Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said finance needs to move on-chain or risk falling behind. In his view, crypto-based finance still requires eight major upgrades before it can serve a much wider user base. His list included tokenization of real-world assets, 24/7 global trading, stablecoin payments, AI tools, self-custody wallets, easier capital formation, sound money, and better regulation.
Armstrong said the next version of finance will be more global, more automated, and more on-chain. He also wrote that the job is not finished until these systems work for more people, adding, “Jobs not done until we get these working for all.”
RWA tokenization tops the list
Armstrong put tokenization of real-world assets first. He said real estate, stocks, bonds, and funds can move on-chain to support faster settlement, broader distribution, and fractional ownership.
That view lines up with recent market data cited in related reports. The tokenized RWA market grew 263% year over year in 2025, then added about 30% in the first quarter of 2026. Coinbase also tied its own strategy to that trend during its Q1 2026 earnings call, when the company said stablecoins had surpassed $300 billion in market value and tokenized real-world assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030.
Stablecoin and AI payments move closer to real use
Armstrong also highlighted next-generation payments as a missing piece. He pointed to near-instant, low-cost global transfers powered by stablecoins, including payments initiated by AI agents.
Recent Coinbase product moves fit that thesis. Related coverage said the company’s x402 protocol became native to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, allowing AI agents to pay for services in USDC without human input. Those transactions reportedly settle on Base in about 200 milliseconds. Another report said Coinbase launched Agentic.market, where AI agents can discover and purchase services with USDC through x402. At launch, the system had settled about 165 million transactions across more than 480,000 agents.
Regulation and access remain unresolved pieces
On policy, Armstrong called for rules that are friendlier to innovation. He argued that regulation should move away from one-size-fits-all structures and toward risk-based models that support competition.
The comments came as Coinbase backed the CLARITY Act. Related reports said Armstrong supported the bill ahead of a Senate markup after lawmakers revised language covering stablecoin yield, DeFi, tokenized stocks, and the CFTC’s role in crypto markets. The Senate Banking Committee later advanced the bill in a 15-9 vote. Separate reporting said Coinbase shares rose 8% after that vote, though the bill still needs a full Senate vote and reconciliation with the House version.
At press time, TradingView data showed Coinbase stock at $184.99, down 4.43% over the past 24 hours, with the day’s range between $184.60 and $195.59.
Coinbase keeps building stablecoin infrastructure
Armstrong also framed broader access as part of the upgrade path, pointing to open protocols, fewer intermediaries, and self-custody wallets for smartphone users.
Coinbase has been adding products in that direction. Related coverage said Coinbase and Flipcash launched USDF, a Solana-based custom stablecoin fully backed by USDC. According to Coinbase, the product is designed to help businesses issue branded stablecoins without building their own full reserve and settlement stack.
Taken together, Armstrong’s roadmap links tokenization, stablecoins, AI, and regulation into one model for on-chain finance. The company’s message is direct: future financial infrastructure should be faster, more open, and more automated.