Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has unveiled an ambitious plan to transition every aspect of a startup’s journey onto the blockchain, from inception to fundraising to public trading.
During an interview on the TBPN podcast, Armstrong shared his vision for an onchain lifecycle where entrepreneurs can establish their companies, secure seed funding, receive immediate capital in USDC, and ultimately go public through tokenized equity.
He remarked, “You can envision this entire life cycle moving onchain,” emphasizing that this shift could lead to a greater number of companies raising capital and launching in the market.
Armstrong explained that startups will no longer rely on banks or lawyers for global transactions, as funding can be swiftly raised through onchain smart contracts. Once the capital is acquired, founders can commence revenue generation, accept cryptocurrency payments, access financing, and even take their businesses public directly onchain.
Related: Coinbase CEO announces upcoming ‘private transactions’ feature on Base
Revolutionizing fundraising onchain
The Coinbase CEO highlighted the current arduous nature of the fundraising process and proposed onchain fundraising as a means to make capital formation more efficient, fair, and transparent. This initiative is supported by Coinbase’s recent acquisition of the fundraising platform Echo.
Having assisted over 200 projects in raising more than $200 million, Echo, now under Coinbase’s umbrella, will operate independently at first but gradually integrate into Coinbase’s ecosystem. This integration will provide founders access to Coinbase’s vast amount of custody assets totaling half a trillion dollars and a global pool of investors.
Armstrong stated, “If we can attract talented builders seeking capital and connect them with investors who have the funds, we are the ideal platform to expedite this process.”
Coinbase’s shares saw a 10% increase on Friday. Source: Google Finance
Coinbase is collaborating with US regulators to broaden access to onchain fundraising. Armstrong pointed out that the current accredited investor regulations exclude many individuals from early-stage investment opportunities.
“In many ways, the accredited investor regulations are somewhat unjust,” he noted. “We aim to strike a balance between consumer protection and opening up these opportunities to retail investors.”
Related: Coinbase allocates $25 million to revive a podcast from the previous bull market
JPMorgan identifies a $34 billion opportunity in Coinbase’s Base
JPMorgan Chase recently upgraded Coinbase to an “Overweight” rating, citing significant growth potential stemming from its Base network and revised USDC rewards strategy.
Analysts observed that Coinbase is leveraging its Base layer-2 blockchain to capture more value from the platform’s expansion. They estimated that a potential Base token launch could generate a market opportunity ranging from $12 billion to $34 billion, with Coinbase’s share valued between $4 billion and $12 billion.
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