2024-03-23 07:03:31
In a recent blog post, Brian Armstrong, the founder and CEO of Coinbase, tried to counter the skeptical voices trying to downplay the utility of cryptocurrencies.
According to him, 50 million people in the US and 400 million people worldwide own cryptocurrencies. As a result, the argument that they would be used for speculation or illegal activities does not stand. He pointed out that illegal transactions account for 0.5% of the total volume.
Armstrong emphasized that although many people are drawn to cryptocurrencies for investment purposes, disgust with traditional financial systems is also not negligible among the underlying reasons. He brought up similar historical examples, such as when the United States finally ended the era of the gold standard in 1970, thereby paving the way for overspending, inflation and economic stagnation. He argues that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin offer a solution to the system’s problems.
4 points by Brian Armstrong
The CEO of Coinbase then talked about the uses that the market is already aware of. Four of these can be highlighted.
- An example of this is the fact that with cryptocurrencies a true digitization of dollars. Dollar-based stablecoins – such as USDC – already have a capitalization of more than 100 billion dollars. According to him, the importance of the digital dollar is outstanding in terms of global competition, just think of China’s digital yuan plan.
- According to Armstrong, traditional payment systems are inefficient, especially in terms of high merchant charges for card payments and slow transfers. He pointed out that blockchains, and specifically layer 2 solutions, enable a fast, cheap and global payments. Thanks to this, the annual volume of USDC is already approaching 9 trillion.
- The CEO did not forget about the art world either. He believes that NFTs have played a major role in strengthening the relationship between artists and their fans – by bypassing intermediaries. So far, people have bought a total of $62 billion worth of NFT artworks, and this opened up new possibilities in the system of rewarding creative creators.
- According to Armstrong, thanks to cryptocurrencies, the decentralized social media too. Although these solutions are still in their infancy, they still allow users to interact with the outside world without censorship, while storing the data themselves. The CEO envisions a future where social media posts can be authenticated, combating AI-generated fake content.
In summary cryptocurrencies appear not as an asset class, but as the money of the future. He called on the regulators to create a framework that is easy to understand, however, he also believes it is important that the dollar can maintain its role as the main reserve currency so that the US can remain the financial and technological center of the world. Armstrong encourages crypto owners and lawmakers to support a crypto-friendly legal environment that both protects consumers and doesn’t stifle innovation.
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