Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong discusses how the exchange avoided the fate of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried by staying focused and acting responsibly. He contrasts Coinbase's approach with competitors like Binance, emphasizing the importance of avoiding excessive press coverage to maintain discipline.
I, I was reading this New York Times story. This is from 2022. It was not the most flattering profile of Coinbase. It presented you guys as having made a lot of big bets that didn't pay off, going through some financial struggles. There was an amusing part of this story, I thought though, you know, it says it's talking about your competitors at the time, SBF and, and, and, and Binance and Says, you know, its competitors appear to be faring better. Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive of FTX, said in an email that his financial results had been, quote, ballpark similar to last year. You know, as I was reading the story, I mean, this is 2022. The thing that stands out is that you did not go to jail. Thank you.
Thank you for noticing that. I appreciate that.
Yeah. Among these other guys, I've heard you talk about this a little bit, but I mean, there must be Must be so bizarre to operate in just such a chaotic business for this many years. I think I signed up for Coinbase super early. Yeah, I don't know. You seem very chill, like you're, you're still together. I would have thought, you know, it seems like a good way to lose your, to lose your head.
Hmm. Yeah, well, it's true. I mean, crypto has gone through lots of ups and downs and we've tried to be this responsible player in the room, have a long-term perspective, help mature the industry. I actually think one of the important things as an entrepreneur is, I mean, as a journalist, I think of you in a very different category than most journalists, but I actually think it's important not to read a lot of press about your company because you kind of— you really want to only read things from people who have your best interests at heart. Like if, if my board member calls me like, Brian, you're really screwing this up, like I need you to give you some feedback. I'm like, okay, I take that very seriously. Or if our customers are complaining or something, or if I call somebody like to ask them for advice. But, you know, I actually, I actually never read that, that New York Times piece that you're quoting. So you were quoting things to me I didn't know about, but because I think you want to preserve your, your mental cycles for the day. I mean, like the most scarce thing we all have is time and
