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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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[breezy music, clicking]
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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[reel whirring]
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What about this Internet thing?
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Do you-- Do you know
anything about that?
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Sure.
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Wha-- what
the hell is that exactly?
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Well, it's-- it's become a place
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where people are
publishing information,
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-Right.
-so everybody can have their own
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home page, companies are there.
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The latest information,
it's wild what's going on.
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You can send electronic
mail to people.
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Uh, it is the big new thing.
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Yeah, but, you know, uh,
it's easy to criticize
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something you don't
fully understand,
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which is my position here.
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[crowd laughing and applauding]
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[director] Let's make that set,
guys, pictures up.
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We like that position.
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Okay, guys,
check your cellphones.
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Make sure everybody's
set on vibrate, please.
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No open walkies on set.
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Okay. Let's do last looks,
please. Thank you.
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Okay, let's get
everybody in place
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let's get ready
to lock up the doors.
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-Thank you.
-[crew 1] Okay, cool.
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[director] Lock it up, gang.
Here we go.
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From the top.
Reading from the dolly prompter.
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[clears throat]
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Settle in, please. Let's roll
sound and roll cameras.
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[crew 2] Rolling.
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[director]
All right. Here we go, guys.
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[crew 3] That's four cameras.
On your mark.
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[director] And action.
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I'm Brian Armstrong,
co-founder and CEO of Coinbase.
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When Coinbase first got started,
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we were a simple place for
people to buy and sell Bitcoin.
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[anchor] The largest
US cryptocurrency exchange
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is about to be a publicly
traded company
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after years of scepticism
from Wall Street about Bitcoin.
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Coinbase is a company
with an ambitious vision:
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to create more economic
freedom for every--
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[chuckles]
Try that one again.
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[director]
Get ready to go again.
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[anchor] Coinbase really helped
to take cryptocurrency
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from an internet hobby
for coders
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to a mainstream
investment today.
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I imagined a world where
anybody with a smartphone
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could have access to sound
money and financial services,
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where every payment
could be as fast,
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cheap and global
as sending an email.
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We're helping make this happen
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by building the open financial
system for the world.
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That sounded like a question.
[laughs]
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-For the world?
-[director] Still rolling.
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-For the world!
-[director] Action.
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By building the open financial
system for the world.
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[director] We're cut.
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[laughs]
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[applause]
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[young Brian]
We're flying.
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[Brian] I grew up
in San Jose, California.
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The early days
of the dot-com boom
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was happening in
Silicon Valley.
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[Dave]
Pretty cool ride, Bri.
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The spacecraft has landed.
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[Brian] It was kind of
a nerdy household. [chuckles]
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Right there with the camera. Hi.
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What is your name
and how are you related to me?
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I'm Dave Armstrong
and I'm your dad.
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[Brian] My dad was an
environmental engineer.
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[young Brian] Okay, and you.
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If you don't know now,
it's too late.
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[Brian] My mom worked at IBM.
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She was one of the early women
computer programmers.
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-Ow!
-I was really shy as a kid,
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and I felt like I have
these good ideas,
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but people don't listen to me.
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Hello, everyone.
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This is Brian's room.
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My molecule poster
and my iguana.
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[Dave] He was very interested
in computers,
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so we shopped around and tried
to find a deal on a used one,
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and we finally got him one
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that was a pretty good
working computer,
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but it had a German keyboard.
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And so we said, uh,
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"Here's your computer, Brian.
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Uh, it's up to you to
figure out how to use it."
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[school bell ringing]
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[Brian] In high school,
I built this website.
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I remember, I went to sleep
and I woke up in the morning
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and I checked the stats
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and, like, a thousand people
looked at it
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while I was sleeping.
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It's like making
a copy of myself,
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talking to these thousand
people all over the world.
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That was, like,
the coolest feeling ever.
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And when I went to college,
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my roommate and I
were trying to think
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about how to make
some extra cash.
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And I realized if we were
to tutor high school students,
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yeah, we could
make great money.
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We decided,
let's make a web app.
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It was called University Tutor.
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I thought getting customers
would be the hard part,
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but the movement of the money
was actually the hardest part.
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Somebody from our bank
called us one day
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and they're like,
"What are you guys doing?
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Why is this money moving
in these certain patterns?"
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And, you know, um, "Are you
aggregating customer funds?"
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And I'm like, "I don't know
what that means."
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And it felt like I was actually
being treated like a criminal.
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I was disappointed, I couldn't
ever get it to break out
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and be a real success.
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So, after I graduated college,
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I ended up selling it.
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I felt like, what do
I want to do with my life?
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I wanted to put myself
out of my comfort zone.
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So, I decided to move
to Buenos Aires for a year.
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[gentle Latin music]
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[Sharon] "Where are you going
to live?" "Well, I don't know.
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There's this [speaking Spanish]
or something." [laughs]
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"I'll go see
if they have a room there."
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And I mean,
it's just sort of really loose,
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freer than I would have been.
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[Brian] One of the things I did
notice living in Argentina
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is that they have
this really amazing culture
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and people there
are really proud,
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but they also have this history
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of really deep distrust
of the government.
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I got to see what an economy
and a culture looked like
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that had gone through, um,
hyperinflation
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and didn't have a well-run
monetary system.
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I remember these menus
I saw at a restaurant.
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Prices would update due to
inflation frequently enough
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that they had to put
new stickers on top
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instead of printing new menus.
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One of the things
that stuck with me was that
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they didn't believe that
the future could be better.
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I remember feeling kind
of frustrated about that.
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It felt like, "Yeah,
this is just kind of wrong."
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[people chattering]
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Around Christmas time, 2010,
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I came back to California and I
was just home with my family
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and I happened to come across
the Bitcoin Whitepaper.
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[intriguing music]
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I think it was Christmas dinner,
and we were saying,
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"Come on down, we got dinner
hot on the table."
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And he was saying,
"Just wait, just wait."
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[Brian] It was describing
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something kind of like
the Internet that was global
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and decentralized that
no company or country owned.
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But instead of
for moving information around
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like the Internet,
it was for moving value around.
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I thought,
"Oh my gosh, this could have
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an enormous impact
on the world."
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I remember my mother
at some point was like,
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you know, "Come down
and spend time with the family."
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And I was like, "I'm reading
this really important thing."
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I don't know. He didn't come
down and talk about it, though.
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No, no, no. Because we wouldn't
have understood it, if he did.
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[both laugh]
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[Brian] After Christmas,
I got back on the plane.
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I started flying
back to Buenos Aires.
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And I remember having this
sinking feeling in my stomach.
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"Oh, my gosh. Why am I leaving?
I'm going the wrong direction."
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[Matt] The Bitcoin Whitepaper
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00:06:42,071 --> 00:06:44,137
was a major technological
breakthrough.
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It actually solved
the number of major
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computer science challenges,
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and it allowed a new thing
to exist in the world
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that people found valuable.
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Each time we figured out how to
do a new thing on the Internet,
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we fundamentally disrupted
a major industry.
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00:06:59,594 --> 00:07:02,089
Email disrupted
the postal office,
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00:07:02,124 --> 00:07:04,927
the World Wide Web disrupted
all of media and advertising.
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SSL allowed us to do
commerce over the Internet.
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One way to conceive of Bitcoin
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is it's the technology
that allows us
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to move money over the Internet.
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We've had lots of digital
monies for a long time,
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00:07:20,978 --> 00:07:23,275
but they were regulated by banks
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00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:26,685
and other big large institutions
like a national government.
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00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:31,690
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency
that takes a very different view
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00:07:31,725 --> 00:07:33,153
where it's decentralized
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00:07:33,188 --> 00:07:37,124
and not in the control
of a central state.
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00:07:37,159 --> 00:07:41,865
Anyone can access and earn and
receive, store and send bitcoin
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00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:43,603
without asking
anyone for permission,
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00:07:43,638 --> 00:07:44,934
no matter where
they are in the world.
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00:07:44,969 --> 00:07:47,068
All they need
is internet access.
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00:07:47,103 --> 00:07:51,204
Bitcoin is providing
a form of economic freedom
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00:07:51,239 --> 00:07:55,274
to everybody on Earth
that we never had before.
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00:07:55,309 --> 00:07:58,046
[Nas] Bitcoin is giving
the power to the people
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00:07:58,081 --> 00:08:00,312
and making it more of
an even playing field.
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00:08:00,347 --> 00:08:03,216
Doesn't matter their background
or race or ethnicity.
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00:08:03,251 --> 00:08:06,857
Poor kids, black kids,
Spanish kids, whoever,
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00:08:06,892 --> 00:08:09,827
you can participate and not have
to be from Wall Street.
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00:08:10,599 --> 00:08:12,192
[Jacob] Modern money,
as we know it
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00:08:12,227 --> 00:08:14,634
more or less started in
the Depression, in the 1930s.
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00:08:14,669 --> 00:08:17,571
And yet it feels to us
that the way money is now
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00:08:17,606 --> 00:08:19,133
is the way money
has always been,
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00:08:19,168 --> 00:08:21,773
and that any other way
to do money is ridiculous.
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00:08:21,808 --> 00:08:23,335
Money becomes money
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00:08:23,370 --> 00:08:27,108
when a lot of people
believe that it is money, right?
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00:08:27,143 --> 00:08:30,716
Like if I make up
Goldstein Bucks
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00:08:30,751 --> 00:08:34,016
and only I think it's money,
it's not money.
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00:08:34,656 --> 00:08:37,217
But if 100 people
think it's money,
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00:08:37,252 --> 00:08:39,318
then it's, like, kind of money
for those hundred people.
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00:08:39,353 --> 00:08:40,957
If we all buy
and sell stuff with it,
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00:08:40,992 --> 00:08:42,860
it's like money
a little bit for us.
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00:08:42,895 --> 00:08:44,323
If a million people
think it's money,
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00:08:44,358 --> 00:08:46,259
like, it's pretty money-ish now.
216
00:08:46,294 --> 00:08:47,865
If 100 million people
think it's money,
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00:08:47,900 --> 00:08:49,801
it is definitely money.
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00:08:49,836 --> 00:08:52,969
Bitcoin today still feels to
many people like an uncertain,
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00:08:53,004 --> 00:08:55,906
slightly crazy, outside
of the mainstream idea.
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00:08:55,941 --> 00:08:57,677
Back up ten years ago,
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00:08:57,712 --> 00:08:59,778
people would've thought
you absolutely insane.
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00:09:00,946 --> 00:09:02,341
[Brian] I came back
from Argentina
223
00:09:02,376 --> 00:09:05,311
and eventually,
took a job at Airbnb,
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00:09:05,346 --> 00:09:07,984
but I kind of just couldn't
stop thinking about Bitcoin.
225
00:09:08,019 --> 00:09:09,986
I just had this very
visceral sense
226
00:09:10,021 --> 00:09:13,022
that the economy
is becoming more global,
227
00:09:13,057 --> 00:09:14,925
but many of the countries
around the world
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00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,632
don't have stable financial
systems, and it's deeply unfair.
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00:09:19,426 --> 00:09:21,734
lI really believed
in the potential of Bitcoin
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00:09:21,769 --> 00:09:23,637
to create empowerment
for people,
231
00:09:23,672 --> 00:09:25,397
but it needs to be
dramatically easier to use
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00:09:25,432 --> 00:09:27,366
and trusted and safe.
233
00:09:27,401 --> 00:09:30,072
Using Bitcoin at that time
was pretty difficult.
234
00:09:30,107 --> 00:09:32,778
If you wanted to buy some,
you had to send a wire
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00:09:32,813 --> 00:09:34,648
to one of the only
Bitcoin exchanges
236
00:09:34,683 --> 00:09:37,277
at that time called Mt. Gox,
which was in Japan.
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00:09:37,312 --> 00:09:39,719
Frankly, it was not the most
trustworthy place.
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00:09:39,754 --> 00:09:41,347
[anchor]
Authorities in Tokyo arrested
239
00:09:41,382 --> 00:09:43,184
the former head
of the Japan-based
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00:09:43,219 --> 00:09:46,220
Mt. Gox for allegedly
falsifying financial records.
241
00:09:46,255 --> 00:09:49,256
Several hundred million dollars
were unaccounted for.
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00:09:49,291 --> 00:09:52,325
[Brian] Also, by the way, if you
actually acquire any bitcoin
243
00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,394
and your hard drive crashed,
your bitcoin would be gone.
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00:09:56,463 --> 00:10:00,938
So, I felt like the solution
is a hosted Bitcoin wallet.
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00:10:00,973 --> 00:10:02,368
In the evenings and weekends,
246
00:10:02,403 --> 00:10:04,337
I started tinkering
with this prototype.
247
00:10:04,372 --> 00:10:07,373
The big idea was
make Bitcoin easier to use.
248
00:10:08,046 --> 00:10:10,244
Just the concept
of cryptocurrency, what's that--
249
00:10:10,279 --> 00:10:12,752
And how are you going
to make a living off of it?
250
00:10:12,787 --> 00:10:15,018
I'm not sure
we still understand that.
251
00:10:15,053 --> 00:10:16,118
-[laughs]
-Yeah.
252
00:10:17,087 --> 00:10:18,417
[Brian] The analogies
that I had in my mind
253
00:10:18,452 --> 00:10:19,858
were services like Gmail.
254
00:10:19,893 --> 00:10:21,420
If you lost your phone
or your computer,
255
00:10:21,455 --> 00:10:23,224
your email wasn't all gone,
it was in the cloud
256
00:10:23,259 --> 00:10:25,127
and people were doing security
and backups for you.
257
00:10:25,162 --> 00:10:26,733
I remember I was
talking to somebody,
258
00:10:26,768 --> 00:10:27,899
"Yeah, I'm thinking
about launching
259
00:10:27,934 --> 00:10:29,868
a hosted Bitcoin wallet."
260
00:10:29,903 --> 00:10:31,903
And this guy was like, "Oh, my
gosh, that's a terrible idea."
261
00:10:32,334 --> 00:10:34,873
I thought, maybe I'm crazy.
You know, I was like,
262
00:10:34,908 --> 00:10:36,776
"I think this is kind of
cool and interesting,
263
00:10:36,811 --> 00:10:38,338
but like, nobody else
seems to think so."
264
00:10:39,176 --> 00:10:42,111
Let me apply to Y Combinator
and see what they say.
265
00:10:42,146 --> 00:10:44,784
Y Combinator
is a startup incubator,
266
00:10:44,819 --> 00:10:47,886
meaning it funds a whole
bunch of startups at once
267
00:10:47,921 --> 00:10:49,888
and then tries to
help them get rolling.
268
00:10:50,253 --> 00:10:52,858
[Brian] The minute I got
accepted into Y Combinator,
269
00:10:52,893 --> 00:10:55,124
I decided I was quitting
my job at Airbnb
270
00:10:55,159 --> 00:10:57,027
and starting this new company.
271
00:10:57,062 --> 00:10:59,260
How is he going to survive?
Does he have health care?
272
00:10:59,295 --> 00:11:01,097
What's going to happen here?
[laughs]
273
00:11:01,132 --> 00:11:03,000
Does he have enough to eat?
274
00:11:03,035 --> 00:11:05,167
So, unfortunately,
very few startups succeed.
275
00:11:05,906 --> 00:11:07,466
We tend to think
of the ones that do.
276
00:11:07,501 --> 00:11:09,435
Google or PayPal,
277
00:11:09,470 --> 00:11:12,746
these kind of iconic
public companies.
278
00:11:13,210 --> 00:11:15,243
This is why we created HUD Log.
279
00:11:15,278 --> 00:11:18,444
[Paul] Statistically, the chance
of a startup going public
280
00:11:18,479 --> 00:11:20,479
is less than a percent for sure.
281
00:11:20,514 --> 00:11:22,283
I can't wait to tell you more.
282
00:11:22,318 --> 00:11:23,955
Going public is for founders
283
00:11:23,990 --> 00:11:27,189
what winning an Academy Award
is for an actor.
284
00:11:27,224 --> 00:11:29,455
[Brian] All right, I need to
pick some name for this thing.
285
00:11:29,490 --> 00:11:31,765
I'd happen to be reading
the Wikipedia entry
286
00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,427
for the Bitcoin protocol, and I
saw the word Coinbase in there.
287
00:11:34,462 --> 00:11:36,165
Coinbase is okay.
288
00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,068
I didn't love the name,
but I'll change it later.
289
00:11:38,103 --> 00:11:40,433
Coinbase is a hosted
Bitcoin platform.
290
00:11:40,468 --> 00:11:42,303
You can access your money
from any device.
291
00:11:42,338 --> 00:11:44,404
You don't have to worry
about security and backups.
292
00:11:44,439 --> 00:11:46,208
We'd love to
have you bring it...
293
00:11:46,243 --> 00:11:47,847
We'd love to have you help us
294
00:11:48,509 --> 00:11:50,443
bring it to the rest of them.
I need to...
295
00:11:50,478 --> 00:11:53,314
For three months, you go through
this Y Combinator boot camp
296
00:11:53,349 --> 00:11:54,953
and then you go pitch
at Demo Day
297
00:11:54,988 --> 00:11:56,185
in front of all these investors.
298
00:11:56,220 --> 00:11:58,121
Coinbase is doing for Bitcoin
299
00:11:58,156 --> 00:12:00,123
what iTunes did to the MP3.
300
00:12:00,158 --> 00:12:03,159
[Paul] Brian's idea
was not a hot deal
301
00:12:03,194 --> 00:12:04,963
with investors after Demo Day.
302
00:12:04,998 --> 00:12:07,130
This was not the one
that every investor
303
00:12:07,165 --> 00:12:08,802
in the Valley was talking about
304
00:12:08,837 --> 00:12:10,804
and felt like they had
to have a piece of.
305
00:12:10,839 --> 00:12:12,806
[Brian]
It was really depressing.
306
00:12:12,841 --> 00:12:14,566
After I graduated
from Y Combinator,
307
00:12:14,601 --> 00:12:17,008
there was a lot of things that
I couldn't figure out how to do,
308
00:12:17,043 --> 00:12:18,537
and I needed to find
a co-founder.
309
00:12:20,112 --> 00:12:21,980
I kind of grew up
on the Internet,
310
00:12:22,015 --> 00:12:23,982
played way too many video games.
311
00:12:24,985 --> 00:12:27,920
My parents thought that
was a total waste of time.
312
00:12:27,955 --> 00:12:29,317
[Fred Sr.] Fred was,
certainly in high school,
313
00:12:29,352 --> 00:12:31,088
into that in a pretty
serious way.
314
00:12:31,123 --> 00:12:32,892
To the point where,
in my opinion,
315
00:12:32,927 --> 00:12:34,322
he was kind of losing sleep
316
00:12:34,357 --> 00:12:36,126
and we needed to tell him
to kind of go to bed.
317
00:12:37,228 --> 00:12:38,964
[Fred] One time to try
to get me to stop playing,
318
00:12:38,999 --> 00:12:42,132
my mom shut off the circuit
breaker for the whole house.
319
00:12:43,938 --> 00:12:45,531
Needless to say,
she was unsuccessful.
320
00:12:47,337 --> 00:12:50,041
After college, I went
to work at Goldman Sachs
321
00:12:50,076 --> 00:12:51,438
as a foreign exchange trader.
322
00:12:51,473 --> 00:12:53,341
I thought it was
the closest I would get
323
00:12:53,376 --> 00:12:57,180
to playing a video game
for a real reputable job.
324
00:12:57,215 --> 00:12:59,215
[Fred Sr.]
Goldman is an elite institution,
325
00:12:59,250 --> 00:13:02,350
and the job that he got
was well into the 1%.
326
00:13:02,385 --> 00:13:04,154
[Fred] When I got there,
I learned
327
00:13:04,189 --> 00:13:06,255
that this video game wasn't that
much fun unfortunately.
328
00:13:07,093 --> 00:13:11,326
I'd found Bitcoin on a blog
one night and became obsessed.
329
00:13:11,361 --> 00:13:14,131
It got to the point
where I was trading Bitcoin
330
00:13:14,166 --> 00:13:15,968
in the bathroom at work.
331
00:13:17,037 --> 00:13:20,302
One day I see this post saying,
332
00:13:20,337 --> 00:13:22,106
"I've created this demo app
333
00:13:22,141 --> 00:13:23,910
that makes it really easy
to use crypto
334
00:13:23,945 --> 00:13:25,945
and I'm looking for somebody
to work on it with."
335
00:13:25,980 --> 00:13:27,606
Here I am thinking,
336
00:13:27,641 --> 00:13:30,246
"Yeah, it kind of seems like
cryptocurrency is small
337
00:13:30,281 --> 00:13:33,546
and crazy and feels like
a toy right now, but, um...
338
00:13:35,517 --> 00:13:37,055
that seems like something
I would really
339
00:13:37,090 --> 00:13:38,320
want to spend
my time working on."
340
00:13:38,685 --> 00:13:40,586
My cell phone rings
and it's Fred.
341
00:13:40,621 --> 00:13:41,895
And Fred says,
342
00:13:42,964 --> 00:13:45,393
"Dad, I think I'm going
to go join this startup."
343
00:13:46,935 --> 00:13:48,561
And I said, "Okay."
344
00:13:50,169 --> 00:13:54,072
He decided to turn his back
on lifetime financial security,
345
00:13:54,107 --> 00:13:55,634
sell all his stuff,
346
00:13:55,669 --> 00:13:59,011
go out to the West Coast
for a highly risky venture.
347
00:13:59,574 --> 00:14:01,475
[Fred] The office was
a glorified apartment.
348
00:14:01,510 --> 00:14:04,918
[Sharon] It looked like
a bachelor pad. [laughs]
349
00:14:04,953 --> 00:14:06,447
-I think I--
-It was an old building.
350
00:14:06,482 --> 00:14:08,185
And as a matter of fact,
351
00:14:08,220 --> 00:14:10,286
about a year or two after
they were in there,
352
00:14:10,321 --> 00:14:12,090
a piece of the building
fell over-- fell off
353
00:14:12,125 --> 00:14:13,685
and hit somebody in the head.
354
00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,061
-I was-- It was serious, I--
-Inside the building?
355
00:14:16,096 --> 00:14:18,261
Outside the building. I mean,
it was an old, old building.
356
00:14:18,296 --> 00:14:21,099
[Fred] We spent all of
our waking hours together.
357
00:14:21,134 --> 00:14:23,068
Six to seven days a week.
358
00:14:23,103 --> 00:14:25,664
Constantly thinking about what
can we do to make this better.
359
00:14:25,699 --> 00:14:29,140
[Brian] It became clear that
Fred had insane work ethic
360
00:14:29,175 --> 00:14:31,571
and we had very
complementary skill sets.
361
00:14:31,606 --> 00:14:34,079
I didn't know for sure
if it would work out,
362
00:14:34,114 --> 00:14:35,674
but there was something
special happening.
363
00:14:36,446 --> 00:14:39,315
At some level, it almost
didn't even feel like work
364
00:14:39,350 --> 00:14:42,219
just because I think
we were having so much fun
365
00:14:42,254 --> 00:14:44,056
while we were doing it.
366
00:14:44,091 --> 00:14:46,586
We both did a bunch
of coding and engineering,
367
00:14:46,621 --> 00:14:48,555
worked on the product,
368
00:14:48,590 --> 00:14:51,096
and then we both did a lot of
customer support late at night.
369
00:14:51,131 --> 00:14:53,032
[Brian] It was getting to
a place where, like,
370
00:14:53,067 --> 00:14:54,726
our whole day was
answering support tickets
371
00:14:54,761 --> 00:14:56,695
and we realized
we need to start hiring.
372
00:14:57,335 --> 00:14:59,368
Hmm, I re-- I mean, I remember
373
00:14:59,403 --> 00:15:01,073
I came into their office
374
00:15:01,108 --> 00:15:03,240
and, uh I thought I had
a good chat with them.
375
00:15:03,275 --> 00:15:04,978
[Brian] I remember thinking,
"This guy
376
00:15:05,013 --> 00:15:06,474
is really high-potential."
377
00:15:06,509 --> 00:15:08,311
I reached out to him and asked
378
00:15:08,346 --> 00:15:09,543
if you would be willing
to consider joining Coinbase.
379
00:15:09,578 --> 00:15:10,676
[Vitalik] I am just like,
380
00:15:10,711 --> 00:15:12,249
"Unfortunately, I am kind of,
381
00:15:12,284 --> 00:15:13,712
uh, busy with this thing,
382
00:15:13,747 --> 00:15:15,681
but, you know,
best of luck with your journey."
383
00:15:15,716 --> 00:15:17,584
[chainsaw buzzing]
384
00:15:17,619 --> 00:15:21,654
[Olaf] I was in Washington state
working as a lumberjack,
385
00:15:21,689 --> 00:15:25,064
but I was paying very close
attention to what was happening
386
00:15:25,099 --> 00:15:26,494
in the cryptocurrency landscape.
387
00:15:27,266 --> 00:15:29,629
And I wanted to see this
in the world.
388
00:15:29,664 --> 00:15:34,304
So, I just emailed Jobs@Coinbase
and said, "I'll do anything."
389
00:15:34,339 --> 00:15:37,076
I knew I didn't have
any concrete skills other than
390
00:15:37,111 --> 00:15:40,508
I knew a lot about Bitcoin
and I was ready to work hard.
391
00:15:40,543 --> 00:15:42,510
[Fred]
The team felt like a family.
392
00:15:42,545 --> 00:15:44,644
What's special about
a startup, right,
393
00:15:44,679 --> 00:15:47,053
is that everybody is sort
of like "sick" with you
394
00:15:47,088 --> 00:15:49,088
and share a vision
for the future.
395
00:15:49,123 --> 00:15:50,419
[Brian] We felt at the time like
396
00:15:50,454 --> 00:15:51,717
we're doing
something incredible,
397
00:15:51,752 --> 00:15:53,389
but people would sign up
for the product
398
00:15:53,424 --> 00:15:55,160
and they would never
come back and use it.
399
00:15:55,195 --> 00:15:58,394
So, business wasn't growing
and we were on the verge
400
00:15:58,429 --> 00:16:01,595
of running out of money and we
did not have product market fit.
401
00:16:01,630 --> 00:16:03,630
One of the key attributes
of entrepreneurs is
402
00:16:03,665 --> 00:16:05,599
being too stupid to know
they're going to fail.
403
00:16:05,634 --> 00:16:07,403
There's really
very few startups
404
00:16:07,438 --> 00:16:10,043
that make any sense
at-- at the point of startup.
405
00:16:10,078 --> 00:16:11,803
Otherwise that firm
would already exist.
406
00:16:11,838 --> 00:16:14,146
[Brian] I called up some people
who had signed up to use the app
407
00:16:14,181 --> 00:16:15,675
and I was like,
"What do you think?"
408
00:16:15,710 --> 00:16:17,446
And they would say,
"Well, I like the product,
409
00:16:17,481 --> 00:16:18,744
but I don't really
have any bitcoin,
410
00:16:18,779 --> 00:16:20,680
so I didn't have
anything to use it for."
411
00:16:20,715 --> 00:16:22,451
So that kind of made
me think, "Well,
412
00:16:22,486 --> 00:16:24,387
if there was a button
to buy bitcoin in the app,
413
00:16:24,422 --> 00:16:26,521
so you had some,
would you use that?"
414
00:16:26,556 --> 00:16:28,259
And they were like,
"Maybe, yeah."
415
00:16:29,493 --> 00:16:31,592
We posted online
that the feature was live.
416
00:16:31,627 --> 00:16:33,693
We went to bed, the next day,
bunch of people used it.
417
00:16:35,235 --> 00:16:36,663
And the day after
even more people used it.
418
00:16:37,402 --> 00:16:39,171
And the day after even more.
419
00:16:39,206 --> 00:16:41,470
It goes from pushing
a boulder up a hill every day
420
00:16:41,505 --> 00:16:43,406
to the boulders
rolling downhill
421
00:16:43,441 --> 00:16:45,210
and you're chasing it
as fast as you can.
422
00:16:45,740 --> 00:16:48,477
We were being inundated
with customer support inquiries.
423
00:16:48,512 --> 00:16:50,413
The website was
periodically going offline.
424
00:16:50,448 --> 00:16:53,383
We had all kinds of hackers
trying to break into the site.
425
00:16:53,418 --> 00:16:58,520
From 8:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m.
was Brian's uninterrupted moment
426
00:16:58,555 --> 00:17:00,588
to actually build the website.
427
00:17:00,623 --> 00:17:03,459
We developed this system
where, interrupt me if it is a--
428
00:17:03,494 --> 00:17:05,197
if it is some kind of emergency,
429
00:17:05,232 --> 00:17:06,660
but we had to define emergency.
430
00:17:06,695 --> 00:17:08,860
I would run up to him
with a Post-it note
431
00:17:08,895 --> 00:17:11,236
and I would write "red alert"
432
00:17:11,271 --> 00:17:14,272
and hold it up for him
while he was still working.
433
00:17:14,307 --> 00:17:16,439
[Brian] I think it was, like,
the number of digits of money
434
00:17:16,474 --> 00:17:18,738
we would lose if this wasn't
fixed in the next hour.
435
00:17:19,609 --> 00:17:21,345
Our bank was, like,
calling us every day.
436
00:17:21,380 --> 00:17:23,116
"We're probably gonna
turn off your bank account
437
00:17:23,151 --> 00:17:24,810
if you don't get some more
money in your account."
438
00:17:24,845 --> 00:17:27,714
And at that moment, we rushed
out to raise the Series-A.
439
00:17:27,749 --> 00:17:30,882
The Series-A is where
a venture capital firm
440
00:17:30,917 --> 00:17:33,786
will place a bold bet
on the company, saying,
441
00:17:33,821 --> 00:17:35,656
"Hey, we think this
has a chance of being
442
00:17:35,691 --> 00:17:37,328
a billion-dollar-plus company."
443
00:17:37,726 --> 00:17:41,167
[Wilson] So, in late 2012,
I got an email from Paul Graham.
444
00:17:41,202 --> 00:17:44,566
It said, "Hey, Fred, we're ready
to do the Series-A in Coinbase.
445
00:17:44,601 --> 00:17:47,239
Can I introduce
you to Brian and Fred?"
446
00:17:47,274 --> 00:17:49,340
[Brian] We were so burned out
and sleep deprived,
447
00:17:49,375 --> 00:17:51,144
we didn't really have
a slide deck or anything.
448
00:17:51,179 --> 00:17:54,147
And we basically said,
"Here's our revenue graph.
449
00:17:54,182 --> 00:17:56,446
We're using our working
capital to fund this
450
00:17:56,481 --> 00:17:58,151
and we're going to
run out of money
451
00:17:58,186 --> 00:17:59,647
in the next two weeks.
Do you want to invest?"
452
00:17:59,682 --> 00:18:01,616
[Wilson]
In the super early days,
453
00:18:01,651 --> 00:18:04,718
Crypto company founders
were either scam artists
454
00:18:04,753 --> 00:18:07,490
or they were almost
like religious zealots.
455
00:18:07,888 --> 00:18:10,493
I meet Brian
and he explains to me,
456
00:18:10,528 --> 00:18:13,463
"I'm a former security
engineer at Airbnb.
457
00:18:13,828 --> 00:18:16,268
I know how to secure
crypto assets,
458
00:18:16,303 --> 00:18:18,237
we'll comply
with the regulations."
459
00:18:18,272 --> 00:18:20,272
And he just seemed pragmatic.
460
00:18:22,342 --> 00:18:24,672
[Vitalik] All right. We're, uh,
uncapping the champagne.
461
00:18:24,707 --> 00:18:26,806
-We're just getting ready.
-What are we celebrating?
462
00:18:26,841 --> 00:18:28,841
[Vitalik] We're celebrating, uh,
463
00:18:28,876 --> 00:18:31,580
the fact that
earlier this morning
464
00:18:31,615 --> 00:18:34,616
we, uh, checked our bank account
and it happened to have
465
00:18:34,651 --> 00:18:37,685
five million more dollars in it
than it did last night.
466
00:18:39,590 --> 00:18:40,655
[Brian] That is accurate.
467
00:18:43,561 --> 00:18:44,923
-It didn't go.
-[Vitalik] What?
468
00:18:44,958 --> 00:18:47,728
[laughter]
469
00:18:47,763 --> 00:18:50,863
[Fred] We briefly
took a adjournment
470
00:18:50,898 --> 00:18:53,404
from the monitors in the
office to go up to the roof
471
00:18:53,439 --> 00:18:54,504
and celebrate.
472
00:18:56,310 --> 00:18:58,343
-[Fred] You want some?
-[Vitalik] Yeah.
473
00:18:58,378 --> 00:19:00,378
Kind of popped it
and we kind of drank it,
474
00:19:00,413 --> 00:19:02,314
mostly just spilled a lot
of champagne everywhere.
475
00:19:02,349 --> 00:19:03,777
-[Brian] Cheers.
-[Vitalik] Cheers, boys.
476
00:19:03,812 --> 00:19:05,713
But I remember
it was maybe two minutes
477
00:19:05,748 --> 00:19:07,748
and then it was like, "All
right, we got shit to do now."
478
00:19:07,783 --> 00:19:09,354
Today we're talking
about Bitcoin
479
00:19:09,389 --> 00:19:11,356
and we're talking to the founder
and CEO of Coinbase.
480
00:19:11,391 --> 00:19:12,819
[man 1]
Coinbase's Brian Armstrong.
481
00:19:12,854 --> 00:19:15,228
[man 2] Co-founder of Coinbase,
Fred Ehrsam.
482
00:19:15,263 --> 00:19:17,329
I'm really excited tonight
to, um, share with you
483
00:19:17,364 --> 00:19:18,429
a little bit about Coinbase.
484
00:19:18,464 --> 00:19:19,694
Okay, what is Bitcoin?
485
00:19:19,729 --> 00:19:20,827
What is Bitcoin?
486
00:19:20,862 --> 00:19:22,400
[Alex Trebek] A digital currency
487
00:19:22,435 --> 00:19:24,600
without the need
for a central bank.
488
00:19:24,635 --> 00:19:26,272
-What is a Bitcoin?
-Yes.
489
00:19:26,307 --> 00:19:27,900
Same thing email has
done for communication,
490
00:19:27,935 --> 00:19:30,441
-Bitcoin is doing for money.
-It's quicker.
491
00:19:30,476 --> 00:19:31,673
It works everywhere
in the world.
492
00:19:31,708 --> 00:19:33,345
You don't buy bitcoin.
493
00:19:33,380 --> 00:19:35,644
No, you can. There are
currency traders online.
494
00:19:35,679 --> 00:19:37,316
Yeah, one bitcoin
is worth $3.
495
00:19:37,351 --> 00:19:39,879
We literally have our
parents try the product.
496
00:19:39,914 --> 00:19:41,617
Does it look like
a normal wallet?
497
00:19:41,652 --> 00:19:43,322
It's on your phone.
498
00:19:43,357 --> 00:19:44,653
So, instead of carrying
it in your back pocket--
499
00:19:44,688 --> 00:19:45,852
Yeah, let's see
what's in your wallet.
500
00:19:45,887 --> 00:19:47,524
It's kind of--
[both laugh]
501
00:19:47,559 --> 00:19:49,020
I'm told that the, uh, protocol
was developed
502
00:19:49,055 --> 00:19:52,760
by a anonymous programmer,
Satoshi Nakamoto.
503
00:19:52,795 --> 00:19:54,465
You don't think
it was Al Gore, do you?
504
00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:55,961
[laughter]
505
00:19:55,996 --> 00:19:57,402
Bitcoin's big day.
506
00:19:57,437 --> 00:19:58,898
The, uh, cryptocurrency's hit
507
00:19:58,933 --> 00:20:00,966
the $1,000 value mark.
508
00:20:01,001 --> 00:20:02,605
[Fred]
It was pretty remarkable.
509
00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:04,871
The traffic on the site
would grow tenfold
510
00:20:04,906 --> 00:20:06,840
in a matter of a month or two.
511
00:20:06,875 --> 00:20:09,810
We felt like all hands on deck
just to keep everything running
512
00:20:09,845 --> 00:20:12,747
and we had to scale really fast,
we hired a ton of people.
513
00:20:12,782 --> 00:20:14,353
We almost 3Xed in headcount.
514
00:20:14,388 --> 00:20:15,651
You know,
it's the launch of the first
515
00:20:15,686 --> 00:20:17,785
US-based Bitcoin exchange.
516
00:20:17,820 --> 00:20:20,425
I think we're now the largest
exchange in the US by volume.
517
00:20:20,460 --> 00:20:22,361
-High five. Nice.
-Thank you.
518
00:20:22,396 --> 00:20:23,923
[Brian] And it's like nothing
that I've ever experienced.
519
00:20:23,958 --> 00:20:25,496
You feel like you're at the
centre of the universe,
520
00:20:25,531 --> 00:20:26,959
you know?
521
00:20:26,994 --> 00:20:28,697
The price of bitcoin
went through $11,000.
522
00:20:28,732 --> 00:20:30,798
I could care less
what bitcoin trades for,
523
00:20:30,833 --> 00:20:32,536
how it trades,
why it trades,
524
00:20:32,571 --> 00:20:34,406
who trades it.
If you're stupid to buy,
525
00:20:34,441 --> 00:20:35,968
you'll pay the price
for it one day.
526
00:20:36,003 --> 00:20:39,411
Crypto is out there
and it's not going away.
527
00:20:39,446 --> 00:20:41,006
But the question is, can we take
528
00:20:41,041 --> 00:20:42,942
the same technology
behind Bitcoin
529
00:20:42,977 --> 00:20:45,076
and can we use it
for more than just money?
530
00:20:45,111 --> 00:20:47,353
That's basically
what Ethereum is.
531
00:20:47,388 --> 00:20:49,080
[Brian] When Ethereum
first came out,
532
00:20:49,115 --> 00:20:51,555
Fred came to me and he was like,
"This actually is a big deal."
533
00:20:51,590 --> 00:20:54,085
[Fred] We should go beyond
just being a Bitcoin company.
534
00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:55,790
We have to add Ethereum.
535
00:20:55,825 --> 00:20:57,330
[Brian] Initially
I was a little sceptical,
536
00:20:57,365 --> 00:20:58,661
but I-- the more
I looked into it,
537
00:20:58,696 --> 00:20:59,728
the more I felt like
he was right.
538
00:20:59,763 --> 00:21:00,861
Our mission at Coinbase
539
00:21:00,896 --> 00:21:02,368
is to create an open
540
00:21:02,403 --> 00:21:03,666
financial
system for the world.
541
00:21:03,701 --> 00:21:04,964
Billions of people
have smartphones,
542
00:21:04,999 --> 00:21:06,636
but they don't have
a bank account.
543
00:21:06,671 --> 00:21:09,342
So, the cost of opening
a bank account is zero.
544
00:21:09,377 --> 00:21:11,608
Soon the world
is only going to buy
545
00:21:11,643 --> 00:21:13,577
and sell products
using bitcoins.
546
00:21:13,612 --> 00:21:15,480
Bitcoin has no
unique value at all.
547
00:21:15,515 --> 00:21:17,482
It doesn't produce anything.
You can stare at it all day
548
00:21:17,517 --> 00:21:19,748
and no little bitcoins come out
or anything like that.
549
00:21:19,783 --> 00:21:21,079
It's a delusion.
550
00:21:21,114 --> 00:21:22,619
I fundamentally believe
it is being used
551
00:21:22,654 --> 00:21:24,489
primarily for
illegal activities.
552
00:21:24,524 --> 00:21:25,952
[reporter] This is Silk Road.
553
00:21:25,987 --> 00:21:28,460
[man] It's an eBay for drugs
that use Bitcoin
554
00:21:28,495 --> 00:21:30,528
as the means of exchange.
555
00:21:30,563 --> 00:21:34,466
One of the biggest Bitcoin
exchanges called Mt. Gox,
556
00:21:34,501 --> 00:21:36,831
based in Tokyo, went bust.
557
00:21:36,866 --> 00:21:39,064
[reporter] Calls into question
the future of Bitcoin.
558
00:21:39,099 --> 00:21:41,737
Mt. Gox got hacked
and, like, Bitcoin crashed
559
00:21:41,772 --> 00:21:44,641
and the media went away
and things cooled off.
560
00:21:44,676 --> 00:21:46,412
[anchor] The numbers
are pretty eye-watering
561
00:21:46,447 --> 00:21:48,106
in terms of the scale of
the drop that we are seeing.
562
00:21:48,141 --> 00:21:49,976
[Brian] Price of crypto have
been trending down.
563
00:21:50,011 --> 00:21:51,912
Our revenue is flat to down.
564
00:21:51,947 --> 00:21:55,113
A lot of our competitors decided
to pivot to do something else.
565
00:21:55,852 --> 00:21:57,786
We were getting to a place
where we felt like,
566
00:21:57,821 --> 00:21:59,425
if this doesn't
turn around soon,
567
00:21:59,460 --> 00:22:01,086
we're going to
have to do a lay-off.
568
00:22:01,121 --> 00:22:03,561
Did anyone read that article
about Bitcoin I sent you?
569
00:22:03,926 --> 00:22:05,431
[Brian] At the end of 2017,
we started
570
00:22:05,466 --> 00:22:06,597
to see another crypto rally.
571
00:22:06,632 --> 00:22:08,093
[anchor 1] Bitcoins are booming.
572
00:22:08,128 --> 00:22:10,029
[anchor 2]
Bitcoin broke another record.
573
00:22:10,064 --> 00:22:11,998
We are going through
this period of growth
574
00:22:12,033 --> 00:22:14,000
that is almost never seen.
575
00:22:14,035 --> 00:22:16,871
[Fred] This started as two
people in an apartment
576
00:22:16,906 --> 00:22:20,545
and now we're discussing
global expansion.
577
00:22:20,580 --> 00:22:22,008
-[interviewer] The Wild West.
-[Brian] It is.
578
00:22:22,043 --> 00:22:23,614
-It really is, you're like--
-[Brian] Yeah.
579
00:22:23,649 --> 00:22:25,077
You're like a cowboy
in the Wild West.
580
00:22:25,112 --> 00:22:27,079
-Well, thanks, Brian.
-Thanks, Fred.
581
00:22:29,523 --> 00:22:32,656
[Wilson] Brian's a very
sort of calm, reserved,
582
00:22:32,691 --> 00:22:35,494
strategic, long-term thinker.
583
00:22:35,529 --> 00:22:38,629
And Fred's-- kind of was like--
want to mix it up, you know,
584
00:22:38,664 --> 00:22:40,763
constantly mixing it up.
585
00:22:40,798 --> 00:22:44,569
And of course, that combo
is what made things work.
586
00:22:44,604 --> 00:22:48,034
But there was a lot of
tension in the relationship.
587
00:22:48,905 --> 00:22:51,004
[Reid] The closest parallel
588
00:22:51,039 --> 00:22:53,875
to having co-founders
is a marital relationship.
589
00:22:53,910 --> 00:22:55,877
You're spending a huge
amount of time together.
590
00:22:55,912 --> 00:22:58,143
Your economic futures
are conjoined.
591
00:22:58,178 --> 00:23:00,816
Uh, you have visions
about where you're going,
592
00:23:00,851 --> 00:23:02,719
where those visions, you're
always going to be working.
593
00:23:02,754 --> 00:23:04,556
They're never going
to be perfectly aligned.
594
00:23:06,989 --> 00:23:11,156
Brian and I met in August of
2013, and what he told me was,
595
00:23:11,191 --> 00:23:12,861
"I'm looking for a coach
596
00:23:12,896 --> 00:23:14,533
to take care of
the co-founder relationship."
597
00:23:15,228 --> 00:23:18,031
Fred and I had our first
difficult conversation.
598
00:23:18,066 --> 00:23:19,604
"Would you be willing
to meet with us?"
599
00:23:20,101 --> 00:23:21,606
[Fred] I think co-founder
relationships are
600
00:23:21,641 --> 00:23:22,574
just like any
other relationship.
601
00:23:22,609 --> 00:23:23,971
They're all complicated
602
00:23:24,006 --> 00:23:25,203
and you have to keep
investing in them,
603
00:23:25,238 --> 00:23:27,007
like going to the gym.
604
00:23:27,042 --> 00:23:28,976
It's not like you just
do it once and you're done.
605
00:23:29,011 --> 00:23:32,485
Brian started sharing with me
a bit about what was going on,
606
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:34,179
a conversation between them,
607
00:23:34,214 --> 00:23:36,753
and a couple minutes
into the session,
608
00:23:36,788 --> 00:23:39,855
I looked at Fred and I said,
"You don't want to be here."
609
00:23:40,627 --> 00:23:43,023
And his response was,
"No fucking way."
610
00:23:43,058 --> 00:23:45,762
Pejoratively, I viewed it
as armchair therapy.
611
00:23:45,797 --> 00:23:47,258
This is for weak people.
612
00:23:47,293 --> 00:23:48,864
I don't want my brain
reprogrammed this way.
613
00:23:49,669 --> 00:23:51,130
[Khalid] What Brian and Fred
needed to work out
614
00:23:51,165 --> 00:23:52,769
is at the end of the day,
615
00:23:52,804 --> 00:23:54,870
one of you is CEO
and one of you's not.
616
00:23:54,905 --> 00:23:58,907
And that's a difficult situation
for the non-CEO co-founder.
617
00:23:59,613 --> 00:24:01,646
Fred always wanted
to run the company
618
00:24:01,681 --> 00:24:04,044
and it was never
going to happen.
619
00:24:04,849 --> 00:24:07,949
[Fred] Brian was and is
the CEO at Coinbase.
620
00:24:08,721 --> 00:24:10,787
I think he's done
a great job in that role,
621
00:24:10,822 --> 00:24:13,119
but ultimately, I think that
was a limiting factor for me.
622
00:24:13,154 --> 00:24:16,925
So, over time, I got
really excited about,
623
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,192
um, I'm removing that
glass ceiling for myself
624
00:24:20,227 --> 00:24:23,030
and starting something where,
625
00:24:23,065 --> 00:24:25,736
uh, the sky was the limit
personally.
626
00:24:26,739 --> 00:24:30,642
[somber music]
627
00:24:30,677 --> 00:24:32,941
[Brian] Fred, he's kind
of a natural leader
628
00:24:32,976 --> 00:24:35,273
and he wasn't going to be
the CEO of Coinbase.
629
00:24:35,308 --> 00:24:37,242
I didn't want to
step down as CEO,
630
00:24:37,277 --> 00:24:40,949
and I was really sad to lose him
631
00:24:40,984 --> 00:24:43,248
because Fred and I
are kind of like brothers.
632
00:24:45,351 --> 00:24:47,560
[Fred] Brian's one of my closest
friends in the world.
633
00:24:49,190 --> 00:24:50,728
Of course, it's emotional,
634
00:24:50,763 --> 00:24:53,896
but, um, I look back on that
635
00:24:53,931 --> 00:24:55,832
and-- and think we handled it
pretty well.
636
00:25:01,169 --> 00:25:02,938
[Brian] I do feel emotions.
637
00:25:02,973 --> 00:25:04,940
I don't express them
the same way as other people.
638
00:25:06,306 --> 00:25:07,712
You know,
I probably have Asperger's,
639
00:25:07,747 --> 00:25:09,010
like, somewhere on the spectrum.
640
00:25:11,817 --> 00:25:14,686
[Fred] When I left Coinbase,
I took some time off.
641
00:25:14,721 --> 00:25:16,149
I thought it was
really important
642
00:25:16,184 --> 00:25:19,691
to explore all the different
potential ideas
643
00:25:19,726 --> 00:25:22,122
I could try
and-- and venture into next.
644
00:25:26,832 --> 00:25:29,228
[anchor 1] On to Bitcoin now.
The cryptocurrency kicked off
645
00:25:29,263 --> 00:25:30,867
the New Year by tumbling.
646
00:25:30,902 --> 00:25:32,638
[anchor 2]
It's down 50% from the record
647
00:25:32,673 --> 00:25:34,068
set just about a month ago.
648
00:25:34,103 --> 00:25:35,707
[panelist 1]
Bitcoin is going to collapse
649
00:25:35,742 --> 00:25:37,973
because Bitcoin itself
has no value.
650
00:25:38,008 --> 00:25:39,271
[panelist 2] It's gonna come
caving in,
651
00:25:39,306 --> 00:25:40,745
it's-- it's almost
a guarantee.
652
00:25:42,848 --> 00:25:48,819
♪
653
00:25:50,889 --> 00:25:52,823
[Rachael] Let me actually do
the hard Q&A first.
654
00:25:52,858 --> 00:25:54,286
[Brian] Okay, that's fine.
655
00:25:54,321 --> 00:25:55,760
[Rachael] I just
want you to really nail this.
656
00:25:55,795 --> 00:25:58,290
I want you to tell this audience
657
00:25:58,963 --> 00:26:00,930
what the heck
it's used for today.
658
00:26:01,801 --> 00:26:03,163
Can you-- can you buy stuff?
659
00:26:03,198 --> 00:26:04,901
Is it investment?
660
00:26:04,936 --> 00:26:06,936
It seems quite volatile.
661
00:26:06,971 --> 00:26:08,707
Please explain Bitcoin to us.
662
00:26:08,742 --> 00:26:09,840
[Brian laughs]
663
00:26:09,875 --> 00:26:11,336
Well, that was a lot, so, uh,
664
00:26:11,371 --> 00:26:13,008
I'll-- I'll try to start
at the beginning.
665
00:26:13,043 --> 00:26:15,780
Uh, cryptocurrency
is just digital money
666
00:26:15,815 --> 00:26:17,947
and that's the simplest
way to understand it.
667
00:26:17,982 --> 00:26:20,686
And people don't need to
understand all the technology,
668
00:26:20,721 --> 00:26:22,182
how it works underneath.
They're buying crypto
669
00:26:22,217 --> 00:26:23,953
because they wanna
own a little piece of it
670
00:26:23,988 --> 00:26:25,658
because they think it
might go up in the future.
671
00:26:25,693 --> 00:26:27,319
And really, there's just
a ton of potential
672
00:26:27,354 --> 00:26:29,629
about how it can evolve
in the next ten years.
673
00:26:30,159 --> 00:26:31,928
So, for that answer,
674
00:26:33,063 --> 00:26:34,293
start with Bitcoin.
675
00:26:35,032 --> 00:26:36,328
-[indistinct]
-Start pretty simply
676
00:26:36,363 --> 00:26:37,703
-with Bitcoin.
-Yeah.
677
00:26:38,806 --> 00:26:40,739
[interviewer] Brian, these days
when you talk about
678
00:26:40,774 --> 00:26:42,873
cryptocurrencies to laymen,
679
00:26:42,908 --> 00:26:45,777
how quickly do people's
eyes glaze over?
680
00:26:45,812 --> 00:26:47,075
[Brian and audience laughing]
681
00:26:47,110 --> 00:26:48,813
It's kind of this
mind-bending thing
682
00:26:48,848 --> 00:26:50,683
when you first read about it,
uh,
683
00:26:50,718 --> 00:26:52,718
that takes people a little while
to wrap their head around.
684
00:26:52,753 --> 00:26:54,918
The short explanation
I give to people,
685
00:26:54,953 --> 00:26:56,722
I say, "This is digital money."
686
00:26:56,757 --> 00:26:58,251
And instead of for moving
information around
687
00:26:58,286 --> 00:27:00,385
like the Internet,
this is for moving value around.
688
00:27:00,420 --> 00:27:02,288
So, what effect
do the crypto scandals
689
00:27:02,323 --> 00:27:03,927
have on what
you're trying to do?
690
00:27:03,962 --> 00:27:05,126
Whenever a new technology
gets created,
691
00:27:05,161 --> 00:27:07,161
it can be used for good or bad.
692
00:27:07,196 --> 00:27:08,899
It's kind of the Wild West.
693
00:27:08,934 --> 00:27:10,901
And so, um, that's been--
I feel like our role
694
00:27:10,936 --> 00:27:12,969
is to be hopefully
an adult in the room
695
00:27:13,004 --> 00:27:15,774
and go proactively
seek out, uh, regulators
696
00:27:15,809 --> 00:27:18,744
and see how we can create, um,
a more trusted environment.
697
00:27:18,779 --> 00:27:22,209
So, you've been described
as a Vulcan Swiss banker.
698
00:27:22,244 --> 00:27:24,409
[laughs] I haven't heard
that one in a while.
699
00:27:24,444 --> 00:27:27,148
I didn't quite know what
that meant, uh, when I read it.
700
00:27:27,183 --> 00:27:28,754
It's sort of inscrutable and,
701
00:27:28,789 --> 00:27:30,184
you know,
hard to get information out of.
702
00:27:30,219 --> 00:27:32,989
But actually, I find you
quite charming and open.
703
00:27:33,024 --> 00:27:35,255
Is-- is this the-- the new
Brian Armstrong?
704
00:27:35,290 --> 00:27:37,422
Um... [laughs]
705
00:27:37,457 --> 00:27:39,127
Well, I was a software
engineer, right?
706
00:27:39,162 --> 00:27:41,063
I had never managed anybody.
707
00:27:41,098 --> 00:27:43,263
And when you-- when you go make
something and then suddenly it's
708
00:27:43,298 --> 00:27:45,397
like, "Oh, shoot, I need to
figure out how to be a CEO,"
709
00:27:45,432 --> 00:27:47,905
right? I'm trying to find
my voice as CEO.
710
00:27:47,940 --> 00:27:49,775
But, you know,
711
00:27:49,810 --> 00:27:51,436
I'm-- I'm hopefully becoming
a little more comfortable
712
00:27:51,471 --> 00:27:53,845
in my own skin and, um, I
think- I think- we got along
713
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:55,242
-pretty well, Bill.
-Yeah. Great to meet you.
714
00:27:55,277 --> 00:27:57,145
And, uh, we'll carry on.
715
00:27:57,180 --> 00:27:59,213
[applause]
716
00:28:00,381 --> 00:28:03,448
[pensive music]
717
00:28:09,192 --> 00:28:10,928
Part of me actually
really doesn't like the idea
718
00:28:10,963 --> 00:28:12,391
of being a public figure
719
00:28:12,426 --> 00:28:14,096
because I feel like
it's so risky.
720
00:28:14,131 --> 00:28:16,296
People treat you weird,
in weird ways
721
00:28:16,331 --> 00:28:19,398
and, um, you know, you could
slip up and say the wrong
722
00:28:19,433 --> 00:28:20,938
thing and just be--
723
00:28:20,973 --> 00:28:22,467
The angry mob
will come after you.
724
00:28:22,502 --> 00:28:24,106
I've been getting
all this advice that's like,
725
00:28:24,141 --> 00:28:25,877
"Well, crypto needs
a face of the industry.
726
00:28:25,912 --> 00:28:26,977
-Maybe you can be it."
-Yeah!
727
00:28:27,012 --> 00:28:28,341
And it's like, oh!
728
00:28:28,376 --> 00:28:29,947
-The--
-It's-- I'm-- I'm like a relu
729
00:28:29,982 --> 00:28:32,345
I'm, like, reluctantly
trying it out,
730
00:28:32,380 --> 00:28:33,511
we'll see how it goes.
731
00:28:35,317 --> 00:28:38,824
To be a successful entrepreneur,
it's very difficult
732
00:28:39,486 --> 00:28:42,421
to not develop the skills
of an extrovert.
733
00:28:43,831 --> 00:28:45,930
They might be introverts,
naturally,
734
00:28:45,965 --> 00:28:47,558
but they figure out a way to be
735
00:28:47,593 --> 00:28:50,066
very extroverted when it comes
to their stakeholders.
736
00:28:51,135 --> 00:28:53,069
They say, "The meek
will inherit the earth."
737
00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:55,368
They're not going
to inherit the Nasdaq.
738
00:28:59,913 --> 00:29:01,242
[Brian] I remember
seeing other CEOs
739
00:29:01,277 --> 00:29:02,881
and I would
always be so impressed.
740
00:29:02,916 --> 00:29:04,212
I was like,
"Man, they're so confident.
741
00:29:04,247 --> 00:29:06,016
And that doesn't
look anything like me."
742
00:29:08,383 --> 00:29:09,855
While Fred was at the company,
743
00:29:09,890 --> 00:29:11,153
a lot of the decisions
were made.
744
00:29:11,188 --> 00:29:12,385
Just Fred and I
would get in a room,
745
00:29:12,420 --> 00:29:13,551
hash out all the options,
746
00:29:13,586 --> 00:29:14,926
choose the least bad one
and move forward.
747
00:29:15,995 --> 00:29:18,127
When he left, I was feeling
a little overwhelmed
748
00:29:18,162 --> 00:29:19,293
running the whole thing.
749
00:29:19,933 --> 00:29:21,361
You can feel like
750
00:29:21,396 --> 00:29:22,901
your identity is wrapped up
in this thing,
751
00:29:22,936 --> 00:29:24,529
and so if it fails, I've failed.
752
00:29:25,268 --> 00:29:27,004
Now I'm questioning, it's like,
"What does it even mean
753
00:29:27,039 --> 00:29:28,302
for me to build something?
754
00:29:28,337 --> 00:29:29,842
I'm not writing
the code any more.
755
00:29:29,877 --> 00:29:31,503
I haven't written a code
in five years.
756
00:29:31,538 --> 00:29:33,109
-Um--
-Do you enjoy it?
757
00:29:33,144 --> 00:29:35,243
-Um--
-What do you love?
758
00:29:35,278 --> 00:29:37,080
Forgetting everything
that is today--
759
00:29:37,115 --> 00:29:38,851
-Yeah.
-that you-- that you've done
760
00:29:38,886 --> 00:29:41,513
already in your life,
what did you love doing?
761
00:29:42,989 --> 00:29:45,286
I like just coming up
with an idea for something
762
00:29:45,321 --> 00:29:48,586
and-- and going and making it
exist in the world.
763
00:29:48,621 --> 00:29:50,555
[Matt] We live
in an extroverted world.
764
00:29:50,590 --> 00:29:54,625
Most introverts feel like they
don't fit in because of that.
765
00:29:54,660 --> 00:29:56,330
Introverts now,
766
00:29:56,365 --> 00:29:58,299
I think, are forming majority
of tech leaders
767
00:29:58,334 --> 00:30:00,070
in Silicon Valley
768
00:30:00,105 --> 00:30:03,007
because, of course, most
tech leaders are themselves
769
00:30:03,042 --> 00:30:04,503
world class programmers.
770
00:30:04,538 --> 00:30:06,945
And you don't become
a world class programmer
771
00:30:06,980 --> 00:30:08,914
unless you start young
772
00:30:08,949 --> 00:30:11,345
and spend a fairly significant
amount of time on the machine,
773
00:30:11,380 --> 00:30:13,611
which means not interacting
with other humans.
774
00:30:13,646 --> 00:30:18,154
The elephant in the room is that
you don't love to manage people,
775
00:30:18,189 --> 00:30:21,520
and my prediction, therefore,
is that you're not good at it.
776
00:30:21,555 --> 00:30:22,928
Now I'd like you to go.
777
00:30:22,963 --> 00:30:24,490
I want you to go Cro-Magnon,
778
00:30:24,525 --> 00:30:26,459
whether you think
you're Cro-Magnon or not.
779
00:30:26,494 --> 00:30:28,230
-Wow.
-Doesn't matter.
780
00:30:28,265 --> 00:30:31,002
-Okay.
-And the structure of "I blame"
781
00:30:31,037 --> 00:30:33,400
-forces you to go Cro-Magnon.
-Okay.
782
00:30:33,435 --> 00:30:38,042
Matt, I-- I blame you for, um,
783
00:30:38,077 --> 00:30:40,374
being so persistent on this
784
00:30:40,409 --> 00:30:43,377
and not letting it un-- unfold
naturally.
785
00:30:43,412 --> 00:30:45,016
Every time we meet,
we have to talk about
786
00:30:45,051 --> 00:30:46,512
the same Goddamn issue.
787
00:30:46,547 --> 00:30:49,350
And we've been over
this a million times.
788
00:30:49,385 --> 00:30:50,989
Just like,
let me do my own thing.
789
00:30:51,024 --> 00:30:53,156
Awesome.
Who else can you blame?
790
00:30:53,191 --> 00:30:55,554
Um, yeah, I blame myself,
too,
791
00:30:55,589 --> 00:30:58,964
for trying to hold onto this
thing that I'm not great at
792
00:30:58,999 --> 00:31:02,231
and, um, isn't bringing me--
it isn't raising my energy.
793
00:31:02,266 --> 00:31:05,201
Are you willing to sort of see
how these are crazy thoughts,
794
00:31:05,236 --> 00:31:07,533
you blaming yourself
and you blaming other people?
795
00:31:07,568 --> 00:31:09,337
-Yeah.
-That no one's a villain here.
796
00:31:09,372 --> 00:31:10,701
-Yeah.
-They're all just people that
797
00:31:10,736 --> 00:31:12,142
are trying to do their best.
798
00:31:12,177 --> 00:31:13,539
-Yeah.
-Right on.
799
00:31:15,081 --> 00:31:16,509
Awesome.
800
00:31:16,544 --> 00:31:18,280
If I can share
a thought with him,
801
00:31:18,315 --> 00:31:20,612
like Brian, you're completely
802
00:31:20,647 --> 00:31:22,680
fucking up your role as CEO,
803
00:31:22,715 --> 00:31:25,122
and here's what
I recommend you do.
804
00:31:25,157 --> 00:31:28,686
And with almost any other person
the-- their ego would go, "What?
805
00:31:28,721 --> 00:31:32,998
How dare you
say such a thing to me?
806
00:31:33,033 --> 00:31:35,495
I am all powerful."
807
00:31:35,530 --> 00:31:39,268
And with Brian, a big smile
comes over on his face.
808
00:31:39,303 --> 00:31:42,007
And the first thing
he says is, "Thank you."
809
00:31:43,241 --> 00:31:46,308
Because all he cares
about is improving
810
00:31:46,706 --> 00:31:50,411
and therefore feedback
is the most precious gift
811
00:31:50,446 --> 00:31:51,742
that he can receive.
812
00:31:51,777 --> 00:31:53,678
Because of how
fast we're growing,
813
00:31:53,713 --> 00:31:57,550
the dynamics of trust within the
company change really quickly.
814
00:31:57,585 --> 00:31:59,123
Not too far before I joined,
815
00:31:59,158 --> 00:32:00,619
it was like this level
of assumed best
816
00:32:00,654 --> 00:32:02,555
because we were, like,
fewer than 150 people.
817
00:32:02,590 --> 00:32:04,392
We all kind of know each other,
818
00:32:04,427 --> 00:32:08,660
um, and pretty quickly we move
far beyond that number
819
00:32:08,695 --> 00:32:11,729
and there isn't the same sort of
assumed trust between employees.
820
00:32:11,764 --> 00:32:14,138
Yeah, I agree.
At 150 people,
821
00:32:14,173 --> 00:32:18,142
I can keep in my mind everything
we're basically working on
822
00:32:18,177 --> 00:32:21,112
and who everybody is
and their name and what they do.
823
00:32:21,147 --> 00:32:24,610
And past 150, it's like, that's
even difficult to keep track of.
824
00:32:24,645 --> 00:32:27,085
And occasionally,
you'll pop into some meeting
825
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:28,416
to hear a status update,
826
00:32:28,451 --> 00:32:29,648
and you're like,
"That's happening
827
00:32:29,683 --> 00:32:31,056
in the company I created?"
828
00:32:31,091 --> 00:32:32,651
And, like, I can't believe it.
829
00:32:32,686 --> 00:32:34,686
We're about 800 employees now
830
00:32:34,721 --> 00:32:38,228
and we're learning how to
operate at this larger scale.
831
00:32:38,263 --> 00:32:40,065
You're never going
to retain great talent
832
00:32:40,100 --> 00:32:41,627
if you don't treat
them with respect
833
00:32:41,662 --> 00:32:43,134
and give them opportunities
for growth.
834
00:32:43,169 --> 00:32:44,630
And also top people,
they don't want
835
00:32:44,665 --> 00:32:46,203
to come work at companies
836
00:32:46,568 --> 00:32:49,140
unless they have some
mission or purpose
837
00:32:49,175 --> 00:32:51,505
that's bigger
than just making money.
838
00:32:52,607 --> 00:32:54,508
[Annie] Looking at the event
object and just printing out
839
00:32:54,543 --> 00:32:56,279
everything that it has...
840
00:32:56,314 --> 00:32:59,315
It feels like I could be
building the infrastructure
841
00:32:59,350 --> 00:33:01,680
for the future
of the financial industry.
842
00:33:01,715 --> 00:33:04,056
[Justin] Democratizing
money is a huge deal.
843
00:33:04,091 --> 00:33:06,157
So, as soon as I read
the Bitcoin Whitepaper,
844
00:33:06,192 --> 00:33:08,522
I was immediately like,
"Yes, I have to do this."
845
00:33:08,557 --> 00:33:10,788
I work on key storage,
but it's all designed.
846
00:33:10,823 --> 00:33:13,494
So, like, especially
I can't take the key.
847
00:33:13,529 --> 00:33:14,792
I mean,
I like to think of myself
848
00:33:14,827 --> 00:33:16,563
as, like,
a blue-collar engineer.
849
00:33:16,598 --> 00:33:18,730
I'm here less about,
like, speculating on cryptos
850
00:33:18,765 --> 00:33:21,337
and more because there's
cool problems to work on.
851
00:33:21,372 --> 00:33:23,702
[Kevin]
A lot of the people in crypto
852
00:33:23,737 --> 00:33:26,540
grew up during
the 2008 financial crisis.
853
00:33:26,575 --> 00:33:28,377
I grew up seeing
my neighbourhoods
854
00:33:28,412 --> 00:33:30,148
being decimated by foreclosures
855
00:33:30,183 --> 00:33:32,645
and family members
losing their houses and jobs.
856
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,285
So, I don't trust banks.
857
00:33:36,123 --> 00:33:40,224
[Goldberger] A bank is a
testament to a belief system.
858
00:33:40,259 --> 00:33:43,425
You trust that the bank
will take care of your cash,
859
00:33:43,460 --> 00:33:45,163
but you also trust
860
00:33:45,198 --> 00:33:48,694
in the overall financial
system that it represents.
861
00:33:48,729 --> 00:33:51,433
And in so many towns
and villages and cities,
862
00:33:51,468 --> 00:33:55,866
the major buildings for a long
time were banks and churches.
863
00:33:55,901 --> 00:33:59,111
The idea of the bank was to be
864
00:33:59,146 --> 00:34:01,179
the place that protected
your money
865
00:34:01,214 --> 00:34:03,445
and everything about
the architecture
866
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,613
was intended to make you feel
that your money was safe.
867
00:34:06,648 --> 00:34:09,616
The banks made that impressive
architecture in part
868
00:34:09,651 --> 00:34:12,190
because that's the psychological
game of, like,
869
00:34:12,225 --> 00:34:14,456
making people feel
like they can trust them.
870
00:34:14,491 --> 00:34:16,161
And so, you know,
871
00:34:16,196 --> 00:34:17,723
if you have the impressive
columns and like,
872
00:34:17,758 --> 00:34:19,527
"Oh, look, you know,
this is like the Acropolis,
873
00:34:19,562 --> 00:34:21,298
come on, like, this bank
is totally going to last
874
00:34:21,333 --> 00:34:22,431
2,000 years."
875
00:34:26,503 --> 00:34:28,536
Let me just try to paint
a picture of what
876
00:34:29,308 --> 00:34:31,638
a bank would look like
877
00:34:31,673 --> 00:34:33,277
if it were decentralized,
878
00:34:33,312 --> 00:34:34,905
because a bank
is a centralized thing.
879
00:34:34,940 --> 00:34:36,742
They have your account balance,
880
00:34:36,777 --> 00:34:39,184
their power over you
and everyone
881
00:34:39,219 --> 00:34:41,681
drives from
their exclusive access
882
00:34:41,716 --> 00:34:43,419
to those account balances.
883
00:34:43,916 --> 00:34:45,751
But there's a different way
884
00:34:45,786 --> 00:34:47,687
to organize those
account balances
885
00:34:47,722 --> 00:34:51,559
where each of, say,
a thousand computers
886
00:34:51,594 --> 00:34:54,529
has a copy of those
account balances.
887
00:34:54,564 --> 00:34:58,236
If they then agree
on each change
888
00:34:58,271 --> 00:35:00,931
because they see
a digital signature
889
00:35:00,966 --> 00:35:02,471
by the account owners,
890
00:35:02,506 --> 00:35:04,605
they can move money
from my account
891
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,409
and a majority of them agree
892
00:35:06,444 --> 00:35:10,611
it will always be a consistent
set of account balances.
893
00:35:10,646 --> 00:35:12,547
So, it's a beautiful thing.
894
00:35:12,582 --> 00:35:14,879
Part of the genius
thing about Bitcoin is
895
00:35:14,914 --> 00:35:17,750
you don't have to trust
any one person.
896
00:35:17,785 --> 00:35:19,521
There is no one
person in charge.
897
00:35:19,556 --> 00:35:21,424
Nobody runs Bitcoin.
898
00:35:21,459 --> 00:35:23,690
Nobody is the boss
of Bitcoin, right?
899
00:35:23,725 --> 00:35:25,692
The code is what
you're trusting.
900
00:35:25,727 --> 00:35:28,596
So, it doesn't matter
who Satoshi Nakamoto is,
901
00:35:28,631 --> 00:35:30,400
it doesn't matter at all.
902
00:35:30,435 --> 00:35:33,304
You don't have to trust
Satoshi Nakamoto to use Bitcoin.
903
00:35:33,339 --> 00:35:35,471
You just have to trust the code.
904
00:35:35,506 --> 00:35:37,506
If you think about the history
of financial scandals
905
00:35:37,541 --> 00:35:40,707
recently, the London Whale
trade, the mortgage crisis,
906
00:35:40,742 --> 00:35:42,610
things like that,
907
00:35:42,645 --> 00:35:45,250
all of those things at some
level were examples of where
908
00:35:45,285 --> 00:35:47,879
human-trusted parties
are fallible
909
00:35:47,914 --> 00:35:50,255
or-- or even potentially
criminal.
910
00:35:50,290 --> 00:35:51,850
But technology is technology.
911
00:35:51,885 --> 00:35:53,984
It-- it isn't criminal.
It has no motive.
912
00:35:54,019 --> 00:35:55,722
It's not looking
to make more money.
913
00:35:55,757 --> 00:35:57,394
It just balances accounts.
914
00:35:57,429 --> 00:35:59,396
That's why crypto
ultimately is solving
915
00:35:59,431 --> 00:36:01,728
a-- a thousand-year
financial problem
916
00:36:01,763 --> 00:36:04,797
and it will supply the trust
that has been lacking.
917
00:36:04,832 --> 00:36:07,305
[Brian] Oh, my god.
Donut Day.
918
00:36:08,033 --> 00:36:09,472
[employee 1] We're here
highlighting different features
919
00:36:09,507 --> 00:36:10,935
and products to figure out ways
920
00:36:10,970 --> 00:36:12,871
to actually use cryptocurrencies
921
00:36:12,906 --> 00:36:15,247
to buy, like, day-to-day items
such as donuts and burritos.
922
00:36:15,282 --> 00:36:16,941
My personal favourites.
923
00:36:16,976 --> 00:36:18,811
[Brian] I'm so glad you guys are
doing these dogfooding sessions.
924
00:36:18,846 --> 00:36:20,483
[employee 2] The reason it's
called a dogfooding event
925
00:36:20,518 --> 00:36:22,012
is the idea that when
you're trying to, like,
926
00:36:22,047 --> 00:36:24,454
teach your dog new things,
you give it treats.
927
00:36:24,489 --> 00:36:26,456
You're basically
incentivizing people
928
00:36:26,491 --> 00:36:29,426
to try out this new product that
we are going to launch tomorrow.
929
00:36:29,461 --> 00:36:33,727
That's weird. I can't use
my, um, USD coin as payment
930
00:36:33,762 --> 00:36:35,564
to instantly buy.
931
00:36:35,599 --> 00:36:37,269
-You have to do a conversion.
-Yeah, conversion.
932
00:36:37,304 --> 00:36:38,369
That's a fail.
933
00:36:38,833 --> 00:36:40,998
Where's my--
Where's the consumer team?
934
00:36:41,033 --> 00:36:42,307
[laughter]
935
00:36:42,342 --> 00:36:43,803
Awaiting payments.
936
00:36:43,838 --> 00:36:47,576
-Actually I sent-- Hmm.
-So, it says pending?
937
00:36:47,611 --> 00:36:49,611
Yeah, it should take
a little bit of time,
938
00:36:49,646 --> 00:36:51,547
this is from the consumer app.
939
00:36:51,582 --> 00:36:53,846
This is one of the things I want
to try to instrument this here
940
00:36:53,881 --> 00:36:58,290
that's like end-to-end, what is
our average time from a person,
941
00:36:58,325 --> 00:37:00,952
like, pulling out their phone
to seeing a green check box?
942
00:37:00,987 --> 00:37:02,657
-Hi, Brian.
-Hey, how's it going?
943
00:37:02,692 --> 00:37:04,395
-I'm Marilyn. Just joined.
-Good to meet you.
944
00:37:04,430 --> 00:37:05,561
-Oh, nice. Which--
-Compliance.
945
00:37:05,596 --> 00:37:07,464
Compliance? Welcome to the team.
946
00:37:07,499 --> 00:37:08,960
-When Bitcoin came out it was--
-You got excited about it?
947
00:37:08,995 --> 00:37:11,402
Oh, my God,
this can change the world.
948
00:37:11,437 --> 00:37:13,371
-Yeah.
-And, uh, but, uh, yeah.
949
00:37:13,406 --> 00:37:15,373
I-- I thought by now we would be
mainstream.
950
00:37:15,408 --> 00:37:16,968
-Yeah, well, this is--
-And, uh...
951
00:37:17,003 --> 00:37:18,706
This is why I want
to do stuff like this,
952
00:37:18,741 --> 00:37:20,378
'cause for it to be mainstream,
953
00:37:20,413 --> 00:37:22,006
we have to iron out
all these little bugs.
954
00:37:22,041 --> 00:37:23,546
All right, good stuff, guys.
955
00:37:23,581 --> 00:37:24,943
I'll send in my feedback,
956
00:37:24,978 --> 00:37:26,648
-but this is really good.
-Thanks, Brian.
957
00:37:26,683 --> 00:37:28,452
Yeah, cheers.
958
00:37:28,487 --> 00:37:30,355
[Matt] Even something as simple
as the credit card,
959
00:37:30,390 --> 00:37:31,851
when it was first created,
960
00:37:31,886 --> 00:37:33,820
no one knew how to use it.
961
00:37:33,855 --> 00:37:35,921
When you walk up to the store,
do you give it with one hand?
962
00:37:35,956 --> 00:37:37,626
Do you give it with two hands?
963
00:37:37,661 --> 00:37:39,595
We had to learn
how to do all of those things
964
00:37:39,630 --> 00:37:41,498
and the same thing
is true of crypto.
965
00:37:41,533 --> 00:37:43,731
It doesn't feel native
to a lot of people today.
966
00:37:43,766 --> 00:37:48,802
In order to actually get
to mainstream adoption,
967
00:37:48,837 --> 00:37:51,068
we have to demystify this space.
968
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:53,477
[Brian] All right,
we're live on YouTube.
969
00:37:53,512 --> 00:37:56,348
Hey, everyone.
I'm here with Sam McIngvale.
970
00:37:56,383 --> 00:37:57,976
We've had a lot of good
questions from the community.
971
00:37:58,011 --> 00:38:00,418
"What is the next level
in, quote, 'trust'?
972
00:38:00,453 --> 00:38:03,520
To become the most trusted is
a low bar in digital currency."
973
00:38:03,555 --> 00:38:05,522
I would push back
a little bit on that
974
00:38:05,557 --> 00:38:07,524
"Trust is a low bar
in digital currency."
975
00:38:07,559 --> 00:38:09,592
Having seen firsthand
how much effort
976
00:38:09,627 --> 00:38:11,594
goes into securing
digital assets,
977
00:38:11,629 --> 00:38:13,464
it's incredible. I mean,
it is a level of investment
978
00:38:13,499 --> 00:38:15,059
that, uh, is actually
unparalleled
979
00:38:15,094 --> 00:38:16,566
in any other asset class.
980
00:38:16,601 --> 00:38:17,996
And then how
do you build trust?
981
00:38:18,031 --> 00:38:19,404
Trust, I mentioned
this briefly earlier,
982
00:38:19,439 --> 00:38:21,032
to me, it's track record.
983
00:38:21,067 --> 00:38:23,606
Many banks have existed
for well over a hundred years.
984
00:38:23,641 --> 00:38:26,675
I mean, Wells Fargo's logo
is people coming west,
985
00:38:26,710 --> 00:38:28,545
you know, in the late 1800s.
986
00:38:28,580 --> 00:38:32,516
Um, it's going to take some time
for trust to really build.
987
00:38:32,551 --> 00:38:34,386
Trust is like this reservoir.
988
00:38:34,421 --> 00:38:36,146
You know, you can-- Every
little action that you take,
989
00:38:36,181 --> 00:38:38,852
you can put a little bit into
the reservoir and bank it up.
990
00:38:38,887 --> 00:38:40,150
And then,
you know, if something--
991
00:38:40,185 --> 00:38:42,119
You make a mistake, you can--
992
00:38:42,154 --> 00:38:44,055
you might have to make a little
withdrawal of that reservoir.
993
00:38:44,090 --> 00:38:46,959
Um, so, I-- I'd like to think
we're putting those in-- in
994
00:38:46,994 --> 00:38:49,093
there so that if we ever do make
a mistake, at some point,
995
00:38:49,128 --> 00:38:51,535
we can come back and fix it
and people will kind of give us
996
00:38:51,570 --> 00:38:52,767
the benefit of the doubt.
997
00:38:54,771 --> 00:38:57,101
[foreboding music]
998
00:38:57,136 --> 00:39:01,380
[rapid tweet notifications]
999
00:39:01,943 --> 00:39:04,141
[man] People are mad.
1000
00:39:04,176 --> 00:39:06,550
Delete Coinbase
is a movement that
1001
00:39:06,585 --> 00:39:09,652
just started recently
after the acquisition
1002
00:39:09,687 --> 00:39:11,753
of Neutrino by Coinbase.
1003
00:39:11,788 --> 00:39:13,887
Neutrino is a, we'll say,
1004
00:39:13,922 --> 00:39:16,923
controversial blockchain
analytics company.
1005
00:39:18,025 --> 00:39:19,893
[Alex]
Coinbase acquired Neutrino,
1006
00:39:19,928 --> 00:39:22,093
which was a group of people
from Hacking Team,
1007
00:39:22,128 --> 00:39:23,732
which was an organization
1008
00:39:23,767 --> 00:39:26,097
that used to, like,
work for dictators
1009
00:39:26,132 --> 00:39:27,637
to hunt down dissidents.
1010
00:39:27,672 --> 00:39:29,672
[man]
Hacking Team are responsible
1011
00:39:29,707 --> 00:39:32,642
for selling spyware
to oppressive governments.
1012
00:39:32,677 --> 00:39:34,545
[interviewer] I have to talk to
you about Hacking Team.
1013
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:35,975
It's a really--
I know it's a tough one
1014
00:39:36,010 --> 00:39:37,812
-Yeah.
-and you've taken a lot of,
1015
00:39:37,847 --> 00:39:40,177
I-- I think, well-deserved
criticism for this one.
1016
00:39:40,212 --> 00:39:42,146
It's definitely a-- an area
where we made a mistake.
1017
00:39:42,181 --> 00:39:44,181
We went on and did some
diligence on the team,
1018
00:39:44,216 --> 00:39:48,526
but most of our diligence was
around the technology itself.
1019
00:39:48,561 --> 00:39:50,154
What we failed to do
was the diligence
1020
00:39:50,189 --> 00:39:52,662
that was kind of
more around, um, our values
1021
00:39:52,697 --> 00:39:54,961
and our culture
and-- and that kind of thing.
1022
00:39:54,996 --> 00:39:57,535
So, when we did
make the acquisition,
1023
00:39:57,570 --> 00:39:59,229
we started to see
a lot of noise online
1024
00:39:59,264 --> 00:40:00,769
about people saying,
"Hey, do you know--
1025
00:40:00,804 --> 00:40:01,935
do you know
who you just acquired?"
1026
00:40:03,576 --> 00:40:05,477
While we looked hard
at the technology
1027
00:40:05,512 --> 00:40:07,039
and the security
of the Neutrino products,
1028
00:40:07,074 --> 00:40:08,777
we did not properly
evaluate everything
1029
00:40:08,812 --> 00:40:10,482
from the perspective
of our mission
1030
00:40:10,517 --> 00:40:12,077
and our values
of the crypto company.
1031
00:40:12,112 --> 00:40:13,815
We took some time
to dig further into this
1032
00:40:13,850 --> 00:40:15,245
and together with
the Neutrino team
1033
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,016
have come to an agreement.
1034
00:40:17,051 --> 00:40:18,886
Those who previously worked
at Hacking Team
1035
00:40:18,921 --> 00:40:20,888
will transition out of Coinbase.
1036
00:40:20,923 --> 00:40:23,627
[interviewer] If your due
diligence fails on this,
1037
00:40:23,662 --> 00:40:26,157
how are people meant to
trust you with the privacy
1038
00:40:26,192 --> 00:40:29,094
related to their
purchase of bitcoin?
1039
00:40:29,129 --> 00:40:31,261
Yeah, there-- there's really no
excuse I can give you.
1040
00:40:31,296 --> 00:40:34,000
So, all I can tell you is that
we make mistakes as well.
1041
00:40:34,035 --> 00:40:37,476
And, um, a lot of
building a company is like
1042
00:40:37,841 --> 00:40:39,775
trying to learn
from the mistakes
1043
00:40:39,810 --> 00:40:41,579
and just get better over time.
1044
00:40:41,614 --> 00:40:44,648
If you don't have the ability
to be beaned in the face
1045
00:40:44,683 --> 00:40:46,078
and then get up
1046
00:40:46,113 --> 00:40:48,245
and, you know,
blood spewing everywhere,
1047
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,951
get back to the plate
and try and swing harder,
1048
00:40:50,986 --> 00:40:53,019
you know, you're not meant
to be an entrepreneur.
1049
00:40:53,054 --> 00:40:54,526
All right, sorry I'm late.
1050
00:40:54,561 --> 00:40:56,121
It's easier to consume content
1051
00:40:56,156 --> 00:40:57,859
when it's in sort of
a template, you know?
1052
00:40:57,894 --> 00:40:59,531
So, I was almost imagining
1053
00:40:59,566 --> 00:41:00,928
we could get this down
to three slides.
1054
00:41:00,963 --> 00:41:02,666
I mean, I'm going to
be nit-picky here,
1055
00:41:02,701 --> 00:41:03,931
but let's just kill
all the [indistinct] text.
1056
00:41:03,966 --> 00:41:05,537
That'd be my
default solution.
1057
00:41:05,572 --> 00:41:07,066
I think sometime
next week you should see
1058
00:41:07,101 --> 00:41:09,035
a new version ship
that'll be much more stable.
1059
00:41:09,070 --> 00:41:10,905
[Brian] This is really cool,
I'm glad that we're doing
1060
00:41:10,940 --> 00:41:12,940
such extensive user testing.
1061
00:41:12,975 --> 00:41:14,678
'Cause, like, if we're actually
gonna get a hundred million
1062
00:41:14,713 --> 00:41:16,075
people or a billion people
using this thing,
1063
00:41:16,110 --> 00:41:17,978
it's like-- it's got to be
way simpler.
1064
00:41:18,013 --> 00:41:19,749
-[employee] Absolutely.
-[Brian] Yeah.
1065
00:41:19,784 --> 00:41:22,180
We're kind of caught in,
I think, an inflection point
1066
00:41:22,215 --> 00:41:24,281
where we have to be
eyes wide open about
1067
00:41:24,316 --> 00:41:25,986
what really is gonna
resonate with people?
1068
00:41:26,021 --> 00:41:28,791
Well, and crypto is
just not understood.
1069
00:41:28,826 --> 00:41:31,057
I think people tell themselves
that's not for me.
1070
00:41:31,092 --> 00:41:32,597
[Brian]
A few things need to happen
1071
00:41:32,632 --> 00:41:34,698
for Bitcoin to become
more mainstream.
1072
00:41:34,733 --> 00:41:37,833
We need to drive real world
utility of Bitcoin because
1073
00:41:37,868 --> 00:41:42,673
um, today people are speculating
on the eventual uses of it
1074
00:41:42,708 --> 00:41:44,807
and they're, like, this is going
to be, you know,
1075
00:41:44,842 --> 00:41:46,204
the future of the entire
Internet economy
1076
00:41:46,239 --> 00:41:47,909
or it's going to be useless.
1077
00:41:47,944 --> 00:41:49,944
And they-- they hav--
They oscillate
1078
00:41:49,979 --> 00:41:52,342
between irrational
exuberance and despair.
1079
00:41:52,377 --> 00:41:54,916
[anchor 1] Cryptocurrencies
went on a wild ride today,
1080
00:41:54,951 --> 00:41:56,588
wiping out recent gains.
1081
00:41:56,623 --> 00:41:58,755
[anchor 2] Bitcoin has
now plummeted about 60%,
1082
00:41:58,790 --> 00:42:00,284
falling below $6,000,
1083
00:42:00,319 --> 00:42:03,353
and trading right around
an eight-month low...
1084
00:42:03,388 --> 00:42:04,959
[Anthony]
You have to understand.
1085
00:42:04,994 --> 00:42:08,633
Whenever crypto
has, like, a cold moment,
1086
00:42:08,668 --> 00:42:10,129
you have to see my phone.
1087
00:42:10,164 --> 00:42:11,768
People are telling me
their lives are over.
1088
00:42:11,803 --> 00:42:15,365
I'm like, "Guys,
like, the key to crypto
1089
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,675
is that every time
we have a crash,
1090
00:42:17,710 --> 00:42:20,612
the ceiling raises
a little more every time."
1091
00:42:20,647 --> 00:42:23,175
So, the first time Bitcoin
crashes to a couple hundred
1092
00:42:23,210 --> 00:42:25,650
bucks, next time it
crashes to a thousand.
1093
00:42:25,685 --> 00:42:28,983
Next time it crashes to five,
next time it crashes to 20.
1094
00:42:29,018 --> 00:42:31,887
We've seen the volatility
of Bitcoin decrease every year
1095
00:42:31,922 --> 00:42:33,724
for, like, the last five years
1096
00:42:33,759 --> 00:42:36,727
and it's now less volatile
than some fiat currencies.
1097
00:42:36,762 --> 00:42:38,190
From my commerce experience,
1098
00:42:38,225 --> 00:42:40,126
this is how commerce
kind of works, right?
1099
00:42:40,161 --> 00:42:41,699
It works in spikes.
1100
00:42:42,229 --> 00:42:46,396
If you have some
users kind of coming
1101
00:42:46,431 --> 00:42:48,739
and then you do a big
sell event and it spikes,
1102
00:42:48,774 --> 00:42:50,774
and then it settles in a next
1103
00:42:51,172 --> 00:42:53,238
-kind of higher baseline--
-Right.
1104
00:42:53,273 --> 00:42:55,174
and then it spikes again
and it spikes again,
1105
00:42:55,209 --> 00:42:57,044
-Yeah.
-Kind of like similar problem--
1106
00:42:57,079 --> 00:42:58,749
-It's like crypto.
-Hopefully-- like crypto.
1107
00:42:58,784 --> 00:43:00,377
[Brian] I'm trying
to always hire people
1108
00:43:00,412 --> 00:43:02,148
who are better than me
at each of their disciplines.
1109
00:43:02,183 --> 00:43:04,986
Our Chief Product Officer,
Surojit, who just joined,
1110
00:43:05,021 --> 00:43:07,219
was at Google previously
and then at Flipkart.
1111
00:43:07,254 --> 00:43:08,891
He helped both
of those companies
1112
00:43:08,926 --> 00:43:10,695
grow to the next level.
1113
00:43:10,730 --> 00:43:12,796
[Surojit] When I joined
Coinbase, people were like,
1114
00:43:12,831 --> 00:43:16,668
"Every few years we have
this bull runs in crypto
1115
00:43:16,703 --> 00:43:18,296
and then everything breaks
1116
00:43:18,331 --> 00:43:21,167
because we just cannot estimate
1117
00:43:21,202 --> 00:43:24,709
how much demand will--
will come to our platform."
1118
00:43:24,744 --> 00:43:27,712
So, I thought, okay,
let's create a project
1119
00:43:27,747 --> 00:43:30,044
to prepare for
this bull run scenario
1120
00:43:30,079 --> 00:43:32,816
and we have to do it now
when there is no bull run.
1121
00:43:32,851 --> 00:43:35,049
And what could be a good
name for that project?
1122
00:43:35,084 --> 00:43:37,722
[Spanish music]
1123
00:43:37,757 --> 00:43:40,153
Pamplona is this city in Spain
1124
00:43:40,188 --> 00:43:42,353
where they have these
bull runs every year
1125
00:43:42,388 --> 00:43:45,224
and it suddenly clicked:
Project Pamplona.
1126
00:43:45,963 --> 00:43:47,798
The next bull run
in crypto happens
1127
00:43:47,833 --> 00:43:51,032
and our systems start failing,
the opposite happens.
1128
00:43:51,067 --> 00:43:53,738
You actually-- your baselines
shifts downward.
1129
00:43:54,169 --> 00:43:55,333
That's a big risk for us.
1130
00:43:55,368 --> 00:43:57,071
There will be glitches
1131
00:43:57,106 --> 00:43:58,941
and you have to prepare
for the glitches.
1132
00:43:58,976 --> 00:44:02,406
It's like how NASA, for example,
sends that rover on Mars.
1133
00:44:02,441 --> 00:44:06,179
They will have, like,
ways to fix those
1134
00:44:06,214 --> 00:44:08,852
failures or glitches remotely.
1135
00:44:08,887 --> 00:44:10,887
They have backup systems
and so forth.
1136
00:44:10,922 --> 00:44:13,021
That's how we always
think about it.
1137
00:44:13,056 --> 00:44:15,386
When I look back
at early days of Google,
1138
00:44:15,421 --> 00:44:17,355
there was always this thinking
1139
00:44:17,390 --> 00:44:21,733
that we are building a company
that comes once in a lifetime.
1140
00:44:21,768 --> 00:44:26,100
I see a similar ambition
and possibilities
1141
00:44:26,135 --> 00:44:29,037
and I think that possibility
exists not just for Coinbase,
1142
00:44:29,072 --> 00:44:31,072
for the entire crypto industry.
1143
00:44:31,107 --> 00:44:35,076
Of the 90% of people who
have heard of cryptocurrency,
1144
00:44:35,111 --> 00:44:37,815
I'd say half have probably
just heard it in passing
1145
00:44:37,850 --> 00:44:40,345
and know that it's some
kind of new crazy
1146
00:44:40,380 --> 00:44:41,753
Internet money thing.
1147
00:44:42,217 --> 00:44:44,019
And then I think there
is a small minority
1148
00:44:44,054 --> 00:44:46,923
who start to have a glimpse
of the larger picture,
1149
00:44:46,958 --> 00:44:50,993
which is crypto will
be the biggest force
1150
00:44:51,028 --> 00:44:54,359
in driving quality of life
across the board.
1151
00:44:55,065 --> 00:44:56,999
[Joe] Crypto has the highest
likelihood of being helpful
1152
00:44:57,034 --> 00:44:59,034
in places where
something is broken.
1153
00:44:59,069 --> 00:45:01,498
Governance, financial
institutions, social bonds.
1154
00:45:02,138 --> 00:45:04,006
There are over two billion
smartphones out there
1155
00:45:04,041 --> 00:45:06,877
and far fewer
than that bank accounts.
1156
00:45:06,912 --> 00:45:08,472
And now with this technology,
1157
00:45:08,507 --> 00:45:10,540
you can effectively have
a bank account on your phone.
1158
00:45:10,575 --> 00:45:12,212
And that may not be
interesting to, you know,
1159
00:45:12,247 --> 00:45:13,917
an American or Western European,
1160
00:45:13,952 --> 00:45:16,216
but it's very interesting
to someone living
1161
00:45:16,251 --> 00:45:18,020
under hyperinflation,
like in Venezuela.
1162
00:45:18,055 --> 00:45:20,990
Their money is depreciating
by about 50% a month.
1163
00:45:21,025 --> 00:45:22,893
The money is becoming worthless.
1164
00:45:22,928 --> 00:45:25,390
Fundamentally, we just wanna see
if we can help people with this.
1165
00:45:25,425 --> 00:45:28,030
But one of ancillary goals
or secondary goals
1166
00:45:28,065 --> 00:45:30,967
is can we actually spark
crypto economies in the world?
1167
00:45:31,002 --> 00:45:34,135
Because that would probably
bring more economic freedom.
1168
00:45:35,072 --> 00:45:37,468
[Alex] Bitcoin is revolutionary
human rights tool.
1169
00:45:37,503 --> 00:45:39,910
We're talking about this
tremendous opportunity
1170
00:45:39,945 --> 00:45:41,879
for all these people
to be their own bank.
1171
00:45:41,914 --> 00:45:44,409
They can actually
control their own value,
1172
00:45:44,444 --> 00:45:47,379
their time and energy
that they put into their wages.
1173
00:45:47,414 --> 00:45:50,085
They can custody into something
that can't be taken from them.
1174
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:51,922
Cryptocurrency is
the first time you can have
1175
00:45:51,957 --> 00:45:54,188
electronic transaction
that is censorship-resistant.
1176
00:45:54,223 --> 00:45:56,157
[anchor] Violence sent
a wave of anger...
1177
00:45:56,192 --> 00:45:59,556
[Peter] In Belarus, we saw
pro-democracy protests.
1178
00:45:59,591 --> 00:46:02,130
[anchor] Police were detaining
thousands of people.
1179
00:46:02,165 --> 00:46:03,527
[Peter] We saw
protesters cut off
1180
00:46:03,562 --> 00:46:05,562
from financial services
in their country.
1181
00:46:05,597 --> 00:46:07,839
This non-profit
was able to then raise
1182
00:46:07,874 --> 00:46:10,303
$3 million in Bitcoin
1183
00:46:10,943 --> 00:46:12,437
in order to support people
1184
00:46:12,472 --> 00:46:14,604
who'd lost their jobs in
the Belarussian government
1185
00:46:14,639 --> 00:46:16,309
or elsewhere
1186
00:46:16,344 --> 00:46:18,443
because they were
protesting for democracy.
1187
00:46:19,248 --> 00:46:22,854
What happened here has
deeply unsettled Nigerians.
1188
00:46:22,889 --> 00:46:26,352
[Peter] And in Nigeria, we saw
protests against police violence
1189
00:46:26,387 --> 00:46:28,926
where people cut off
from the banking system
1190
00:46:28,961 --> 00:46:32,193
were able to live and
be supported because of Bitcoin,
1191
00:46:32,228 --> 00:46:34,833
despite the corruption
in that country.
1192
00:46:35,231 --> 00:46:38,133
There's this balance
between freedom
1193
00:46:38,498 --> 00:46:42,907
and state control and certainly,
1194
00:46:42,942 --> 00:46:45,910
uh, cryptocurrency in general
and Bitcoin in particular
1195
00:46:45,945 --> 00:46:47,604
makes you think about that.
1196
00:46:47,639 --> 00:46:51,047
And I-- and I-- and I think
the challenge to regulators
1197
00:46:51,082 --> 00:46:55,117
is the bar is moving
pretty far pretty fast.
1198
00:46:55,152 --> 00:46:57,955
Because there's a lot of
scepticism in government
1199
00:46:57,990 --> 00:46:59,517
about crypto in general.
1200
00:46:59,552 --> 00:47:01,156
Do you ever get that
feeling that, you know what,
1201
00:47:01,191 --> 00:47:02,487
I just want to tell them
how this actually works?
1202
00:47:02,522 --> 00:47:04,258
I want to educate them?
1203
00:47:04,293 --> 00:47:06,128
Um, well, it wouldn't surprise
me if that happens
1204
00:47:06,163 --> 00:47:08,394
I-- 'cause I do think crypto
is going to keep becoming
1205
00:47:09,001 --> 00:47:10,264
more and more
relevant in the world.
1206
00:47:10,299 --> 00:47:12,200
It's actually funny,
when I go to DC,
1207
00:47:12,235 --> 00:47:13,905
usually all the staffers
1208
00:47:13,940 --> 00:47:15,269
that are in the--
kind of the waiting room,
1209
00:47:15,304 --> 00:47:17,040
they all come up
and they're like,
1210
00:47:17,075 --> 00:47:18,877
"Coinbase, like, I love
Coinbase, I have the app."
1211
00:47:19,242 --> 00:47:20,670
And then I go meet
with, like, the senator
1212
00:47:20,705 --> 00:47:22,474
or the congressman,
and they're like, "Hmm,
1213
00:47:22,509 --> 00:47:24,443
what is this technology about?"
1214
00:47:24,478 --> 00:47:26,082
[anchor] For the first time
in his presidency,
1215
00:47:26,117 --> 00:47:28,953
President Trump publicly
commented on crypto
1216
00:47:28,988 --> 00:47:30,449
and he doesn't like it.
1217
00:47:30,484 --> 00:47:32,649
[Trump] Bitcoin, I-- I--
just seems like a scam.
1218
00:47:32,684 --> 00:47:34,486
[anchor] Coinbase CEO
Brian Armstrong
1219
00:47:34,521 --> 00:47:35,520
tweeted,
1220
00:47:47,204 --> 00:47:50,106
Crypto could be even more
dangerous for consumers.
1221
00:47:50,141 --> 00:47:52,108
It helped terrorists
and criminals
1222
00:47:52,143 --> 00:47:53,978
move money around the world.
1223
00:47:54,013 --> 00:47:57,179
Terrorism, financing a criminal
activity of all kinds.
1224
00:47:57,214 --> 00:47:59,445
They present real risks through
their use by the criminal
1225
00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:01,051
and terrorist organizations
1226
00:48:01,086 --> 00:48:02,646
trying to conceal
their illicit activity.
1227
00:48:03,990 --> 00:48:06,188
[Katie] I was a federal
prosecutor for over a decade,
1228
00:48:06,223 --> 00:48:07,992
prosecuting organized crime
1229
00:48:08,027 --> 00:48:09,928
with the United States
Department of Justice.
1230
00:48:10,491 --> 00:48:12,964
I felt a deep sense
of doing what's right
1231
00:48:12,999 --> 00:48:16,231
and bringing people who have
broken the law to justice.
1232
00:48:16,266 --> 00:48:17,562
[anchor]
The Mongols are in a fierce,
1233
00:48:17,597 --> 00:48:19,366
bloody feud
with the Hells Angels.
1234
00:48:19,401 --> 00:48:21,533
[Katie] I prosecuted
a high profile murder
1235
00:48:21,568 --> 00:48:23,601
involving the Hells Angels
and the Mongols
1236
00:48:23,636 --> 00:48:25,372
motorcycle gangs.
1237
00:48:25,407 --> 00:48:28,507
A case involving the Nuestra
Familia prison gang.
1238
00:48:28,542 --> 00:48:31,444
I also prosecuted corrupt
federal agents investigating
1239
00:48:31,479 --> 00:48:32,610
the Silk Road case.
1240
00:48:33,481 --> 00:48:35,052
Late 2012,
1241
00:48:35,087 --> 00:48:36,647
one of my bosses
in the Justice Department
1242
00:48:36,682 --> 00:48:37,989
came to me and said,
1243
00:48:38,024 --> 00:48:39,584
"There's this new technology
1244
00:48:39,619 --> 00:48:42,488
that's being used criminally
called Bitcoin.
1245
00:48:42,523 --> 00:48:44,226
We need to get to
the bottom of this."
1246
00:48:44,261 --> 00:48:47,097
A new website sells
illegal drugs to anyone
1247
00:48:47,132 --> 00:48:48,329
who is willing to pay.
1248
00:48:48,364 --> 00:48:50,067
[anchor] Payment was in bitcoin.
1249
00:48:50,102 --> 00:48:51,761
[Katie] I thought,
"This sounds criminal."
1250
00:48:51,796 --> 00:48:55,138
And I started looking into it
like, "What was Bitcoin?"
1251
00:48:55,173 --> 00:48:58,339
And that was when I had
a really powerful aha-moment.
1252
00:48:58,374 --> 00:49:01,012
This is a technology
like the Internet.
1253
00:49:01,047 --> 00:49:02,673
It's not inherently good or bad
1254
00:49:02,708 --> 00:49:05,709
and it's not a thing
that can be prosecuted.
1255
00:49:05,744 --> 00:49:08,712
In fact, we were able
to use crypto technology
1256
00:49:08,747 --> 00:49:10,681
to trace criminal activity.
1257
00:49:11,651 --> 00:49:14,685
The first time I met Brian,
I actually remember it well.
1258
00:49:14,720 --> 00:49:16,423
The first impression
1259
00:49:16,458 --> 00:49:18,194
that some of us in
the government had was that
1260
00:49:18,229 --> 00:49:20,262
people involved in crypto
didn't believe in laws
1261
00:49:20,297 --> 00:49:21,758
or regulation at all.
1262
00:49:21,793 --> 00:49:24,596
Brian really stood
in stark contrast to that.
1263
00:49:24,631 --> 00:49:27,038
[employee] The main transaction
where we see funds
1264
00:49:27,073 --> 00:49:28,666
leaving the fraudster account,
1265
00:49:28,701 --> 00:49:31,042
this goes actually
to a Coinbase customer.
1266
00:49:31,077 --> 00:49:33,308
[John] Our job is to assist
law enforcement
1267
00:49:33,343 --> 00:49:35,706
and other agencies around
the world help catch bad guys.
1268
00:49:35,741 --> 00:49:38,346
The interesting thing about
crypto is we can see everything.
1269
00:49:38,381 --> 00:49:40,216
If we were bank investigators,
1270
00:49:40,251 --> 00:49:42,548
it'd be like following every
bill that has left a bank
1271
00:49:42,583 --> 00:49:43,747
and gone around the world.
1272
00:49:43,782 --> 00:49:45,584
We've got really good tools.
1273
00:49:45,619 --> 00:49:47,520
We've got a great relationship
with law enforcement.
1274
00:49:47,555 --> 00:49:49,423
Our primary goal is we wanna be
able to protect our customers.
1275
00:49:50,195 --> 00:49:52,228
My dad was an air force officer,
we moved around a lot
1276
00:49:52,263 --> 00:49:54,527
and I was always kind
of the new kid in class
1277
00:49:54,562 --> 00:49:57,068
and, um, I was bullied
a little bit in school.
1278
00:49:57,565 --> 00:49:59,433
After I became bigger
than most bullies,
1279
00:49:59,468 --> 00:50:01,105
then I was able to kind of help
1280
00:50:01,140 --> 00:50:02,634
some of the other kids
that were being bullied.
1281
00:50:02,669 --> 00:50:04,339
It gave me some
compassion for people
1282
00:50:04,374 --> 00:50:06,143
who have been victimized online.
1283
00:50:06,178 --> 00:50:08,145
It's our job to gain their trust
1284
00:50:08,180 --> 00:50:09,839
and know that
we're doing the right thing
1285
00:50:09,874 --> 00:50:11,148
with this technology.
1286
00:50:11,183 --> 00:50:12,644
[indistinct chatter]
1287
00:50:12,679 --> 00:50:16,186
[Philip] We are responsible
for safeguarding
1288
00:50:16,221 --> 00:50:18,122
the financial well-being
of, at this point,
1289
00:50:18,157 --> 00:50:19,783
30 million people
around the world.
1290
00:50:19,818 --> 00:50:22,522
You can think about
cybersecurity as chess.
1291
00:50:22,557 --> 00:50:24,227
You made a great opening move.
1292
00:50:24,262 --> 00:50:26,460
The attacker made their move,
but what's next?
1293
00:50:26,495 --> 00:50:27,791
How far ahead are you thinking?
1294
00:50:27,826 --> 00:50:29,760
Getting security right
1295
00:50:29,795 --> 00:50:32,796
is foundationally critical for
the future of cryptocurrency.
1296
00:50:32,831 --> 00:50:35,337
I think it's natural
that it takes a while
1297
00:50:35,372 --> 00:50:39,176
for there to be infrastructure
and an ecosystem of tools
1298
00:50:39,211 --> 00:50:41,871
built up around
a foundation of new technology.
1299
00:50:41,906 --> 00:50:43,675
When electricity was invented,
1300
00:50:43,710 --> 00:50:47,184
it took a long time
from the original spark
1301
00:50:47,219 --> 00:50:50,220
until we lived
in an electrified world.
1302
00:50:51,223 --> 00:50:52,783
I think we're just going
through a similar
1303
00:50:52,818 --> 00:50:54,851
arc of development
with cryptocurrency.
1304
00:50:54,886 --> 00:50:57,854
The most important technologies
in our lives today
1305
00:50:58,527 --> 00:51:00,659
are the ones that we don't
see or think about.
1306
00:51:01,398 --> 00:51:02,694
We don't think about
1307
00:51:02,729 --> 00:51:04,663
the electrical system
unless it's off.
1308
00:51:05,666 --> 00:51:08,304
We don't think about the very
complicated system that we have
1309
00:51:08,339 --> 00:51:10,174
of bringing running water
into our homes
1310
00:51:10,209 --> 00:51:11,736
unless something happens to it.
1311
00:51:11,771 --> 00:51:14,673
And crypto, I think,
is headed in that direction
1312
00:51:15,247 --> 00:51:18,545
where yes, it will become
embedded in essential
1313
00:51:18,580 --> 00:51:22,186
component of
the infrastructure as essential
1314
00:51:22,221 --> 00:51:25,156
as water or plumbing, sewage,
1315
00:51:25,191 --> 00:51:26,520
electricity.
1316
00:51:26,555 --> 00:51:29,226
[birds chirping]
1317
00:51:32,660 --> 00:51:34,561
[anchor]
A shelter in place order
1318
00:51:34,596 --> 00:51:37,234
for some seven million people
in the city by the bay.
1319
00:51:37,269 --> 00:51:39,368
They are expected to stay home,
all in hopes, of course,
1320
00:51:39,403 --> 00:51:41,403
of stopping the spread
of COVID-19.
1321
00:51:46,641 --> 00:51:49,312
Everybody is working as hard
or harder than they have,
1322
00:51:49,347 --> 00:51:51,281
and in the face of this change,
1323
00:51:51,316 --> 00:51:53,217
feels less productive
than they have.
1324
00:51:53,615 --> 00:51:55,681
This may be just me
out of touch or something,
1325
00:51:55,716 --> 00:51:57,287
like, I mean, I don't have kids.
1326
00:51:57,322 --> 00:51:58,519
So, let's put that
aside for a minute,
1327
00:51:58,554 --> 00:51:59,817
people with kids at home.
1328
00:52:00,457 --> 00:52:03,227
I mean, I feel like I'm just
as productive at home
1329
00:52:03,262 --> 00:52:05,328
in-- in the last week, is...
1330
00:52:06,331 --> 00:52:08,232
What-- I mean--
1331
00:52:08,267 --> 00:52:10,432
But maybe I just-- I don't--
I just deal with stress well.
1332
00:52:10,467 --> 00:52:11,895
Like, I-- these things
don't really faze me.
1333
00:52:11,930 --> 00:52:13,897
So, what's the deal?
What am I missing here?
1334
00:52:13,932 --> 00:52:15,899
Someone was, like,
literally in an alley today
1335
00:52:15,934 --> 00:52:19,342
because their partner
needed their one living room
1336
00:52:19,377 --> 00:52:21,608
for the call and they
don't have a bedroom.
1337
00:52:21,643 --> 00:52:23,940
I think it's also about
the, like, emotional burden
1338
00:52:23,975 --> 00:52:25,513
that people
have adjusting to, like,
1339
00:52:25,548 --> 00:52:27,218
what's going on in the world.
1340
00:52:27,253 --> 00:52:28,582
I mean, Brian, the way
I would think about it,
1341
00:52:28,617 --> 00:52:30,221
if I can just be really
candid is,
1342
00:52:30,256 --> 00:52:31,321
I suspect you have
the single best setup
1343
00:52:31,356 --> 00:52:32,388
in the whole company, right?
1344
00:52:32,423 --> 00:52:33,983
Like, you're a single guy,
1345
00:52:34,018 --> 00:52:36,392
you have a high speed thing,
you're well-prepared.
1346
00:52:36,427 --> 00:52:37,690
There's nobody in the room.
1347
00:52:38,429 --> 00:52:40,561
Like, I-- I-- I have
a good setup. I'm good.
1348
00:52:40,596 --> 00:52:42,497
But, like, I think we need
to think of ourselves
1349
00:52:42,532 --> 00:52:44,895
as in the vast minority and
that everybody else is facing
1350
00:52:44,930 --> 00:52:46,534
a greater tax than we are.
1351
00:52:46,569 --> 00:52:47,931
Yeah, totally fair.
1352
00:52:49,704 --> 00:52:50,967
Once the COVID stuff is over,
1353
00:52:51,002 --> 00:52:52,606
some percentage of the company
1354
00:52:52,641 --> 00:52:54,311
is going to want to come
back to the offices.
1355
00:52:54,346 --> 00:52:56,742
Other people seem to be
more productive at home,
1356
00:52:56,777 --> 00:52:59,514
so we'll have to see
what employees want to do
1357
00:52:59,549 --> 00:53:01,219
and where they
feel most productive.
1358
00:53:02,849 --> 00:53:04,783
[anchor 1] The virus
is continuing to spread.
1359
00:53:04,818 --> 00:53:06,422
[anchor 2]
Growing fears the virus
1360
00:53:06,457 --> 00:53:08,391
could tip economies
into recession.
1361
00:53:08,426 --> 00:53:12,296
6.6 million people filed for
unemployment over the last week.
1362
00:53:12,331 --> 00:53:14,331
[anchor 3]
And the question now is
1363
00:53:14,366 --> 00:53:16,663
when are the jobs
going to come back?
1364
00:53:17,732 --> 00:53:20,271
[Michael] March of 2020,
1365
00:53:20,306 --> 00:53:23,703
much to my horror, I was
watching the entire economy
1366
00:53:23,738 --> 00:53:28,906
shut down while Wall Street had
the biggest rally in a decade.
1367
00:53:28,941 --> 00:53:30,776
[bell ringing]
1368
00:53:30,811 --> 00:53:33,878
The monetary response
of the central banks
1369
00:53:33,913 --> 00:53:35,748
was to expand the money supply
1370
00:53:35,783 --> 00:53:37,750
and take the interest rates
to zero.
1371
00:53:37,785 --> 00:53:40,819
The result of this was a quick
1372
00:53:40,854 --> 00:53:43,690
V-shaped recovery
on Wall Street.
1373
00:53:43,725 --> 00:53:46,858
While we had a L-shaped
recovery on Main Street.
1374
00:53:47,828 --> 00:53:50,631
You know, if you had
a billion dollars invested in
1375
00:53:50,666 --> 00:53:52,435
Wall Street assets,
1376
00:53:52,470 --> 00:53:55,504
you were going to make
25% this year doing nothing.
1377
00:53:55,539 --> 00:53:58,573
And if you worked 25%
harder on Main Street,
1378
00:53:58,608 --> 00:54:00,476
you were going to get nothing.
1379
00:54:00,511 --> 00:54:03,347
And it struck me that
money was broken, right?
1380
00:54:03,382 --> 00:54:04,546
The economy was broken.
1381
00:54:05,450 --> 00:54:07,417
The problem
that everybody faces,
1382
00:54:07,452 --> 00:54:09,320
every company, every individual,
1383
00:54:09,355 --> 00:54:14,919
is, "How do I store my money
without having it dwindle away?"
1384
00:54:15,625 --> 00:54:17,328
So, what is this Bitcoin thing?
1385
00:54:17,825 --> 00:54:19,957
Went down that rabbit hole,
I started researching
1386
00:54:19,992 --> 00:54:23,367
and I came to conclusion
that Bitcoin represents
1387
00:54:23,402 --> 00:54:26,062
an instrument of economic
empowerment.
1388
00:54:26,097 --> 00:54:29,901
It becomes a solution to
billions of people's problems.
1389
00:54:30,475 --> 00:54:34,642
It becomes a solution to
100 million companies' problems,
1390
00:54:34,677 --> 00:54:36,039
and it becomes a solution
1391
00:54:36,074 --> 00:54:39,042
to every investor
store of value dilemma.
1392
00:54:39,077 --> 00:54:42,078
[anchor 1] Michael Saylor
says Bitcoin is the safe bet
1393
00:54:42,113 --> 00:54:44,520
after moving his
firm's cash to crypto.
1394
00:54:44,555 --> 00:54:46,390
[anchor 2]
His company, MicroStrategy,
1395
00:54:46,425 --> 00:54:48,084
has bought more than
a billion dollars' worth.
1396
00:54:48,119 --> 00:54:52,693
What's critical for the human
race is to keep upgrading
1397
00:54:52,728 --> 00:54:54,431
its technology,
1398
00:54:54,466 --> 00:54:58,567
and, uh, Bitcoin represents
a material upgrade
1399
00:54:58,602 --> 00:55:00,998
to monetary technology.
1400
00:55:01,671 --> 00:55:03,737
[birds chirping]
1401
00:55:07,479 --> 00:55:08,907
[sighs]
1402
00:55:09,646 --> 00:55:12,515
[Brian] Technology is the
highest leverage way that I know
1403
00:55:12,550 --> 00:55:14,418
to have an impact on the world.
1404
00:55:14,453 --> 00:55:15,848
Other people, they'll tell me,
1405
00:55:15,883 --> 00:55:17,652
"You know, I really
like mentoring kids
1406
00:55:17,687 --> 00:55:19,148
because they're going
to have a much bigger impact
1407
00:55:19,183 --> 00:55:21,051
than some app."
I get that.
1408
00:55:21,086 --> 00:55:23,856
But for my skill set or my mind,
the way it works, I'm like,
1409
00:55:23,891 --> 00:55:25,462
"I want to go for scale."
1410
00:55:26,498 --> 00:55:28,025
[Alesia] We still have lots
of hoops to jump through
1411
00:55:28,060 --> 00:55:29,829
with the FCC to make this work,
1412
00:55:29,864 --> 00:55:31,501
but everyone
is working basically
1413
00:55:31,536 --> 00:55:33,437
from 8:00 a.m. 'til
midnight daily.
1414
00:55:33,472 --> 00:55:35,835
Yeah, maybe we should just shut
down the company for a week,
1415
00:55:35,870 --> 00:55:37,936
make everybody go
take time off or something.
1416
00:55:37,971 --> 00:55:39,608
[Alesia] Whenever you're
trying to go public,
1417
00:55:39,643 --> 00:55:41,104
it's always a lot of work.
1418
00:55:41,139 --> 00:55:42,809
[Brian] Fall Fruits is our
internal code name
1419
00:55:42,844 --> 00:55:44,778
for our process to go public.
1420
00:55:44,813 --> 00:55:46,450
We're having a
lot of discussions
1421
00:55:46,485 --> 00:55:48,144
about all the mechanics
of how it all works.
1422
00:55:48,179 --> 00:55:49,816
It's like drinking
from the fire hose
1423
00:55:49,851 --> 00:55:52,621
and trying to not make
any major mistakes.
1424
00:55:52,656 --> 00:55:54,117
So, my initial thought was like,
1425
00:55:54,152 --> 00:55:55,789
"Okay, maybe Coinbase
should just go public
1426
00:55:55,824 --> 00:55:58,792
in a crypto native way
and issue a crypto token
1427
00:55:58,827 --> 00:56:00,959
that is a security token,
meaning it represents
1428
00:56:00,994 --> 00:56:04,094
a share in Coinbase," and list
our token on our own exchange.
1429
00:56:04,129 --> 00:56:06,129
That's kind of where
the future is going.
1430
00:56:06,164 --> 00:56:08,703
[Emilie] Someday it'll all go
through a computer, Brian.
1431
00:56:08,738 --> 00:56:11,871
It's like-- it's on its way
to-- to your utopia.
1432
00:56:11,906 --> 00:56:13,004
But it's not there yet.
1433
00:56:13,039 --> 00:56:15,611
[chuckles] Okay, I guess. Yeah.
1434
00:56:16,515 --> 00:56:18,207
So, now we're becoming
a public company.
1435
00:56:18,242 --> 00:56:21,111
Do we wanna do a direct listing
versus a traditional IPO?
1436
00:56:21,146 --> 00:56:24,653
I think the arguments for-- for
direct listing better align
1437
00:56:24,688 --> 00:56:28,591
with the internal-external
reputation we want to have.
1438
00:56:28,626 --> 00:56:30,186
You know, in-- in the direct
listing, you're saying
1439
00:56:30,221 --> 00:56:31,825
we're going to let
the market set the price.
1440
00:56:31,860 --> 00:56:33,728
We don't know what the price is.
1441
00:56:33,763 --> 00:56:36,500
Goldman doesn't know that--
these investors don't know.
1442
00:56:36,535 --> 00:56:37,996
Let's let the market
set the price.
1443
00:56:38,031 --> 00:56:40,669
Anybody who
wants to buy can buy. Um...
1444
00:56:41,738 --> 00:56:44,068
Direct listing feels more,
quote-unquote, fair to me.
1445
00:56:46,941 --> 00:56:48,677
One of the things
a lot of entrepreneurs
1446
00:56:48,712 --> 00:56:50,481
try to figure out is like,
"Do I even want to be
1447
00:56:50,516 --> 00:56:51,680
a public company's CEO?"
1448
00:56:52,749 --> 00:56:54,914
Because there comes with
its own set of challenges,
1449
00:56:56,247 --> 00:56:58,148
but I think it comes
with a lot of positives.
1450
00:56:58,183 --> 00:57:00,458
It's a way to have big impact.
1451
00:57:01,186 --> 00:57:02,691
I have a very specific
vision in mind
1452
00:57:02,726 --> 00:57:04,594
about what I want us
to accomplish.
1453
00:57:04,629 --> 00:57:06,189
A lot of it comes
to economic freedom.
1454
00:57:06,224 --> 00:57:08,125
That's what the mission
of Coinbase is about.
1455
00:57:13,869 --> 00:57:15,539
[birds chirping]
1456
00:57:16,806 --> 00:57:19,004
It was a painful night
in Minneapolis
1457
00:57:19,039 --> 00:57:22,810
and a day of difficult questions
about the death of George Floyd.
1458
00:57:24,946 --> 00:57:27,078
[anchor] According to new
reports in a company town hall
1459
00:57:27,113 --> 00:57:28,552
an employee
asked Brian Armstrong
1460
00:57:28,587 --> 00:57:30,015
a question about
Black Lives Matter
1461
00:57:30,050 --> 00:57:31,555
and whether he supports
that movement,
1462
00:57:31,590 --> 00:57:33,524
and he declined
to answer that question.
1463
00:57:33,559 --> 00:57:36,186
And there was actually a small
employee walkout as a result.
1464
00:57:36,221 --> 00:57:39,024
Part of the leadership EQ
is knowing that there's certain
1465
00:57:39,059 --> 00:57:41,125
events that basically
you have to say something.
1466
00:57:41,160 --> 00:57:43,292
There are people who
are really affected by this
1467
00:57:43,327 --> 00:57:45,261
and they're reading
into your actions.
1468
00:57:45,296 --> 00:57:47,098
I'm kind of like a believer
1469
00:57:47,133 --> 00:57:48,968
in Black Lives Matter,
the movement, right?
1470
00:57:49,003 --> 00:57:50,871
But I don't-- I don't want
employees to have an expectation
1471
00:57:50,906 --> 00:57:52,169
that a company
should be a mouthpiece
1472
00:57:52,204 --> 00:57:54,039
for their own personal views.
1473
00:57:54,074 --> 00:57:56,008
So, it was our Q3 All Hands
1474
00:57:56,043 --> 00:57:58,615
where we're going over
what's been going on.
1475
00:57:58,650 --> 00:58:00,848
And I think Brian
was, like, pretty emotional
1476
00:58:00,883 --> 00:58:02,586
while presenting it, too.
1477
00:58:02,621 --> 00:58:04,049
When I look back on
the walkout that happened,
1478
00:58:04,689 --> 00:58:07,657
I know a lot of you were
disappointed in me as a leader
1479
00:58:07,692 --> 00:58:10,957
um, in terms of my lack of
response in that moment or,
1480
00:58:10,992 --> 00:58:14,290
um, you know, just not leading
in the way that you wanted.
1481
00:58:14,325 --> 00:58:16,226
And I get that and, um, you know
1482
00:58:16,261 --> 00:58:17,898
I'm not going to get
everything perfect.
1483
00:58:17,933 --> 00:58:19,636
The mission is what
we all came here to do,
1484
00:58:19,671 --> 00:58:21,231
it's kind of the thing
that unites us.
1485
00:58:21,266 --> 00:58:23,574
You know, it wouldn't be fair
to kind of jump into
1486
00:58:23,609 --> 00:58:26,038
another topic or another,
um, cause in the world
1487
00:58:26,073 --> 00:58:27,974
that we didn't
all come here to join.
1488
00:58:28,009 --> 00:58:29,877
I feel passionate that I want
the workplace to be a refuge
1489
00:58:29,912 --> 00:58:31,846
from the division
that's out there in the world.
1490
00:58:31,881 --> 00:58:34,079
Some feel like, um, you know,
you have red and blue states.
1491
00:58:34,114 --> 00:58:35,982
There need to be
red and blue companies
1492
00:58:36,017 --> 00:58:38,017
or something like that and I
reject the extreme positions
1493
00:58:38,052 --> 00:58:39,854
on-- on either side there.
1494
00:58:39,889 --> 00:58:41,317
I feel like there's an
opportunity to create a place
1495
00:58:41,352 --> 00:58:43,088
that's welcoming for all people.
1496
00:58:43,123 --> 00:58:45,057
[anchor] Brian Armstrong
wants his employees to know
1497
00:58:45,092 --> 00:58:47,290
that they are in
the cryptocurrency business,
1498
00:58:47,325 --> 00:58:49,633
not the business
of social activism.
1499
00:58:49,668 --> 00:58:52,262
Armstrong says Coinbase,
quote, "Won't debate causes
1500
00:58:52,297 --> 00:58:54,099
or political
candidates internally
1501
00:58:54,134 --> 00:58:57,036
and will not engage in things
unrelated to their core
1502
00:58:57,071 --> 00:59:00,105
mission," offering about four
to six months of severance
1503
00:59:00,140 --> 00:59:03,174
if they decide to quit
because of that new policy.
1504
00:59:03,209 --> 00:59:05,715
So, when Brian made that
statement, I was like,
1505
00:59:05,750 --> 00:59:07,211
"Oh, he's going to get
crushed for this."
1506
00:59:09,688 --> 00:59:11,853
[Cleve] Brian Armstrong
essentially said,
1507
00:59:11,888 --> 00:59:13,624
"You either shut up or get out."
1508
00:59:13,659 --> 00:59:16,220
That notion is actually
anti-Bitcoin, right?
1509
00:59:16,255 --> 00:59:18,321
We talked about the
democratization
1510
00:59:18,356 --> 00:59:21,390
of Bitcoin, right?
It wasn't intended to create
1511
00:59:21,425 --> 00:59:23,733
a space where
we censor people.
1512
00:59:25,330 --> 00:59:27,099
[man] Brian Armstrong's
memo basically said,
1513
00:59:27,134 --> 00:59:28,672
"We want to be mission-driven."
1514
00:59:29,169 --> 00:59:31,235
Clearly, the company is
having an internal crisis.
1515
00:59:31,270 --> 00:59:34,205
People are still really
connecting this back to BLM.
1516
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:36,141
It has nothing to do
with BLM specifically.
1517
00:59:36,176 --> 00:59:37,978
It's about an alignment
in our culture
1518
00:59:38,013 --> 00:59:39,782
about where we're going
to spend our time and energy.
1519
00:59:39,817 --> 00:59:41,179
What they are
really caring about
1520
00:59:41,214 --> 00:59:42,884
and they want to know is that
1521
00:59:42,919 --> 00:59:45,051
does the exec team
care about them as humans?
1522
00:59:45,086 --> 00:59:48,087
And we specifically expect
this empathy from Brian.
1523
00:59:48,122 --> 00:59:49,759
I mean, hopefully
we all do that with the--
1524
00:59:49,794 --> 00:59:51,156
with the people
on our team doing--
1525
00:59:51,191 --> 00:59:52,960
just checking--
how are you doing, right?
1526
00:59:52,995 --> 00:59:54,390
That's what it means
to, like, care about somebody.
1527
00:59:54,425 --> 00:59:56,062
There's a part of me,
when I hear that,
1528
00:59:56,097 --> 00:59:57,668
I'm like, "That's not really
what was happening here.
1529
00:59:57,703 --> 00:59:59,098
It's not just that."
1530
00:59:59,133 --> 01:00:01,166
People pin this on the spot
about whether we were
1531
01:00:01,201 --> 01:00:02,871
going to make
an external commitment
1532
01:00:02,906 --> 01:00:04,400
to this political movement.
1533
01:00:05,909 --> 01:00:08,305
[Cleve] Leadership is hard,
and I think for Brian,
1534
01:00:08,340 --> 01:00:12,144
an innovator who wants
to build, wants to focus,
1535
01:00:12,179 --> 01:00:15,114
but also, leaders
have to create spaces
1536
01:00:15,149 --> 01:00:16,852
for people to talk about things
1537
01:00:16,887 --> 01:00:19,019
that happened
outside of the company.
1538
01:00:19,054 --> 01:00:20,856
So, you have to have
all of these considerations
1539
01:00:20,891 --> 01:00:23,727
that have nothing to do
with the business,
1540
01:00:23,762 --> 01:00:27,093
but it's about the welfare
of your workforce.
1541
01:00:27,128 --> 01:00:32,032
I do believe that people deserve
to have their voice heard
1542
01:00:32,463 --> 01:00:35,365
and I would never make
that decision that Brian did.
1543
01:00:35,400 --> 01:00:37,367
But my company,
we're small shop.
1544
01:00:37,402 --> 01:00:39,710
When there's 15 people
in a room
1545
01:00:39,745 --> 01:00:43,175
and few of us disagree,
compared to 500, it's different.
1546
01:00:43,210 --> 01:00:44,781
But I understand why he did it
1547
01:00:44,816 --> 01:00:47,850
because there are
too many variables,
1548
01:00:47,885 --> 01:00:50,820
like, in the world to-- to think
1549
01:00:50,855 --> 01:00:52,448
that you're going
to be able to have
1550
01:00:52,483 --> 01:00:55,022
that kind of open dialogue
in an office setting.
1551
01:00:55,057 --> 01:00:57,761
And things are going to be--
No, it's chaos, war.
1552
01:00:57,796 --> 01:01:00,093
It's going to be Twitter
in your office.
1553
01:01:00,128 --> 01:01:04,031
When I was leaving,
I do think I felt some
1554
01:01:04,902 --> 01:01:10,741
anger that his position is
what made me want to leave.
1555
01:01:10,776 --> 01:01:14,140
But he did what he needed
to shape his company
1556
01:01:14,175 --> 01:01:16,043
the way he saw best fit.
1557
01:01:16,078 --> 01:01:18,815
[anchor] You said that companies
shouldn't get involved
1558
01:01:18,850 --> 01:01:20,751
in these issues,
can you explain?
1559
01:01:20,786 --> 01:01:23,149
You know, I think every company
should really pick something big
1560
01:01:23,184 --> 01:01:24,920
that they want to try
to solve in the world.
1561
01:01:24,955 --> 01:01:26,416
And for us,
that's economic freedom.
1562
01:01:26,451 --> 01:01:28,088
And it's important
to have everybody aligned
1563
01:01:28,123 --> 01:01:30,354
and rowing
in the same direction, um,
1564
01:01:30,389 --> 01:01:33,489
to really go tackle something
that big and ambitious.
1565
01:01:39,497 --> 01:01:41,332
I think if I were going
to do it again today,
1566
01:01:41,367 --> 01:01:42,872
I probably
would have acted sooner
1567
01:01:42,907 --> 01:01:44,500
and I would have made it
even more clear.
1568
01:01:47,241 --> 01:01:49,109
Part of the reason
it got to the place it did
1569
01:01:49,144 --> 01:01:51,441
was that I just--
I noticed that it was an issue,
1570
01:01:51,476 --> 01:01:53,179
but I kept trying to sweep
it under the rug
1571
01:01:53,214 --> 01:01:54,884
because I didn't have
the words to really
1572
01:01:54,919 --> 01:01:56,446
deal with it or the experience.
1573
01:01:57,218 --> 01:01:58,987
Really kind
of unfortunate thing.
1574
01:01:59,022 --> 01:02:00,923
It was really stressful, uh,
for everybody involved,
1575
01:02:00,958 --> 01:02:03,057
but it was actually the-- one
of the most important things
1576
01:02:03,092 --> 01:02:04,960
we did to get
clarity as a company,
1577
01:02:04,995 --> 01:02:07,930
to all be aligned in moving
towards the mission again.
1578
01:02:07,965 --> 01:02:10,966
[pensive music]
1579
01:02:17,502 --> 01:02:20,239
[Elizabeth Warren] So, the
cryptocurrency boosters argue
1580
01:02:20,274 --> 01:02:24,045
that crypto is the yellow
brick road to a faster,
1581
01:02:24,080 --> 01:02:28,214
cheaper and safer financial
system that works for everyone,
1582
01:02:28,249 --> 01:02:30,183
not just for the biggest banks.
1583
01:02:30,218 --> 01:02:34,253
There is no question that our
financial system needs change,
1584
01:02:34,288 --> 01:02:37,256
but I'm not convinced
that crypto is the solution.
1585
01:02:38,996 --> 01:02:41,029
Instead of leaving
our financial system
1586
01:02:41,064 --> 01:02:42,866
at the whims of giant banks,
1587
01:02:42,901 --> 01:02:47,464
crypto puts the system
at the whims of some shadowy,
1588
01:02:47,499 --> 01:02:50,599
faceless group of super coders.
1589
01:02:50,634 --> 01:02:53,107
Which doesn't sound better.
1590
01:02:54,506 --> 01:02:57,441
[Brian] I'm meeting with as many
people from the Treasury
1591
01:02:57,476 --> 01:03:01,115
and senators
and executive branch that I can
1592
01:03:01,150 --> 01:03:03,854
to establish relationships
and try to be helpful
1593
01:03:03,889 --> 01:03:05,449
as people try to wrap
their head around crypto
1594
01:03:05,484 --> 01:03:07,319
and what this industry
is going to be.
1595
01:03:07,354 --> 01:03:09,090
I'm just picking up, Katie,
by the way, at the hotel.
1596
01:03:09,125 --> 01:03:10,960
Eventually, hopefully,
this can turn into
1597
01:03:10,995 --> 01:03:12,291
a clear regulatory framework
for the industry.
1598
01:03:12,326 --> 01:03:14,931
-Hey.
-Although he was always wanting
1599
01:03:14,966 --> 01:03:16,427
to play by the rules
and all the company
1600
01:03:16,462 --> 01:03:18,264
that abides by them,
Brian himself
1601
01:03:18,299 --> 01:03:21,036
never had any interest
in going to DC meetings.
1602
01:03:21,071 --> 01:03:23,874
I think that's one of the signs
that Brian's really matured
1603
01:03:23,909 --> 01:03:26,877
into being a CEO, is he knows
this is his responsibility.
1604
01:03:26,912 --> 01:03:28,571
Fred and I were co-founders.
1605
01:03:28,606 --> 01:03:31,541
He-- he was always the one who'd
be, like, tromping around DC
1606
01:03:31,576 --> 01:03:33,917
and, like, doing all these--
you know, meet with DFS
1607
01:03:33,952 --> 01:03:36,249
and I could just focus
on product every day.
1608
01:03:36,284 --> 01:03:38,515
[Ron] Crypto is
a brand new industry
1609
01:03:38,550 --> 01:03:41,551
and therefore, it is undefined.
1610
01:03:41,586 --> 01:03:45,390
We have to go educate the
government about what crypto is
1611
01:03:45,425 --> 01:03:47,931
and what the advantages are.
1612
01:03:47,966 --> 01:03:49,625
With innovation,
1613
01:03:49,660 --> 01:03:53,167
we're always going to come
against entrenched interests.
1614
01:03:53,202 --> 01:03:56,401
35 years ago,
when I started practising
1615
01:03:56,436 --> 01:03:58,007
shoe leather politics,
1616
01:03:58,042 --> 01:04:00,042
I was working for
National Semiconductor.
1617
01:04:00,077 --> 01:04:02,407
[narrator] Maybe someday
all watches will be made
1618
01:04:02,442 --> 01:04:04,640
like the Seiko Digital
Alarm Chronograph.
1619
01:04:04,675 --> 01:04:08,017
[Ron] Up until then,
all watches were mechanical.
1620
01:04:08,052 --> 01:04:09,953
The old watch industry
1621
01:04:10,648 --> 01:04:12,021
passed a law
1622
01:04:13,288 --> 01:04:15,453
forbidding any watch
in the United States
1623
01:04:15,488 --> 01:04:17,191
-that had a chip in it.
-[Brian] Same old story.
1624
01:04:17,226 --> 01:04:20,029
We had to repeal that.
We repealed that law.
1625
01:04:21,098 --> 01:04:23,263
[Ron] Being the CEO and founder
1626
01:04:23,298 --> 01:04:26,167
of the biggest company
in the industry,
1627
01:04:26,202 --> 01:04:28,466
Brian has that responsibility.
1628
01:04:29,271 --> 01:04:30,567
I was nervous that maybe
1629
01:04:30,602 --> 01:04:32,503
he wouldn't put on
a coat and tie.
1630
01:04:32,538 --> 01:04:35,407
In DC, it's about respect.
1631
01:04:35,442 --> 01:04:36,980
If you wear a turtleneck,
1632
01:04:37,015 --> 01:04:38,377
they're still
going to talk to you,
1633
01:04:38,412 --> 01:04:40,610
but it's going to
get them off focus.
1634
01:04:40,645 --> 01:04:43,448
They're going to be thinking
about the turtleneck.
1635
01:04:43,483 --> 01:04:47,089
Let's keep them on focus and
we can get right down to work.
1636
01:04:47,124 --> 01:04:51,126
We've all seen this movie
before. Just like the Internet,
1637
01:04:51,161 --> 01:04:53,524
we believe
that the crypto industry
1638
01:04:53,559 --> 01:04:56,461
is going to create
millions of jobs
1639
01:04:56,496 --> 01:05:00,069
if we can get
regulatory clarification.
1640
01:05:00,104 --> 01:05:02,731
One of the biggest
hindrance on this space
1641
01:05:02,766 --> 01:05:06,570
has been lack
of regulatory clarity.
1642
01:05:06,605 --> 01:05:09,177
[Brooks] The government
has a number of problems
1643
01:05:09,212 --> 01:05:10,640
in providing clarity for crypto.
1644
01:05:10,675 --> 01:05:12,708
The American financial
regulatory system
1645
01:05:12,743 --> 01:05:14,545
is insanely fragmented.
1646
01:05:14,580 --> 01:05:16,349
[aide] How's it going? Good.
1647
01:05:16,384 --> 01:05:18,087
The senator's just wrapping
up his prior meetings.
1648
01:05:18,122 --> 01:05:19,715
[Brooks] You've got The OCC,
you have the FDIC,
1649
01:05:19,750 --> 01:05:21,321
the Federal Reserve Board,
1650
01:05:21,356 --> 01:05:22,993
the Securities and
Exchange Commission,
1651
01:05:23,028 --> 01:05:24,423
the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission,
1652
01:05:24,458 --> 01:05:26,590
the Treasury Department, FinCEN.
It's crazy.
1653
01:05:26,625 --> 01:05:29,197
[Peter] And then there's also
the state law issues.
1654
01:05:29,232 --> 01:05:31,562
And so, that multiplies
your problems
1655
01:05:31,597 --> 01:05:34,103
by 53 states and territories
who all have
1656
01:05:34,138 --> 01:05:35,764
to have some base of education
1657
01:05:35,799 --> 01:05:37,502
in order to figure out
how to apply their laws.
1658
01:05:37,537 --> 01:05:40,472
And they are going
to treat this thing
1659
01:05:40,507 --> 01:05:43,112
with respect to their
specific policy concerns.
1660
01:05:43,147 --> 01:05:45,642
[Ron] The next meeting,
i-- is Pelosi's office.
1661
01:05:45,677 --> 01:05:48,381
Since we're in the Capital,
I'm going to tell her,
1662
01:05:48,416 --> 01:05:51,285
"Hey, just have somebody walk
us over at Schumer's office."
1663
01:05:51,320 --> 01:05:52,616
[Brian] There might be some
1664
01:05:52,651 --> 01:05:54,288
anarchist type folks
that are like,
1665
01:05:54,323 --> 01:05:55,652
"Why would you ever meet
with the government?"
1666
01:05:55,687 --> 01:05:57,291
I love freedom
and I want there to be
1667
01:05:57,326 --> 01:05:58,754
an open financial
system for the world.
1668
01:05:58,789 --> 01:06:00,459
I also am a practical
person and I realize
1669
01:06:00,494 --> 01:06:02,197
we live in a country
that has laws
1670
01:06:02,232 --> 01:06:04,628
and I'm trying to navigate
a path through that.
1671
01:06:04,663 --> 01:06:06,498
We have a lot
of problems in our society
1672
01:06:06,533 --> 01:06:08,038
and the only way
you're gonna fix them
1673
01:06:08,073 --> 01:06:09,435
is if you change things.
1674
01:06:09,470 --> 01:06:11,701
So, changes
is a natural part of life.
1675
01:06:11,736 --> 01:06:14,374
And I think you
have to write your rules
1676
01:06:14,409 --> 01:06:16,178
and enforce your rules
1677
01:06:16,213 --> 01:06:18,741
in a way that recognizes
that change is going to happen.
1678
01:06:18,776 --> 01:06:20,776
We've got to embrace innovation.
1679
01:06:20,811 --> 01:06:22,712
We've got to let
people try things.
1680
01:06:22,747 --> 01:06:24,450
Some things are going to fail
1681
01:06:24,485 --> 01:06:26,122
and some things
are going to work.
1682
01:06:26,157 --> 01:06:28,091
But as long as we think
that it can be done
1683
01:06:28,126 --> 01:06:30,753
in a way that's consistent with
the rules in our marketplace,
1684
01:06:30,788 --> 01:06:33,822
we should let it go forward
and let investors decide.
1685
01:06:33,857 --> 01:06:37,199
Love the idea that a whole
new generation of people
1686
01:06:37,234 --> 01:06:39,267
is thinking about
solutions to problems
1687
01:06:39,302 --> 01:06:41,467
that have really plagued us
for a long time.
1688
01:06:41,502 --> 01:06:43,271
[Brian]
I couldn't really read him.
1689
01:06:43,306 --> 01:06:45,306
Is he just a very calm
and thoughtful and kind man
1690
01:06:45,341 --> 01:06:47,209
or was he disinterested?
I couldn't tell.
1691
01:06:47,244 --> 01:06:48,705
[Katie]
I think very much the former.
1692
01:06:48,740 --> 01:06:50,245
-Really?
-[Katie] Yeah.
1693
01:06:50,280 --> 01:06:52,511
Yeah. He's quite stoic.
1694
01:06:52,546 --> 01:06:55,448
Most of the politicians
we've met are so extroverted
1695
01:06:55,483 --> 01:06:56,845
they're just-- they can't help
1696
01:06:56,880 --> 01:06:58,583
but, like, launch
into all these stories.
1697
01:06:58,618 --> 01:07:01,157
He was just like,
"Hmm, thank you for telling me."
1698
01:07:01,654 --> 01:07:03,555
And he wouldn't say
anything else.
1699
01:07:03,590 --> 01:07:05,161
[Katie] He said he had
an engineering background,
1700
01:07:05,196 --> 01:07:07,262
-didn't he? So, maybe--
-Mm. A pattern.
1701
01:07:07,297 --> 01:07:08,857
-there's something to that.
-Yeah.
1702
01:07:08,892 --> 01:07:11,167
I am here trying to build trust,
1703
01:07:11,202 --> 01:07:13,829
which says a lot to show up
in person and then meet people
1704
01:07:13,864 --> 01:07:16,238
that can't really be replicated
in any other way.
1705
01:07:16,273 --> 01:07:18,306
And hopefully when they meet me,
1706
01:07:18,341 --> 01:07:20,737
they realize I'm trying to do
something good in the world.
1707
01:07:20,772 --> 01:07:22,343
Well, if there's
a bill introduced,
1708
01:07:22,378 --> 01:07:24,147
then they'd have
to go get educated on it.
1709
01:07:24,182 --> 01:07:26,413
Imagine that Electronic
Commerce Act,
1710
01:07:26,448 --> 01:07:27,645
so what if there was
1711
01:07:27,680 --> 01:07:29,185
-a crypto commerce act?
-Yeah.
1712
01:07:29,220 --> 01:07:30,483
I don't know,
I'm just making this up.
1713
01:07:30,518 --> 01:07:32,419
But it's such a nebulous
concept,
1714
01:07:32,454 --> 01:07:34,322
to get all the different parties
to actually work together
1715
01:07:34,357 --> 01:07:36,192
is like pulling teeth.
1716
01:07:36,227 --> 01:07:38,194
[Kenneth] I think the way
to look at it is it's a game
1717
01:07:38,229 --> 01:07:40,163
and the government
makes the rules
1718
01:07:40,198 --> 01:07:42,858
and they can keep changing
the rules until they win.
1719
01:07:42,893 --> 01:07:44,596
And they have to win
1720
01:07:44,631 --> 01:07:48,501
because they have to collect
taxes, fight wars.
1721
01:07:48,536 --> 01:07:53,440
There's no way we're going to
live in some libertarian world
1722
01:07:53,475 --> 01:07:56,542
where there's no government
thanks to cryptocurrency.
1723
01:07:56,577 --> 01:07:57,774
That's just nonsense.
1724
01:07:57,809 --> 01:08:03,681
♪
1725
01:08:03,716 --> 01:08:05,287
[Brian] Crypto is just like
1726
01:08:05,322 --> 01:08:07,289
any new technology,
like the internet.
1727
01:08:07,324 --> 01:08:09,555
Are some bad people
gonna try to use it? Yes.
1728
01:08:09,590 --> 01:08:11,491
But the vast majority of people
in the world are good.
1729
01:08:11,526 --> 01:08:15,462
So, with appropriate controls
and protections and regulations,
1730
01:08:15,497 --> 01:08:17,266
you can mitigate the risk.
1731
01:08:17,301 --> 01:08:19,202
But 99% of people
in the world are good,
1732
01:08:19,237 --> 01:08:20,896
let's-- let's let them
use the new technology.
1733
01:08:20,931 --> 01:08:22,436
That's what propels
the world forward
1734
01:08:22,471 --> 01:08:24,207
and creates jobs
1735
01:08:24,242 --> 01:08:26,374
and improves human quality
of life and everything.
1736
01:08:26,409 --> 01:08:27,936
I don't wear a suit
too often for work.
1737
01:08:27,971 --> 01:08:31,313
But I'm going to DC.
1738
01:08:31,348 --> 01:08:33,216
When in Rome,
I guess, wear the suit.
1739
01:08:33,944 --> 01:08:35,746
Seems to help.
1740
01:08:35,781 --> 01:08:37,880
If you let people keep
the upsides of their success,
1741
01:08:37,915 --> 01:08:41,917
you get economic growth,
which benefits everybody.
1742
01:08:41,952 --> 01:08:43,391
I think it has
all these positive
1743
01:08:43,426 --> 01:08:44,854
downstream effects in society,
1744
01:08:44,889 --> 01:08:46,526
whether that's health metrics
1745
01:08:46,561 --> 01:08:48,528
like infant mortality
or around education
1746
01:08:48,563 --> 01:08:51,201
or how well
the environment is protected
1747
01:08:51,236 --> 01:08:52,862
or the income
of the poorest people.
1748
01:08:53,502 --> 01:08:55,271
Apparently,
it positively correlates
1749
01:08:55,306 --> 01:08:57,966
with, like, happiness
and society and less war.
1750
01:08:58,001 --> 01:08:59,836
So, I think that's what
cryptocurrency
1751
01:08:59,871 --> 01:09:01,244
can actually enable.
1752
01:09:02,610 --> 01:09:03,939
Ready to go.
1753
01:09:03,974 --> 01:09:08,317
[soft electronic music]
1754
01:09:08,352 --> 01:09:11,980
[Ron] We set a realistic
bar for ourselves.
1755
01:09:12,015 --> 01:09:16,325
Anyone who we felt like, yeah,
we had some synergy with,
1756
01:09:16,360 --> 01:09:18,756
that we counted as a huge win.
1757
01:09:18,791 --> 01:09:20,890
Hi, this is Brian Armstrong
from Coinbase.
1758
01:09:20,925 --> 01:09:22,958
I got a note that, uh,
1759
01:09:22,993 --> 01:09:24,960
Senator Schumer wanted
to connect real quick.
1760
01:09:24,995 --> 01:09:27,963
[Ron] Because that meant
we can go back to that person
1761
01:09:27,998 --> 01:09:30,405
and continue the conversation.
1762
01:09:30,770 --> 01:09:32,242
Hello, Senator Schumer.
1763
01:09:32,277 --> 01:09:36,708
[indistinct phone chatter]
1764
01:09:36,743 --> 01:09:38,545
Yes, thank you for saying that.
1765
01:09:38,580 --> 01:09:39,975
I really appreciate
the time we had
1766
01:09:40,010 --> 01:09:41,350
and, uh, looking forward
to staying in touch.
1767
01:09:41,385 --> 01:09:42,450
Yeah, that was great.
1768
01:09:43,046 --> 01:09:44,749
Thank you so much.
Have a good day.
1769
01:09:45,917 --> 01:09:46,982
Bye.
1770
01:09:49,558 --> 01:09:50,920
All right.
1771
01:09:50,955 --> 01:09:52,295
[man] He was real chatty,
wasn't he? Yes.
1772
01:09:52,330 --> 01:09:53,725
Well, he's busy.
1773
01:09:53,760 --> 01:09:56,464
But he said he wants
to keep-- keep in touch.
1774
01:09:56,499 --> 01:09:58,961
He wants to make sure I knew
that his door was open, so...
1775
01:09:58,996 --> 01:10:02,503
Whenever you talk to him on the
phone, he just about hangs up.
1776
01:10:03,000 --> 01:10:04,505
That's an efficient meeting.
1777
01:10:04,540 --> 01:10:05,671
I like-- I like
efficient meetings.
1778
01:10:07,444 --> 01:10:09,345
A lot of these people
we're meeting with,
1779
01:10:09,380 --> 01:10:10,874
they're very optimistic and
they're going to get it done.
1780
01:10:10,909 --> 01:10:12,843
But it's-- I mean,
it could take many, many years.
1781
01:10:17,322 --> 01:10:19,784
So, in the meantime,
we just kind of keep building.
1782
01:10:28,993 --> 01:10:30,960
[woman 1 on TV] ... going
bananas over the weekend.
1783
01:10:30,995 --> 01:10:34,667
The cryptocurrency topping
61,000 for the first time ever.
1784
01:10:34,702 --> 01:10:36,570
[woman 2] What an exciting
three days we've had
1785
01:10:36,605 --> 01:10:38,440
for the coin ecosystem.
1786
01:10:38,475 --> 01:10:40,068
[woman 1 on TV] I'm sure.
I'm sure it has been
1787
01:10:40,103 --> 01:10:42,840
for all you Bitcoin followers
and watchers.
1788
01:10:42,875 --> 01:10:46,382
Not long after we invested
in Coinbase, Brian emailed me
1789
01:10:46,417 --> 01:10:47,911
and he said, "Fred doesn't
own enough of this company.
1790
01:10:47,946 --> 01:10:49,913
I want to give him
some of my stock.
1791
01:10:49,948 --> 01:10:52,883
He's brought enormous value
to what we're doing,
1792
01:10:52,918 --> 01:10:54,918
and, you know,
I just really feel like
1793
01:10:54,953 --> 01:10:56,854
he needs to own more
and I'm going to
1794
01:10:56,889 --> 01:10:58,394
give him some of my stock.
1795
01:10:58,429 --> 01:10:59,725
Could you advise me
how to do it?"
1796
01:10:59,760 --> 01:11:01,397
And, you know,
ultimately it happened.
1797
01:11:02,367 --> 01:11:03,927
That never happens.
1798
01:11:03,962 --> 01:11:06,567
Like... [laughs] Never does
somebody come and say,
1799
01:11:06,602 --> 01:11:08,404
"My co-founder
doesn't own enough.
1800
01:11:08,439 --> 01:11:10,703
I'm giving them more."
Like, it's always the opposite.
1801
01:11:10,738 --> 01:11:12,738
"I can't believe how much
I gave my co-founder.
1802
01:11:12,773 --> 01:11:13,838
They're not
carrying their weight.
1803
01:11:13,873 --> 01:11:15,576
I want to get rid of them."
1804
01:11:15,611 --> 01:11:17,776
Fred demonstrated
his value to Brian
1805
01:11:17,811 --> 01:11:19,712
and Brian matched it
with generosity.
1806
01:11:19,747 --> 01:11:23,815
That's a big part
of what binds them together.
1807
01:11:23,850 --> 01:11:25,718
Boom! Head shot.
1808
01:11:25,753 --> 01:11:27,489
Come on, there's lots of
other people in the field.
1809
01:11:27,524 --> 01:11:28,820
-I didn't know there's--
-Shoot other people.
1810
01:11:28,855 --> 01:11:30,690
-[laughs]
-Sure.
1811
01:11:30,725 --> 01:11:32,560
[Brian] We went through
building this company together,
1812
01:11:32,595 --> 01:11:35,431
which was incredibly challenging
and formative experience.
1813
01:11:35,466 --> 01:11:38,126
And it was really critical
to have a true friendship.
1814
01:11:38,161 --> 01:11:41,503
Your girlfriend posted
a picture of a kitten
1815
01:11:41,538 --> 01:11:44,836
that needs fostering and now
my girlfriend wants to adopt it.
1816
01:11:45,806 --> 01:11:46,871
[Brian snickering]
1817
01:11:47,676 --> 01:11:48,741
[Brian] How does this work?
1818
01:11:49,678 --> 01:11:51,513
[Fred] The other way around.
1819
01:11:51,548 --> 01:11:52,681
-[Brian] What do you mean?
-Oth-- Turn it upside down.
1820
01:11:53,517 --> 01:11:55,913
[Fred] There are a number
of reasons why we work together
1821
01:11:55,948 --> 01:11:58,916
really well that also make
for a really great friendship.
1822
01:11:58,951 --> 01:12:01,589
That's something that I really
value and I think transcends
1823
01:12:01,624 --> 01:12:03,558
anything that happens
in the business.
1824
01:12:03,593 --> 01:12:05,120
Switch.
1825
01:12:05,155 --> 01:12:06,990
[Wilson] They built something
amazing together.
1826
01:12:07,025 --> 01:12:10,059
Fred remains on the board.
He's Brian's biggest supporter.
1827
01:12:10,094 --> 01:12:12,831
[Fred] I have a very fun job now
on the board at Coinbase.
1828
01:12:12,866 --> 01:12:16,769
I just get to lob fruit
and rotten vegetables at Brian
1829
01:12:16,804 --> 01:12:20,168
and occasionally pitch in
my crazy crypto futuristic ideas
1830
01:12:20,203 --> 01:12:21,510
for the business.
1831
01:12:22,646 --> 01:12:25,514
I feel extremely privileged to
have been able to build
1832
01:12:25,549 --> 01:12:28,077
something that has gotten as big
as Coinbase has,
1833
01:12:28,112 --> 01:12:32,015
and I'm really excited about
doing that all over again
1834
01:12:32,050 --> 01:12:35,425
with Paradigm,
a crypto investment company
1835
01:12:35,460 --> 01:12:37,427
where we're helping
entrepreneurs
1836
01:12:37,462 --> 01:12:38,791
build the next things
1837
01:12:38,826 --> 01:12:40,430
that are going
to be world-changing.
1838
01:12:40,465 --> 01:12:41,992
So, that's, like,
an $80 million trade.
1839
01:12:42,027 --> 01:12:43,664
You can see, like, it routes on,
like, USDT [indistinct].
1840
01:12:43,699 --> 01:12:45,435
I think eventually
all of finance
1841
01:12:45,470 --> 01:12:47,437
will be built
on top of this technology.
1842
01:12:47,472 --> 01:12:49,769
My sort of hope for Uniswap
is for it to be this
1843
01:12:49,804 --> 01:12:53,509
fared, uh, piece of the
financial infrastructure
1844
01:12:53,544 --> 01:12:56,809
that is powering this more
equitable financial system.
1845
01:12:56,844 --> 01:12:59,207
The word cryptocurrency implies
1846
01:12:59,242 --> 01:13:01,484
that crypto is just
about currency,
1847
01:13:01,519 --> 01:13:04,080
when actually crypto itself
is about much more.
1848
01:13:04,115 --> 01:13:07,523
[Brian] I feel like this is
basically giving people
1849
01:13:07,558 --> 01:13:09,987
Goldman-Sachs-level
trading tools
1850
01:13:10,022 --> 01:13:11,956
in an interface
that anybody can use.
1851
01:13:11,991 --> 01:13:16,499
We're at the early stages of
a digital financial renaissance,
1852
01:13:16,534 --> 01:13:19,128
and I think it's really exciting
to see what this could mean.
1853
01:13:19,163 --> 01:13:21,669
Could we make finance
more inclusive?
1854
01:13:21,704 --> 01:13:24,573
Could we make finance
much more innovative?
1855
01:13:24,608 --> 01:13:26,102
[Hayden] There's definitely
a perception
1856
01:13:26,137 --> 01:13:29,105
of crypto as anarchists.
1857
01:13:29,140 --> 01:13:30,975
When you actually learn
about the community,
1858
01:13:31,010 --> 01:13:33,780
a lot of the people have
very reasonable beliefs
1859
01:13:33,815 --> 01:13:35,485
and they usually
kind of relate to
1860
01:13:35,520 --> 01:13:37,212
you know, wanting
to make a better world.
1861
01:13:37,247 --> 01:13:41,150
As society and civilization
become more complex,
1862
01:13:41,185 --> 01:13:43,218
more and more of
the things that we do,
1863
01:13:43,253 --> 01:13:46,760
do depend on large groups
of people's ability
1864
01:13:46,795 --> 01:13:48,630
to cooperate with each other.
1865
01:13:48,665 --> 01:13:51,028
The social layer
of any technology
1866
01:13:51,063 --> 01:13:53,030
is something that's, uh,
more important today
1867
01:13:53,065 --> 01:13:54,570
than it was 100 years ago.
1868
01:13:54,605 --> 01:13:56,000
Again, it's
definitely going to be
1869
01:13:56,035 --> 01:13:57,903
even more important
50 years in the future.
1870
01:13:57,938 --> 01:13:59,740
If you actually step back
1871
01:13:59,775 --> 01:14:03,612
and look at where we are
in literally, like, history,
1872
01:14:03,647 --> 01:14:06,879
this is a significant,
significant moment.
1873
01:14:06,914 --> 01:14:08,914
If you actually
want to do some shit
1874
01:14:08,949 --> 01:14:12,049
and you're not satisfied with
the way things are currently,
1875
01:14:12,084 --> 01:14:14,018
crypto is offering this promise
1876
01:14:14,053 --> 01:14:17,758
to effect real change for
so many people around the world.
1877
01:14:17,793 --> 01:14:19,892
All of us ultimately
want to change the world.
1878
01:14:19,927 --> 01:14:22,290
We want to create value
in the world, and we all feel
1879
01:14:22,325 --> 01:14:25,161
that this technology
might be the fastest way
1880
01:14:25,966 --> 01:14:28,263
of achieving the vision
that we have for the future.
1881
01:14:34,337 --> 01:14:36,909
[man 1] It's history in
the making at the Nasdaq.
1882
01:14:36,944 --> 01:14:38,713
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
1883
01:14:38,748 --> 01:14:41,815
We have an exciting
morning here at the Nasdaq.
1884
01:14:41,850 --> 01:14:43,685
[man 2] All right. Stand by.
Secondary line.
1885
01:14:43,720 --> 01:14:45,819
[woman] Crypto trading platform,
Coinbase
1886
01:14:45,854 --> 01:14:48,756
finally making its highly
anticipated Wall Street debut.
1887
01:14:48,791 --> 01:14:51,121
All right. The auction
will officially start at 10:10.
1888
01:14:51,156 --> 01:14:53,728
[man 3] As it becomes
the first major crypto business
1889
01:14:53,763 --> 01:14:55,257
to go public
in the United States.
1890
01:14:55,292 --> 01:14:57,633
Eyeshadow, eyeliner
and bells on, ready to go.
1891
01:14:57,668 --> 01:15:00,966
Today is certainly an important
milestone for Coinbase,
1892
01:15:01,001 --> 01:15:03,232
but it's also an
important milestone
1893
01:15:03,267 --> 01:15:04,937
for the crypto industry.
1894
01:15:04,972 --> 01:15:06,334
[telephones ringing]
1895
01:15:06,369 --> 01:15:08,138
If you want to give
it an early look,
1896
01:15:08,173 --> 01:15:09,909
um, and this is gonna-
this'll change
1897
01:15:09,944 --> 01:15:11,977
because, like, a lot of stuff
goes into the book
1898
01:15:12,012 --> 01:15:13,341
right around the time
the auction starts,
1899
01:15:13,376 --> 01:15:15,343
but right now
it's looking for $320.
1900
01:15:15,378 --> 01:15:16,982
[telephone ringing]
1901
01:15:17,017 --> 01:15:18,984
-Hey, Benny.
-I'm just touching base. Uh,
1902
01:15:19,019 --> 01:15:21,283
this is super preliminary,
but it does feel like right
1903
01:15:21,318 --> 01:15:23,087
below three hundreds
is the right zip code.
1904
01:15:23,122 --> 01:15:25,826
Yeah, it's-- I feel very--
I feel very comfortable.
1905
01:15:25,861 --> 01:15:27,795
[man 4] So, there's Jay Heller
that you're seeing right there.
1906
01:15:27,830 --> 01:15:30,666
So, he's actually on the phone
right now with Goldman Sachs,
1907
01:15:30,701 --> 01:15:33,196
and he's really giving them
very detailed information
1908
01:15:33,231 --> 01:15:35,165
where all the buyers
and all the sellers are
1909
01:15:35,200 --> 01:15:37,035
to make sure that we come up
with the right price
1910
01:15:37,070 --> 01:15:39,004
before we open up
the stock for trading.
1911
01:15:39,039 --> 01:15:40,643
[Benny on video]
So, the auction will start
1912
01:15:40,678 --> 01:15:42,711
and the lights will
turn on at 10:10
1913
01:15:42,746 --> 01:15:44,977
and things will change in the
few seconds leading up to that.
1914
01:15:45,012 --> 01:15:48,079
But right now,
the auction clears at $310
1915
01:15:48,114 --> 01:15:49,619
on 1.6 million shares.
1916
01:15:49,654 --> 01:15:51,148
All the buying that we're seeing
1917
01:15:51,183 --> 01:15:52,919
as retail right now
that will change.
1918
01:15:52,954 --> 01:15:54,019
Institutions don't want
to show their hands
1919
01:15:54,054 --> 01:15:55,757
early before the auction starts.
1920
01:15:55,792 --> 01:15:57,286
And the goal here is to--
is to open the stock at
1921
01:15:57,321 --> 01:15:59,222
at the right price
and as stable price as possible.
1922
01:15:59,257 --> 01:16:00,993
Not open it quickly.
1923
01:16:01,028 --> 01:16:02,962
Most important trading event
in-- in Coinbase's life.
1924
01:16:02,997 --> 01:16:04,832
You're going to get it right,
1925
01:16:04,867 --> 01:16:06,801
but I hope you, uh,
all wore comfortable shoes
1926
01:16:06,836 --> 01:16:08,132
because this will take a while.
1927
01:16:08,167 --> 01:16:09,837
Sounds good.
Thanks for the update.
1928
01:16:09,872 --> 01:16:11,707
[Benny] So, I'm gonna
go back to work.
1929
01:16:11,742 --> 01:16:13,104
You should treat everything that
you hear on here as, uh--
1930
01:16:13,139 --> 01:16:14,908
as confidential.
1931
01:16:14,943 --> 01:16:16,811
All right. Coinbase,
first update, demand's
1932
01:16:16,846 --> 01:16:18,780
been building all morning
on the Nasdaq auction.
1933
01:16:18,815 --> 01:16:20,683
The auction
will officially start...
1934
01:16:20,718 --> 01:16:22,685
[Fred] I woke up with
fucking jet fuel in my legs.
1935
01:16:22,720 --> 01:16:25,688
I went for a run this morning.
It just went crushed.
1936
01:16:25,723 --> 01:16:27,052
You're a better man than me,
1937
01:16:27,087 --> 01:16:29,725
getting up that early on--
on today.
1938
01:16:29,760 --> 01:16:31,287
-Going for a run.
-What did you do?
1939
01:16:31,322 --> 01:16:34,059
I-- I just woke up and came to
check in on the--
1940
01:16:34,094 --> 01:16:37,326
the livestream. I-- I'm not that
much of an early riser.
1941
01:16:37,361 --> 01:16:39,163
Hopefully, it all plays out
according to plan.
1942
01:16:41,739 --> 01:16:43,871
-Yep.
-All right.
1943
01:16:43,906 --> 01:16:46,874
Hold on. All right.
Well, I guess I'll, uh--
1944
01:16:46,909 --> 01:16:48,370
-I'll see you on the Interwebs?
-Yep.
1945
01:16:48,405 --> 01:16:50,713
-See you on the livestream.
-All right, bye.
1946
01:16:50,748 --> 01:16:51,813
All righty. Bye.
1947
01:16:52,310 --> 01:16:54,013
All right, the Coinbase
Nasdaq auction
1948
01:16:54,048 --> 01:16:56,279
is going to start
in, uh, two minutes at 10:10...
1949
01:16:56,314 --> 01:16:58,347
There's no more
fun day on the trading floor.
1950
01:16:58,382 --> 01:17:00,690
Everyone gives me a fist bump
and says, "Game day, Benny."
1951
01:17:00,725 --> 01:17:02,054
And it is game day.
1952
01:17:02,089 --> 01:17:03,825
-All right. Here we go.
-[bell rings]
1953
01:17:03,860 --> 01:17:05,420
[man]
There's the opening bell.
1954
01:17:05,455 --> 01:17:07,895
They're doing this countdowns
of, uh, 21 seconds,
1955
01:17:07,930 --> 01:17:11,228
symbolizing the 21 million
bitcoin that can be mined.
1956
01:17:11,263 --> 01:17:13,703
Right now, we're coming up
with what's called
1957
01:17:13,738 --> 01:17:17,740
an indicative price based off
of the supply and the demand.
1958
01:17:17,775 --> 01:17:19,434
A million and a half shares
of retail demand
1959
01:17:19,469 --> 01:17:21,370
came in in the last,
uh-- in the last second
1960
01:17:21,405 --> 01:17:23,075
before the auction started.
1961
01:17:23,110 --> 01:17:25,275
And so, the, uh-- the
first look in Coinbase
1962
01:17:25,310 --> 01:17:28,080
is $340 on three million shares.
1963
01:17:28,115 --> 01:17:30,852
Coinbase first look,
$340 on three million.
1964
01:17:30,887 --> 01:17:32,447
That wa-- that was
a bigger uptick in demand
1965
01:17:32,482 --> 01:17:34,053
than I would have expected.
1966
01:17:34,088 --> 01:17:35,417
-Wow.
-[man on TV] I love Coinbase.
1967
01:17:35,452 --> 01:17:36,924
[Benny] And Cramer's on CNBC,
1968
01:17:36,959 --> 01:17:38,321
that'll be some more
upward pressure.
1969
01:17:38,356 --> 01:17:40,895
350 on four million.
Tick-tick-tick.
1970
01:17:40,930 --> 01:17:43,832
Current look,
350 on 5.2 million.
1971
01:17:48,806 --> 01:17:50,333
-Hello.
-[man] I'm gonna work with you
1972
01:17:50,368 --> 01:17:52,203
on audio and video.
Is there a way you
1973
01:17:52,238 --> 01:17:54,436
or somebody can tilt the
camera down a little bit for me
1974
01:17:54,471 --> 01:17:56,339
for framing?
1975
01:17:56,374 --> 01:17:59,210
Yeah, let me try to-- let me try
putting it down just a tiny bit.
1976
01:17:59,245 --> 01:18:01,212
[man] It's the new world of TV.
1977
01:18:03,480 --> 01:18:05,788
-How's that looking?
-[man] Thank you, sir.
1978
01:18:05,823 --> 01:18:08,120
[theme music]
1979
01:18:08,155 --> 01:18:13,059
[man] Five, four,
three, two, one.
1980
01:18:13,094 --> 01:18:14,962
Good morning.
Uh, thank you, everybody,
1981
01:18:14,997 --> 01:18:18,097
for joining us on Coinbase's
big public listing day.
1982
01:18:18,132 --> 01:18:19,868
Brian, could you tell us
how you came up
1983
01:18:19,903 --> 01:18:20,968
with the idea for Coinbase?
1984
01:18:21,003 --> 01:18:24,301
Yeah, sure. So, it was 2010,
1985
01:18:24,336 --> 01:18:26,776
and I was home for the holidays
at my parents' house,
1986
01:18:26,811 --> 01:18:28,305
and I happened to read
the Bitcoin Whitepaper
1987
01:18:28,340 --> 01:18:29,845
written by Satoshi Nakamoto.
1988
01:18:29,880 --> 01:18:31,077
[phone ringing]
-[Benny] All right.
1989
01:18:31,112 --> 01:18:32,815
Still building here at Coinbase.
1990
01:18:32,850 --> 01:18:34,916
Plan is to open the stock
in the next 30 minutes.
1991
01:18:34,951 --> 01:18:36,181
We learned a new piece
of information
1992
01:18:36,216 --> 01:18:37,919
about 30 minutes out.
1993
01:18:37,954 --> 01:18:40,086
We were in this because
we wanted crypto to work,
1994
01:18:40,121 --> 01:18:42,319
we wanted there to be more
economic freedom in the world.
1995
01:18:42,354 --> 01:18:44,090
We are getting closer
in Coinbase,
1996
01:18:44,125 --> 01:18:45,487
377 on eight million.
1997
01:18:45,522 --> 01:18:47,027
So, finish your lunch.
1998
01:18:47,062 --> 01:18:48,798
Goldman Sachs,
when they are ready
1999
01:18:48,833 --> 01:18:50,492
to give us the green light
to open up the stock,
2000
01:18:50,527 --> 01:18:53,330
they will verbally repeat
the size of the order
2001
01:18:53,365 --> 01:18:55,970
as well as the indicative price.
2002
01:18:56,005 --> 01:18:58,104
People no longer
need to be scared of it
2003
01:18:58,139 --> 01:18:59,567
like in the early days.
2004
01:18:59,602 --> 01:19:01,206
[Benny] The-- There's gonna be
a tremendous
2005
01:19:01,241 --> 01:19:02,339
amount of
activity here after the open.
2006
01:19:02,374 --> 01:19:04,110
Five-minute warning, Coinbase,
2007
01:19:04,145 --> 01:19:05,540
Get your flow. And if you're
sitting on the sidelines,
2008
01:19:05,575 --> 01:19:06,948
382 on 8.7 million,
2009
01:19:06,983 --> 01:19:08,411
Got stock to buy
on balance there
2010
01:19:08,446 --> 01:19:10,083
within five minutes,
standby for the open.
2011
01:19:10,118 --> 01:19:11,953
Don't go too far here
'cause I guarantee you,
2012
01:19:11,988 --> 01:19:13,889
um, we are getting close.
2013
01:19:13,924 --> 01:19:15,858
...truly is the new economy.
It has hundreds and thousands
2014
01:19:15,893 --> 01:19:17,486
of companies being
created in this space.
2015
01:19:17,521 --> 01:19:19,521
The stock will open
within the next two minutes.
2016
01:19:19,556 --> 01:19:22,029
I got the two-minute warning.
Two-minute warning.
2017
01:19:22,064 --> 01:19:25,164
How can we really leverage this
opportunity to create more jobs,
2018
01:19:25,199 --> 01:19:27,100
more economic growth for people
2019
01:19:27,135 --> 01:19:28,937
in every country in the world
that embraces this?
2020
01:19:28,972 --> 01:19:30,334
This is like the moment
at the wedding.
2021
01:19:30,369 --> 01:19:32,600
Speak now
or forever hold your peace.
2022
01:19:32,635 --> 01:19:35,174
All right. Here we go.
All right. Hi, guys.
2023
01:19:35,209 --> 01:19:37,077
Hey, man.
2024
01:19:37,112 --> 01:19:40,410
All right. I see the stock,
$381 on 8.83 million shares.
2025
01:19:43,019 --> 01:19:44,381
That is confirmed.
That is what I say.
2026
01:19:45,582 --> 01:19:46,856
Open the stock.
2027
01:19:47,254 --> 01:19:48,583
Opening at 381. Standby.
2028
01:19:48,618 --> 01:19:51,355
[hopeful music]
2029
01:19:53,590 --> 01:19:56,294
All right! There's nothing
cryptic about this!
2030
01:19:56,329 --> 01:20:00,232
The first public block of stock
in the blockchain,
2031
01:20:00,267 --> 01:20:04,874
the Coinbase Genesis trade
is 8.8 million shares at $381.
2032
01:20:04,909 --> 01:20:06,205
That's an [indistinct] of nearly
2033
01:20:06,240 --> 01:20:07,910
$3.5 billion,
2034
01:20:07,945 --> 01:20:10,077
the largest opening trade
in Nasdaq history.
2035
01:20:10,112 --> 01:20:12,574
I think the second largest trade
in exchange history.
2036
01:20:12,609 --> 01:20:16,545
-Let's go, Coinbase!
-[applause]
2037
01:20:16,580 --> 01:20:18,987
-[cheering and applause]
-We're opening at $381.
2038
01:20:19,022 --> 01:20:20,384
[man]
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
2039
01:20:20,419 --> 01:20:22,287
we officially opened up
the stock
2040
01:20:22,322 --> 01:20:25,455
at $381 on 8.8 million shares.
2041
01:20:25,490 --> 01:20:28,029
[man 2] It is a historic moment
for cryptocurrency.
2042
01:20:28,064 --> 01:20:30,229
[woman] The IPO is really
the start of the next phase
2043
01:20:30,264 --> 01:20:33,166
of adoption and the future
of the digital economy.
2044
01:20:33,201 --> 01:20:36,532
Welcome to the Nasdaq family.
2045
01:20:36,567 --> 01:20:38,501
[man on computer] And I--I
should mention, uh, we are live
2046
01:20:38,536 --> 01:20:40,470
and I can prove that we're live,
2047
01:20:40,505 --> 01:20:43,044
which is that, uh, Coinbase
stock is now listed and trading.
2048
01:20:43,079 --> 01:20:45,112
Uh, so, uh, congratulations.
2049
01:20:45,147 --> 01:20:46,542
Oh, man, it's kind of--
2050
01:20:46,577 --> 01:20:48,379
it's kind of
an overwhelming, uh, moment.
2051
01:20:48,414 --> 01:20:50,282
There's so many things
happening, so many emotions.
2052
01:20:50,317 --> 01:20:53,219
And I mean-- Uh, the biggest
thing I just want to say
2053
01:20:53,254 --> 01:20:55,485
is that this is a--
entirely a group effort.
2054
01:20:55,520 --> 01:20:57,586
Like, the-- the customers that
helped us get here,
2055
01:20:57,621 --> 01:20:59,060
all the employees.
2056
01:20:59,095 --> 01:21:00,589
It's a really rare group
of people
2057
01:21:00,624 --> 01:21:02,327
who saw this trend early,
2058
01:21:02,362 --> 01:21:04,263
made a bet on it, came together
2059
01:21:04,298 --> 01:21:06,496
and I think it helped us
get to where we are today.
2060
01:21:06,531 --> 01:21:09,136
This is not the end. This is the
beginning. We all have a lot...
2061
01:21:09,171 --> 01:21:10,698
[Alex] If you think about
the way the Internet changed
2062
01:21:10,733 --> 01:21:13,536
from, like, 95 to 2005,
2063
01:21:13,571 --> 01:21:18,079
I mean, from going--
from getting your AOL CD in
2064
01:21:18,114 --> 01:21:20,114
the-- in the-- in the post mail
2065
01:21:20,149 --> 01:21:22,952
to having an iPhone
in your pocket,
2066
01:21:22,987 --> 01:21:25,020
I mean, that's what
we're about to go through.
2067
01:21:25,055 --> 01:21:27,154
It's not
a once-in-a-decade thing.
2068
01:21:27,189 --> 01:21:29,255
It's a once-in-the-history-
of-the-human race thing.
2069
01:21:29,290 --> 01:21:33,457
I think that we'll see some of
the promise, the early promise
2070
01:21:33,492 --> 01:21:35,525
of this industry
really blossoming
2071
01:21:35,560 --> 01:21:38,693
into something that affects
people's daily lives,
2072
01:21:38,728 --> 01:21:41,531
in-- in-- in what I hope
is a positive way.
2073
01:21:41,566 --> 01:21:43,566
Cryptography has created
2074
01:21:43,601 --> 01:21:48,076
something very exciting
to highlight its true power,
2075
01:21:48,111 --> 01:21:51,046
and now it's gifted
us the opportunity
2076
01:21:51,081 --> 01:21:53,741
to do something, to make
the world a better place,
2077
01:21:53,776 --> 01:21:56,414
and this is the time to do it.
2078
01:21:57,351 --> 01:21:58,416
[Brian] How's it going?
2079
01:21:59,155 --> 01:22:00,484
[Fred] Um, I'm doing all right.
2080
01:22:01,190 --> 01:22:04,686
I slept a little bit last night.
Not much the night before.
2081
01:22:04,721 --> 01:22:06,754
On the day Coinbase went public,
2082
01:22:06,789 --> 01:22:10,032
I briefly stepped out
to give my dad a call.
2083
01:22:10,067 --> 01:22:12,298
I feel like my
conversations with my dad
2084
01:22:12,333 --> 01:22:13,398
are pretty consistent.
2085
01:22:13,433 --> 01:22:15,466
Yeah. Yeah, that's funny.
2086
01:22:15,501 --> 01:22:19,074
He definitely makes sure
that I remain grounded
2087
01:22:19,109 --> 01:22:21,241
and I very much
appreciate that about him.
2088
01:22:21,276 --> 01:22:24,640
We had been talking about this
for so long. I knew this
2089
01:22:24,675 --> 01:22:26,708
was going
to happen at some point.
2090
01:22:26,743 --> 01:22:29,315
It was a bit like
dropping your child off
2091
01:22:29,350 --> 01:22:31,185
on the first day of college.
2092
01:22:31,220 --> 01:22:34,023
You know if things go right,
there's a high probability
2093
01:22:34,058 --> 01:22:36,025
four years later
they're going to graduate.
2094
01:22:36,060 --> 01:22:37,620
Okay. Love you.
2095
01:22:37,655 --> 01:22:40,425
When I talked to Fred,
I had a-- several different
2096
01:22:40,460 --> 01:22:43,461
kind of feelings
running through my body. Um--
2097
01:22:44,629 --> 01:22:45,694
Um--
2098
01:22:48,105 --> 01:22:49,566
[exhales]
2099
01:22:53,572 --> 01:22:55,044
I think the, um...
2100
01:22:56,443 --> 01:22:58,443
[voice quavers]
... one feeling that, um...
2101
01:22:59,644 --> 01:23:02,447
I got really close to was...
2102
01:23:05,254 --> 01:23:06,319
was, um...
2103
01:23:07,784 --> 01:23:10,026
wish-- wishing my dad
could have seen it.
2104
01:23:10,688 --> 01:23:11,753
Um--
2105
01:23:14,197 --> 01:23:15,559
[shudders]
2106
01:23:16,562 --> 01:23:19,134
I was proud of Fred
before Coinbase,
2107
01:23:19,169 --> 01:23:21,631
and I look forward to
continuing to be proud of him.
2108
01:23:22,271 --> 01:23:24,073
[Dave] Nobody knows for sure
2109
01:23:24,108 --> 01:23:25,701
how this technology revolution
is going to turn out.
2110
01:23:25,736 --> 01:23:27,769
Yeah, I don't know
that I understand it.
2111
01:23:27,804 --> 01:23:29,540
I really don't. But I do trust
2112
01:23:29,575 --> 01:23:31,806
-that Brian understands.
-[both laugh]
2113
01:23:31,841 --> 01:23:34,545
We're really proud
of what he has done,
2114
01:23:34,580 --> 01:23:37,614
not so much as a company,
which the company is amazing.
2115
01:23:37,649 --> 01:23:39,583
I mean, we kept
watching it and saying--
2116
01:23:39,618 --> 01:23:42,091
you know,
but it's just-- He's still
2117
01:23:42,126 --> 01:23:44,489
the kind, generous,
thoughtful person
2118
01:23:44,524 --> 01:23:46,260
that we grew up with, too.
2119
01:23:46,295 --> 01:23:49,593
So, we're proud of him
for both of those things.
2120
01:23:49,628 --> 01:23:50,858
[Brian] I've never
really been good
2121
01:23:50,893 --> 01:23:52,728
at celebrating things. [laughs]
2122
01:23:52,763 --> 01:23:55,236
I just like building things.
I'm always thinking like,
2123
01:23:55,271 --> 01:23:57,205
"All right, what's next?
What's next? What's next?
2124
01:23:58,208 --> 01:24:01,110
On IPO day,
I had a mix of emotions.
2125
01:24:01,145 --> 01:24:03,112
[indistinct chatter]
2126
01:24:03,147 --> 01:24:04,707
[Benny] All right! There's
nothing cryptic about this!
2127
01:24:04,742 --> 01:24:08,414
[Khalid] As everyone
was focusing on the valuation
2128
01:24:08,449 --> 01:24:09,844
and the financial outcome,
2129
01:24:09,879 --> 01:24:11,879
I sent both Brian
and Fred a text.
2130
01:24:11,914 --> 01:24:14,354
[Benny] Largest opening trade
in Nasdaq history...
2131
01:24:14,389 --> 01:24:17,555
And that text simply said,
"While everybody's celebrating,
2132
01:24:17,590 --> 01:24:19,194
the thing that I'm most proud of
2133
01:24:19,229 --> 01:24:21,229
is that you two
are still best friends."
2134
01:24:21,264 --> 01:24:25,662
-[Benny] Let's go, Coinbase!
-[both laugh]
2135
01:24:25,697 --> 01:24:28,137
They're all clapping
on the trading--
2136
01:24:28,172 --> 01:24:31,140
-the trading floor.
-Holy shit.
2137
01:24:31,175 --> 01:24:32,570
You worked on the trading
floor--
2138
01:24:32,605 --> 01:24:34,407
That-- I, like,
literally sat right there.
2139
01:24:34,442 --> 01:24:36,673
[Khalid] There isn't a sliver
of light between them
2140
01:24:36,708 --> 01:24:38,774
that people can pierce to say
2141
01:24:38,809 --> 01:24:42,151
those two aren't as close
in reality as they appear to be.
2142
01:24:42,186 --> 01:24:46,287
And I think it is a fundamental
part of the success of Coinbase
2143
01:24:46,322 --> 01:24:47,585
and for them individually.
2144
01:24:49,754 --> 01:24:52,788
[Brian] A Jackalope
is a fictional character, right?
2145
01:24:52,823 --> 01:24:54,592
[Fred] What's a jackalope?
[laughs]
2146
01:24:54,627 --> 01:24:57,232
[Brian] It's an antelope
and a jackrabbit.
2147
01:24:57,828 --> 01:25:00,235
Why do you never
see lizard eggs?
2148
01:25:01,469 --> 01:25:03,700
I assume they must lay eggs.
Right?
2149
01:25:04,670 --> 01:25:06,406
I wonder
what the frontiersmen thought
2150
01:25:06,441 --> 01:25:07,704
when they saw this.
Think, like,
2151
01:25:07,739 --> 01:25:09,640
"Oh, this is really
beautiful."
2152
01:25:09,675 --> 01:25:13,215
They're just, like, super on
task. "Gotta build this down."
2153
01:25:13,943 --> 01:25:15,943
-[Fred] This is super cool.
-[Brian] Wow.
2154
01:25:15,978 --> 01:25:17,879
[Fred] It's machinery
to sift the gold out.
2155
01:25:17,914 --> 01:25:20,651
It's probably, like, pretty
advanced technology that, um...
2156
01:25:20,686 --> 01:25:22,455
Yup.
2157
01:25:22,490 --> 01:25:24,589
[Fred] I wonder why they
call it the Wall Street Mill.
2158
01:25:24,624 --> 01:25:26,954
[Brian] They left Wall Street
due to other opportunities,
2159
01:25:26,989 --> 01:25:29,396
-just like you.
-[Fred laughs]
2160
01:25:32,467 --> 01:25:34,302
I feel like we always fall
into a natural rhythm
2161
01:25:34,337 --> 01:25:36,205
where on hikes you go out first.
2162
01:25:37,307 --> 01:25:39,274
It just feels more natural for
some reason, I don't know why.
2163
01:25:39,309 --> 01:25:42,211
-Me walking first?
-Yeah, yeah.
2164
01:25:42,246 --> 01:25:43,311
I feel like that's--
2165
01:25:44,809 --> 01:25:47,282
There's probably a deeper
meaning in that thought.
2166
01:25:47,317 --> 01:25:48,910
Yeah. [laughs]
2167
01:25:49,682 --> 01:25:51,781
[Fred] Do you think you would've
made a good frontiersman?
2168
01:25:53,455 --> 01:25:57,292
-[Brian] Mm... Questionable.
-[both laugh]
2169
01:25:57,327 --> 01:26:00,889
[dreamy music]
2170
01:26:04,598 --> 01:26:06,367
[birds chirping]
2171
01:26:06,402 --> 01:26:12,274
♪
2172
01:26:31,394 --> 01:26:38,234
♪
2173
01:27:02,788 --> 01:27:09,727
♪
2174
01:27:38,021 --> 01:27:44,399
♪
2175
01:28:14,992 --> 01:28:21,403
♪