Stand With Crypto - Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)

As I stand here, this feels like a lot more than just a community. This feels like a movement. This feels like a movement that stands for freedom, that stands for democracy, that stands for making the world a better place. And just to kind of wind it back, I was born in Washington DC. I went to Quaker school my whole life, and that taught me two things. One, it taught me how the systems of this great country work, how impactful they can be, but also how much room for improvement they have. And then second, it taught me to relentlessly fight to make the world a better place, one where everyone can be on a level playing field, one where all of us get the same opportunities. And so when I was 18, I moved to California. Part of that was my mom was born here, but I'd say the biggest part of that was that there's something special about the people of California. We are optimistic. We see the future and we create it. We are builders. Yeah, thank you. And that's why we're here today. We're here to update the system. Yeah, we're here to create an onchain economy that puts everyone on a level playing field. And we are not alone. There are 8 million Californians that own crypto. There are 52 million Americans that own crypto, and that number is growing every day. It's because of these millions of Americans that I created a base. It's because of these millions of Americans that I stand with crypto. Let's go. And we're already having a big impact. Hundreds of restaurants all around the country are using crypto to improve their margins and to better serve customers. Thousands of artists like Latasha are using crypto to earn more from their art and cut out the middlemen who are charging them high fees. Tens of thousands of builders—raise your hand if you're a builder—tens of thousands of builders are building the next generation of world-changing products. And hundreds of thousands of advocates all around this country are standing up to say that we believe in a better future, one that is powered by crypto and that brings the world onchain. And it's not just them. In the six months since we've launched, millions of people all around the world are coming onchain because they want to use these products, because they want to interact with this art, and because they want to be a part of building a better future. And the reason that we can make that change, the reason we can build that future, is because of all of you. You asked us to do something big. You challenged us. You asked us the hard questions. And so what I'm here to do is I'm here to turn it right back to you. It's time to do it again. We need to ask our leaders those questions. We need to make sure that they understand crypto, and we need to get out the vote tomorrow so that this country can stay on the right side of innovation. California, we've been the center of innovation for a long time, and in this election, probably the Senate is the most important election. We need to elect politicians who understand crypto, who can advocate for crypto, who can advocate for the creators, for the builders, for the people who are believing in that better future and working hard to make it possible. Amen. So get out there and vote, and let's update the system together. And with that, I am incredibly honored to introduce my friend Brian. We've been working together for a long time. What's up, J? If you don't know Brian, I don't think there's anyone who has shown more grit, more determination, more hunger in updating these systems. From the beginning, from 2009, believed in the transformative power of crypto when so many other people didn't, and he put his head down and he ground and he made it possible that all of us could be here together today. And so with that, I have a few questions for Brian. And so Brian, maybe we could just start. Tell us why, why crypto? What got you into this? Why Coinbase?

Absolutely right. I think it's pretty incredible that that was the beginning 12 years ago, but today more than 5% of the world owns crypto. That's more than 400 million people all around the world who are participating in this change that's happening globally. But what does it mean for the United States? The US is at risk of getting left behind right now. I don't know if you all know that, but you've probably been reading the headlines. I don't think we're doing it the right way. There aren't any clear rules. Our elected representatives don't understand crypto. There's an older generation in DC. A lot of their kids use crypto, their staff uses crypto. When I go walk around the halls of Congress, I meet with members of Congress, their staff, they all come up to me like, 'I got the Coinbase app.' And the member of Congress is like, 'So what is this, some game you guys created or what?' So the US has got to get clear rules, and the only way that's going to happen is if we elect representatives that actually represent our values and understand that crypto is a powerful new technology with a lot of innovation potential. And if we don't have clear rules, there's going to be bad actors who come in and mess it up for everybody else, or this industry is going to get pushed offshore. We're going to see things blow up, which we've seen happen unfortunately recently. So it's time for America to get this right. And right here in California, we've got a special moment with this Super Tuesday. 27% of Americans own crypto. Like Jesse said, this state has been on the forefront of innovation for a long time, and we can't mess this up. And do you really think we can impact the election? We've got a huge opportunity to do it. So of course in November there's going to be the general election, and we got to focus on that later this year, but tomorrow is a really important moment to send a very clear message for the primaries here in California. Who's going to even get on the ballot? This organization, Stand With Crypto, that put this event together, it's an incredible organization. I hope you all checked out the website. You can go in there, check out all the candidates that are running in California, see who you can look at their scorecard. You know who got a good grade, who got a bad grade, and you can look at all their public statements right there on their profile to see it's not just someone's opinion. Look at what they actually said themselves. See if it represents your values or not. And if we can send a clear message tomorrow that you've got to understand innovation, you've got to be pro-tech, pro-innovation, pro-crypto to get elected and be representing our values in California, tomorrow it's going to send a very clear message for the rest of the general election later this year.