Coinbase
Courtesy of Coinbase
- CategoryCeFi
As opposed to many early entrants in crypto, CEO and founder Brian Armstrong grew Coinbase through a tried-and-true Silicon Valley method: He joined Y Combinator’s accelerator program, a startup boot camp that also produced Airbnb, DoorDash, and Instacart, and rode that momentum to build Coinbase into one of the world’s premier exchanges.
When Coinbase launched in 2012, customers could only buy and sell Bitcoin. This strategy worked well as Coinbase filled the vacuum left by Mt. Gox, one of the first Bitcoin exchanges, which saw its business suddenly crumble in 2014. But as more tokens appeared, crypto enthusiasts looked elsewhere, and in 2017, when Binance exploded onto the scene, Coinbase lost market share.
It has now expanded the number of tradable coins to more than 200. And in 2021, at a share price over $300, Coinbase went public, becoming the only cryptocurrency exchange to provide U.S. regulators a detailed breakdown of its finances. Its stock has since plummeted, but with a market capitalization over $15 billion, it’s still one of the most valuable companies in crypto.
When Coinbase launched in 2012, customers could only buy and sell Bitcoin. This strategy worked well as Coinbase filled the vacuum left by Mt. Gox, one of the first Bitcoin exchanges, which saw its business suddenly crumble in 2014. But as more tokens appeared, crypto enthusiasts looked elsewhere, and in 2017, when Binance exploded onto the scene, Coinbase lost market share.
It has now expanded the number of tradable coins to more than 200. And in 2021, at a share price over $300, Coinbase went public, becoming the only cryptocurrency exchange to provide U.S. regulators a detailed breakdown of its finances. Its stock has since plummeted, but with a market capitalization over $15 billion, it’s still one of the most valuable companies in crypto.