Recently, Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase, gave a future view on cryptocurrency payments as a means of transaction. He went ahead and predicted a significant growth influenced by stablecoins.
According to him, crypto payments will go mainstream this decade because of the increasing volumes of stablecoins and improved user-friendly technology.
Stablecoins As The Bridge To Crypto Payments?
Armstrong sees stablecoins as a way to make cryptocurrency part of everyday payments. Armstrong pointed out that stablecoins act as a bridge between the traditional financial system and crypto and should make it easier for people to make online payments using digital currencies.
It’s funny to look back on how I thought payments was going to be the first killer app for crypto, and it turned out trading was the best business in crypto for the first 10 years.
I think payments will probably take off in the second 10 years, now that we have stablecoins…
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) August 26, 2024
The CEO pointed to several innovations that could increase the adoption of crypto-payments: human-readable names, smoother onboarding, and enhanced transaction flow. In Armstrong’s words, all these changes will be issuing an increase in cryptocurrency accessibility for customers.
The Shifting Tides Of Digital Currency Payments
Armstrong also recalled that for quite some time, Coinbase focused on payments, with the early vision of the firm creating some sort of “Paypal for Bitcoin”. As the first decade wore on, Armstrong said, trading became more profitable and the company employed a new strategy.
But despite this, Armstrong still sees crypto payments becoming ubiquitous as stablecoin usage scales and innovation improves, and Coinbase will be at the forefront of this transition.
Regulatory Challenges And The Evolving Approach By Coinbase
On the regulatory front, Armstrong described Coinbase’s evolving approach in Washington D.C., where after years of educational efforts, the company realized it needed to build more political clout through Super PACs and grassroots movements such as “Stand With Crypto”.
“We were sort of basically at the little kids’ table in D.C. as an industry,” Armstrong said, but he now sees positive developments toward crypto legislation.
Marketing Strategies
Armstrong also spoke about Coinbase’s strategy of marketing, which has revolved around frustrations with the traditional financial system. A recent campaign focused on “Update the System” resonated with a number of Americans who feel the current setup doesn’t work for them.
Beyond Coinbase, he spoke of his interest in accelerating scientific progress by investing in “hard tech” companies. He co-founded NewLimit, a longevity biotech startup, after Coinbase went public. The CEO considers longevity one of the most important areas for innovation, alongside AI and space exploration.
Although the crypto market faces challenges in terms of volatility and regulatory scrutiny, says Armstrong, he remains optimistic that as more adopters — people or businesses — come on board, it will settle and grow, as what happened when the internet transitioned from dial-up to broadband.
This huge potential by stablecoins and further developments in this industry is what fuels his vision regarding what crypto payments might look like in the near future.
Featured image from Iupana, chart from TradingView