Early Life and Education
Brian Armstrong was born on January 25, 1983, near San Jose, California. Both of his parents were engineers. He attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Catholic, all-male, private secondary school. Armstrong attended Rice University in Texas, where he earned a dual bachelor's degree in economics and computer science in 2005, followed by a master's in computer science in 2006. While at Rice, he started a business matching tutors to students.
Rise to Success
Armstrong's career began with roles as a developer for IBM and a consultant at Deloitte. In 2010, he discovered the Bitcoin white paper. In 2011, he joined Airbnb as a software engineer. Seeing the difficulties of cross-border payments, he began working on code to buy and store cryptocurrencies. In 2012, he entered the Y Combinator startup accelerator, receiving a $150,000 investment. That same year, he co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase grew rapidly, becoming the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, with Armstrong as CEO.
Key Business Strategies
Coinbase's success is attributed to its user-friendly interface, which simplified buying, selling, and managing cryptocurrencies. Armstrong has emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity for the crypto industry. Coinbase went public in April 2021 through a direct listing on the Nasdaq. Armstrong has also been involved in other ventures, including ResearchHub, a platform for scientific research, and NewLimit, a company focused on increasing human healthspan.
Philanthropy
In December 2018, Armstrong became the first crypto executive to sign The Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes. He also founded GiveCrypto.org to distribute cryptocurrency to people living in poverty.
