Brian Armstrong

Portrait of Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase at the company's headquarter in San Francisco, CA. Photo by Winni Wintermeyer. August 7, 2017.
Portrait of Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase at the company's headquarter in San Francisco, CA. Photo by Winni Wintermeyer. August 7, 2017.Winni Wintermeyer for Fortune
  • Age
    34
  • Title
    CEO and cofounder
  • Company
    Coinbase

Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase, which became the blockchain industry’s first “unicorn” after it raised $100 million in August, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. Armstrong, who now personally owns even more Ether than he does Bitcoin, is responsible for introducing much of America and beyond to cryptocurrency: The world’s largest exchange for trading digital currency, Coinbase’s customers have more than doubled in the past year, while trade volume in 2017 alone is roughly eight times last year’s total.

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