'Crypto Will Break Down Barriers': Coinbase CEO Hints at Potential in Capital Formation

In a recent tweet, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlights the next frontier for cryptocurrencies, and this is in capital formation and fundraising.

The Coinbase CEO indicated that the next major impact of crypto will be to transform how startups raise capital. Armstrong suggested that blockchain technology could significantly reduce the friction involved in fundraising and capital formation.

In his post on X, Armstrong stated that “Crypto will break down barriers around fundraising and capital formation next.”

This has potential implications for startups, given that fundraising stands as one of the most challenging aspects of launching a startup. Business owners could take months meeting investors, preparing pitches and navigating legal and financial processes. These, in themselves as simple as they sound, could be expensive, especially for business owners with limited resources.

Armstrong believes that reducing friction around fundraising will increase the number of startups globally, increasing innovation and, hence, accelerating progress. The Coinbase CEO highlighted common knowledge among entrepreneurs on how time consuming (and expensive) fundraising could be.

Coinbase positions itself in this push, providing services for thousands of financial institutions. The crypto asset recently revealed that it stores about 12% of all crypto assets in the world, as well as the majority of U.S. spot crypto ETFs.

Futures contracts now available on Coinbase in Europe

In a recent development, major crypto exchange Coinbase announced that European traders can now access futures contracts for the first time on the platform. These fully regulated contracts will be initially available through Coinbase Advanced in 26 European countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Coinbase will offer two primary types of cash-settled futures contracts: perpetual-style futures and dated contracts, each with a distinct settlement procedure.

The exchange shared key trading details in an official blogpost. The futures contract will offer leverage and low trading fees. Traders will be able to access up to 10x leverage on select contracts (such as BTC, ETH and equity indices) and up to 4x-5x leverage on other products.