Founders

Welcome to @barmstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase! 

He’s kindly agreed to do an AMA. Reply with your questions. :)

You're over a decade into Coinbase—what keeps you motivated?

In the beginning I had a chip on my shoulder and just wanted to do something other people thought was important - desire to be recognized.

At some point it shifted, and my primary motivation is:
1. I'm a true believer in economic freedom, free markets, capitalism, sound money, etc - and crypto is best shot we have

2. I think tech is a force for good in the world
3. I love building things and learning new things. Being the CEO of a crypto company offers lots of opportunities to do both.

If I was on a deserted island, I would still build things and try to learn things. I can't help it (almost pathological).

Building companies scratches the same itch as video games like StarCraft II and Civilization. I find it even more fund to do those in real life (which is basically tech entrepreneurship) with the added bonus of it improves the world.

Side note: i had to quit those games cold turkey in my 20's to not let them take up too much of my time.