviewed our business in detail and approved Coinbase to go public. Our S1 clearly explained our asset listing process and included 57 references to staking. Coinbase runs a rigorous asset review process and has rejected more than 90% of assets that have… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

1/ @PatrickMcHenry and @RepRitchie have reintroduced the Keep Innovation in America Act, which would clarify crypto tax reporting requirements so that they work with digital assets. 2/ We’re grateful this is a bipartisan effort, and we hope it’s the first of many bills to come this year that will protect consumers and provide clarity on the regulatory environment for crypto.

1/ Today, Coinbase is launching @BuildOnBase, an Ethereum layer 2 that will help improve scalability and usability of crypto, so we can bring economic freedom to 1B+ people. @BuildOnBase 2/ Base is a platform for developers to build the next generation of decentralized apps in the cryptoeconomy.

It is designed as a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly platform that enables anyone, anywhere, to build.

I’m in Washington D.C. and had a meeting canceled. Will be at the Dirksen Senate Office building snack bar for the next hour or so, if anyone wants to come chat about crypto and how we get crypto legislation + regulatory clarity this year.

1/ We're hearing rumors that the SEC would like to get rid of crypto staking in the U.S. for retail customers. I hope that's not the case as I believe it would be a terrible path for the U.S. if that was allowed to happen. 2/ Staking is a really important innovation in crypto. It allows users to participate directly in running open crypto networks. Staking brings many positive improvements to the space, including scalability, increased security, and reduced carbon footprints.

1/ Every company should exist for a reason - our reason at @coinbase is creating more economic freedom. It helps us ride through all the ups and downs to have a bigger purpose.

Economic freedom has many downstream positive impacts in society... medium.com/the-coinbase-b… 2/ ...and crypto is an incredibly powerful tool that enables more of it, in every country with internet access and smartphones.

Important to remember this broader vision, as we keep building in crypto.

1/ I often get asked: “What does regulatory clarity actually look like for crypto?” So I outlined a realistic blueprint for this that regulates centralized actors, while preserving decentralized innovation. coinbase.com/blog/regulatin… 2/ IMO, legislation should start with centralized actors (stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and custodians) because this is where we've seen the most risk of consumer harm, and pretty much everyone can agree it should be done. It’s the low hanging fruit.

Lots of fear out there in the markets. It's important people remember how different Coinbase is in moments like this: 🧵 1/ Based in the U.S.

1/ First off, I have a lot of sympathy for everyone involved in the current situation with FTX - it's stressful any time there is potential for customer loss. 2/ Second, Coinbase doesn't have any material exposure to FTX or FTT (and no exposure to Alameda).

Avoid tribalism, think for yourself, appreciate nuance, and consume news responsibly (it’s addictive, and often incorrect).

https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1583058588687212544

What’s funny is traditional media somehow convinced a lot of people this is purely a social media problem, but in my experience it’s equally true across both.

A lot of social media is just people posting traditional media links, so they’re deeply intertwined.

I'm passionate about accelerating science and tech to help solve some of the biggest challenges in the world. To further this, I'm planning to sell about 2% of my Coinbase holdings over the next year to fund scientific research and companies like @newlimit + @researchhub I’m sharing this as I want you to hear it from me first.

1/ Big announcement: we've been working with director Greg Kohs on a documentary about cryptocurrency and Coinbase over the last three years, and it will be coming out this Friday on Amazon Prime/iTunes/YouTube etc.

See the trailer here: 2/ We gave Greg and his team unprecedented access inside the company, showing the crazy ups and downs of building a tech startup all the way to us becoming a public company. He shows it all - the good, bad, and ugly.

The psychology of resilience, a 🧵 In financial markets, there is a temptation to quit when others are fearful, and join when others are exuberant (bandwagon). But ironically, one should do the exact opposite of this to maximize upside.

1/ Starting today, Coinbase will begin integrating our crypto policy efforts right into our app. These will help our 103M verified users get educated on the crypto positions held by political leaders where they live. 2/ For instance, U.S. users can see crypto sentiment scores from members of congress based on publicly available statements they've made, register to vote, and find out about local town hall events.

1/ Coinbase is funding a lawsuit brought by six individuals challenging the Treasury's sanction of the Tornado Cash smart contracts. blog.coinbase.com/defending-priv… 2/ We support the Treasury sanctioning bad actors and have worked closely with law enforcement to help bring many bad actors to justice. But the Treasury's actions in this case hurt many law-abiding citizens in addition to a few bad actors, and we believe exceeds their authority.

In Mar 2020 I announced Coinbase was going "remote first". This is what it now looks like in the US where we now have employees in almost every state. (each red dot represents a region where we have at least one employee)

blog.coinbase.com/post-covid-19-… And similarly, we've built an amazing team globally. Not just for international expansion, but building many of our key products as well.

1/ At Coinbase, we actively monitor for illegal activity and investigate any alleged misconduct. In April, we received information about possible frontrunning of assets shortly before being listed on Coinbase. We immediately launched an investigation into this. 2/ As a result of our investigation we identified 3 suspects and provided this information to law enforcement. One person was a Coinbase employee who we terminated. Today, the DOJ has criminally charged this former employee and the two other individuals for this abusive conduct.

A number of people have asked me how Coinbase wins in this environment, and turns it into an opportunity for growth.

Here's my answer: 1. Well capitalized.
In past downturns we pulled ahead and consolidated share, staying focused while others got distracted. Downturns make the best companies even stronger, and this one will be no exception for us.

1/ This is really dumb on multiple levels

news.ycombinator.com/item?id=316904… 2/ First of all, if you want to do a vote of no confidence, you should do it on me and not blame the execs. Who do you think is running this company? I was a little offended not to be included :)