Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, made a bold prediction: cryptocurrency could account for up to 25% of global GDP within the next ten years.
The State of Crypto Summit 2024, hosted by the Financial Times on 13 June 2024, saw Armstrong speak on a range of topics – from the potential of Layer 2 solutions to the importance of regulatory clarity in the US.
“What we’ve seen is that crypto started as an asset class that people wanted to invest in. By now it’s more than trillion dollars and we’ve got over 400 million people globally who have used crypto,” said Armstrong.
The crypto market is currently valued at around $2.68 trillion. With 10% of the world already interested in investing in crypto, Armstrong believes that the future could see a quarter of the world’s GDP being driven by “crypto rails” within ten years.
Great convo with @CathieDWood yesterday at State of Crypto Summit discussing Base, Smart Wallets, USDC, regulatory clarity, and the continued growth and power of the crypto voter. https://t.co/I1F0duqzYg
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) June 14, 2024
He thinks that as a result of crypto’s effectiveness and accessibility, it will eventually contribute significantly to global GDP.
The discussion between Brian Armstrong and Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, at the Crypto Summit provided valuable insights into the future of cryptocurrency
Importance Of Layer 2 Solutions
A significant portion of the discussion was focused on the potential of Layer 2 solutions, particularly Coinbase’s Ether-based Layer 2 network, Base.
“Layer 1 networks were the first thing that happened in crypto, they were kind of slow, they were kind of expensive,” explained Armstrong. “But you could see the potential of it. With Layer 2 coming online it’s kind of like when the internet moved from dialup to broadband.”
Armstrong described Layer 2 networks as enablers that can transform the powerful ideas around blockchain into reality.
“We’re starting to see crypto wallets getting added to lots of different web 2 companies, web 3 companies -that are kind of native on chain,” said Armstrong.
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A significant portion of the discussion focused on the potential of Layer 2 solutions, particularly Coinbase’s Ether-based Layer 2 network, Base.
Armstrong described Layer 2 networks as enablers that can transform the powerful ideas around blockchain into reality.
Coinbase CEO Insists On Regulatory Clarity
Despite the promising future, Armstrong has acknowledged that regulatory clarity remains a significant obstacle.
According to Armstrong, the lack of clear regulations is hindering the development of a powerful financial infrastructure based on crypto.
However, he expressed optimism that the upcoming presidential election could bring more focus to digital assets, potentially leading to more favorable regulations.
Also, Armstrong insisted that with the widespread availability of smartphones, anyone with internet access can tap into crypto’s financial structures.
This access can provide opportunities for yielding, fair property rights, and hedging against inflation.
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
