Coinbase CEO Predicts One Billion Crypto Users Within a Decade (bloomberg.com) 61
Within a decade, 1 billion people will have used or tried crypto, up from about 200 million currently, Coinbase Global Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday. From a report: "My guess is that in 10-20 years, we'll see a substantial portion of GDP happening in the crypto economy," Armstrong said, speaking at a session with ARK Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood.
His comments come at a time of turbulence in crypto markets. After hitting an all-time high of almost $69,000 in November, Bitcoin has been falling in value. The world's biggest cryptocurrency is down about 17% since the beginning of the year. The chorus of skeptics' voices has gotten louder, but Armstrong and Wood, whose Ark is one of the biggest Coinbase investors, have shown a united front. Wood is seeing promise in even decentralized finance, a lightly regulated corner of crypto where people can trade, lend and borrow tokens directly, without intermediaries like banks.
His comments come at a time of turbulence in crypto markets. After hitting an all-time high of almost $69,000 in November, Bitcoin has been falling in value. The world's biggest cryptocurrency is down about 17% since the beginning of the year. The chorus of skeptics' voices has gotten louder, but Armstrong and Wood, whose Ark is one of the biggest Coinbase investors, have shown a united front. Wood is seeing promise in even decentralized finance, a lightly regulated corner of crypto where people can trade, lend and borrow tokens directly, without intermediaries like banks.
Hmm. (Score:2)
Re: Hmm. (Score:5, Insightful)
1/8 of the worlds population using crypto? Yeh right. Iâ(TM)d be surprised if 1/8 of the world population knew what it was.
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You are conflating the current state with the future state. Yeah, 1/8 of the world doesn't know what it is, but that can change rapidly. US ownership of bitcoin, for example, trippled from 2018 to 2021 to 6%. In the US we'll be at 1/8 if we double, which I'd guess happens by the end of 2023. The US is probably ahead of most countries, but only by a year or two.
Crypto will have the biggest benefit in 3rd world countries, representing 2/3 of the world's population. In such countries, sound money is a big prob
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WHY would a person in a 3rd world country choose to use an unregulated & uninsured crypto token instead of online banking? It relies on the same cell-phone technology that they would use in your crypto scenario.
The only reason I could imagine would be if the national banking industry is wildly corrupt or the currency faces wild inflation. But I see crypto exchanges getting hacked or disappearing with people's funds regularly (bank corruption), and crypto currencies fluctuate in value constantly (infla
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Re: Hmm. (Score:3)
Just say no! (Score:5, Insightful)
"Within a decade, 1 billion people will have used or tried crypto"
Sounds like one of those old war-on drugs-advertorials. This is your brain on crypto - *drool*
Re:Just say no! (Score:5, Insightful)
Person with vested financial interest in XXX announces that XXX is the future!!!
Film at 11.
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Person with vested financial interest in XXX announces that XXX is the future!!!
I think public perception of Coinbase would actually improve if they got out of crypto and into porn.
Disco Stu (Score:5, Funny)
Disco Stu: "Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976, if these trends continue...AY!"
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Uh, your fish are dead.
News at Eleven (Score:5, Insightful)
CEO pumps bullshit to boost stock price. News at Eleven.
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Nadella predicts more Azure sales, Tim Cook predicts more iPhones, Musk predicts more Tesla's sold, Lockheed Martin more F-35's, Kardashians predict more butt implants, Captain Obvious predicts more obviousness, etc. etc. etc.
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It is funny... if a CEO went out to boost stock prices of a company, the SEC would have them in jail in short order. However, because crypto is unregulated, we see constant rug pulls, pump and dumps, and many other schemes.
In Related News (Score:2)
We had decentralized finance (Score:2)
DECADES before cryptocurrencies were even invented. If you can't do better than argue over what colour the wheel should be, as opposed to - say - its shape, then the debate is a waste of everyone's time. This is not new stuff, this is old stuff with the word "crypto" stuck on the front like a deranged rune.
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No, the Mondex card worked just fine.
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Decades huh? Sounds like a flat out lie
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Tell that to Mondex users.
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Mondex isn't even close to what cryptocurreny like Bitcoin is, so you either don't know what Mondex actually is, or you are lying. And the whole thing was a disaster. It required trust at every step, where Bitcoin is trustless
It's an amazing MLM scam (Score:4, Insightful)
we predict the steady growth of dumbass dupes over the next decade
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Indeed. And the most amazing thing is that it is an _open_ MLM scam that does not try to hide what is going on at all. Instead they just push by inane statement like the one made by that slimy CEO and rely on enough fools being afraid to miss out. That seems to be enough to counter all the facts and explanations of the "greater fool theory" nicely. There really is a sucker born every minute...
Who pays with crypto? (Score:3)
I reckon there are three major categories of people that acquire crypto:
1. People who think the value of crypto is going to keep going up.
2. People who think it is cool and want it to succeed as a monetary instrument.
3. Criminals/Law Enforcement.
Sure categories 2 and 3 will pay with crypto. But would Category 1, who in my random/arbitrary guess are 95%+ of crypto users, pay with crypto? I doubt it, they would hodl it believing that the price of crypto will keep going up.
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I reckon there are three major categories of people that acquire crypto:
1. People who think the value of crypto is going to keep going up.
2. People who think it is cool and want it to succeed as a monetary instrument.
3. Criminals/Law Enforcement.
Sure categories 2 and 3 will pay with crypto. But would Category 1, who in my random/arbitrary guess are 95%+ of crypto users, pay with crypto? I doubt it, they would hodl it believing that the price of crypto will keep going up.
On #1, the great thing about crypto is that if demand is constant, it's absolute purchasing power will remain constant (because supply is constant by design). This means it's value in dollars will grow simply because fiat currencies are systematically diluted. The economic reality of the world is that relief from national debt requires such dilution must continue. This is Michael Saylor's argument for why crypto adoption is inevitable. He says his cash-rich business was pummeled by wall street because "cash
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This means it's value in dollars will grow simply because fiat currencies are systematically diluted
LOL! You crypto bois keep spewing that argument, as the price of bitcon keeps trending downward (instead of skyrocketing if fiat was truly "hyper inflating" as y'all keep claiming)
This is Michael Saylor's argument for why
If you're just gonna repeat the tired arguments bitcon pushers [urbandictionary.com] like that drunken @saylor keep spewing out, then it only makes you a bitcon cultist [urbandictionary.com]
So that is how the world ends (Score:5, Funny)
Yep, there will be 1 bill users (Score:5, Insightful)
Because if there isn't the coin prices will collapse, and 'ole Brian Armstrong will be out of a job. But this is what you do if you have to prop up the price of a digital coin, and the crypto bro's come up with a new excuse for people to buy coins every few months. (Wait don't sell! it's a hedge against inflation!) But this is what you have to do if there is no inherent value to your product, you have to create shill value from thin air.
Delusional Bullshit (Score:2)
"My guess...
OK, we can stop right there. A CEO isn't "guessing", so stop trying to sell bullshit already.
Marketing for a product based on hype, at best. The only reason other currency has value, is because a highly determined Military stands behind it.
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The only reason other currency has value, is because a highly determined Military stands behind it.
This isn't quite right. Costa Rica, for example, has no military at all, yet their currency is doing just fine. Many currencies with militaries backing the government have collapsed in inflation spirals. Somehow, troops aren't as eager to fight for you if you pay them with money that they can't buy food with.
Currencies have value because of the collective trust that people place in the currency. Sometimes military power aligns with this trust, sometimes it doesn't.
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...Sometimes military power aligns with this trust, sometimes it doesn't.
Since you have but one example of this, I'd say rarely do military power aligns with this trust. Otherwise, a successful military coup happens, which is equally as rare.
My business prediction (Score:3)
I'm opening a store selling electronic buttplugs that play the theme to 'Gunsmoke". I predict 8.5 billion will use one, or will have tried to use one, by 2025. That depends on additional population growth though. Stagnation may leave us at 7.9 billion sold.
You want in on this. It'll be huge.
Re:My business prediction (Score:5, Funny)
Wait, are you selling huge buttplugs?
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Touche. And I mean seriously touche. Deeply felt.
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I think you meant "douche". Enema of my enema and all tat...
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Make 'em NFTs of buttplugs and damn it I'm all in!
I got my $15 worth of free BitCoin from CoinBase (Score:1)
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To who?
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Check his math (Score:4, Insightful)
From 200 million to 1bn people in 10 years?
Let me see...60*24*365.25*10 = No, I'm guessing there will be about 5.2 million new users, if PT Barnum was right.
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Your calculation is off. Due to exponential population growth, there has been a corresponding exponential increase birth rate of suckers from the time the statement you're using was expressed. You're off by roughly a factor of 6.5.
"Milken Institute Global Conference" (Score:2)
Milken the scam for all it's worth!
Why would he predict anything else? (Score:1)
Of _course_ he's going to spew bullshit like this, _all_ the crypto "bro's" do.
Apparently, BTC was going to be at a price of $100k around about now, if you have the stomach to refer to old "news" on the various cryptocurrency news sites.
It was totes going to happen, because a well known "crypto bro", hauled out his l33t TA skills and waxed lyrical about rising wedges, inverted triangles, crosses and all manner of tea-leaf reading.
It didn't happen.
Now it's predicted by other "crypto bro's" that BTC will bott
Crypto's Assent is Inevitable (Score:3)
Of course crypto will grow. It offers too many benefits and has too much potential. There is too much demand for a digital friendly way to store value and make payments in a secure way. I actually think it will get to 1 billion users far faster than 10 years, but despite all the investments in crypto to date, it's still not ready for this level of mass adoption. But investment will only accelerate and innovation is steady.
You are already seeing drivers for even bigger adoption: companies putting significant fractions of their corporate treasury is crypto, retirement funds holding crypto as another asset class, and countries adopting crypto as legal tender.
The biggest catalyst for crypto adoption will be stable coin regulation, which is sorely needed. With financially secure stable coins, banks will make it easy to convert your dollars into crypto dollar equivalents. I'm not really sure what coinbase's role is in a world with that and defi for everything else. Does it really think Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo are going to let it be the dollars to crypto onramp long term? It's best hope is to turn into a bank itself.
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Nope. No benefits, no potential, but massive problems, lack of usability and security, excessive transaction fees, etc. Also, cannot store "value".
What will actually happen is tight regulation to finally get the organized crime under control which is its only real business case. And then all the crapcoins will crash.
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There is 1.76 trillion dollars invested in the use cases you refuse to see. Half the world is unbanked and you can't see any benefits? Right. I guess you are happy with your bank's interest rate on savings... good for you. Sorry, I want more than 0.3% on my savings. You can fund NFTs are already disrupting art and gaming, but those are fake use cases too. The federal reserve is the organized crime I want to be free of. They cartels, etc... use paper dollars because blockchain's permanent open ledger helps l
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Nope. There is _gambling_ of significant volume, but that "1.76 trillion" figure probably needs a lot of really great fools to become a reality. Remember that crapcoins have an intrinsic value of zero. As soon as enough people realize what is really going on, that is where they will crash to.
So, 1B gullible idiots? (Score:2)
"Try" (Score:1)
If by "try" they mean creating an account, look at the userinterface and options, logging out and never log in again, then yes count me in as part of that billion. I don't think it was coinbase though.
This just in! (Score:1)
It's easy! (Score:2)
If we all give away some crypto to 5 non-using friends, and then get each of them to also give away to 5 non-crypto using friends....
Seems to me (Score:2)
"Will have used or tried"... (Score:2)
Yes. And then promptly dropped it again. Marketing lying at its finest.
CEO hopes everyone will use his business (Score:1)