What happened in this episode?
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sets out a three-part strategy for the company: building an “everything exchange” where multiple asset classes trade on-chain, expanding stablecoin payments, and developing “Agentic Finance” tools for AI-driven commerce. Armstrong says Coinbase has launched an AI adviser inside its product and is enabling AI agents to operate financial accounts through self-custodial crypto wallets, arguing that traditional banking rails and KYC checks do not fit software agents.
On market expansion, Armstrong says Coinbase has launched tokenised stocks outside the United States and is working with the SEC and other regulators on a pathway to offer the product domestically. He describes the offering as directly backed one-to-one by the underlying shares held in custody. He also claims prediction markets inside the Coinbase app scaled rapidly, reaching about a $100m revenue run-rate within months, citing figures he says were disclosed on an earnings call.
The conversation turns to Armstrong’s longevity start-up New Limit. He says the company is using AI-guided lab screening to identify epigenetic “reprogramming” approaches, has shown reprogramming in at least one human cell type in humanised mouse models, and is now testing in non-human primates ahead of a planned phase-one trial next year. Armstrong also discusses special economic zones as a way to create regulatory sandboxes for innovation, and speculates about future “cognitive enhancement” as AI capability accelerates.
Several claims, particularly around biomedical progress and growth metrics, are presented as Armstrong’s account and would require independent verification.
