Coinbase CEO to Receive Pay Package of Over $3 Billion As The Company Goes Public

Brian Armstrong, Coinbase founder is set to receive a big pay package as the company goes public. According to reports, Armstrong is set to receive over $3 billion windfall – equivalent to more than $1 million per working day, from the exchange’s direct listing.

As per the Bloomberg report, Coinbase’s popularity has increased significantly in the last couple of months following the ongoing cryptocurrency surge. In 2018, during its venture capital funding, Coinbase was valued at $8 billion.

However, after its share’s recent sale on Nasdaq’s secondary market, the exchange value progressed tremendously. Reportedly, trades between private investors have now valued Coinbase at about $100 billion. As per the data gathered from the company’s regulatory filings and news reports, Armstrong owns 21% of Coinbase’s stock, this brings his stake in the company to about $15 billion. 

In a recent report by Hurun Research Institute, Armstrong is the world’s biggest crypto billionaire after his net worth increased by ten folds. In the report, Armstrong is among the 17 blockchain billionaires that form the World’s richest.

For the 38-year-old engineer, all the efforts and hard work done in the last nine years have been leading to this moment and many to come. Armstrong has managed to operate in the United States where many exchanges have failed due to regulatory restrains. Olaf Carlson-Wee, Coinbase third employee and head of the cryptocurrency fund Polychain Capital explains that Armstrong helped build a company that was user-friendly, complied with the law, and was secure for users to use. 

Coinbase filed to go public last year in December. The exchange just recently confirmed the filling. In a letter confirming the news, Armstrong celebrated the cryptocurrency market and explained that:

” Coinbase is building the infrastructure to power the crypto economy, helping bring the benefits of this new technology to the world… People are using cryptocurrency to earn, spend, save, stake, borrow, lend, vote, and perform many other types of economic activity.” 

In its registration statement last month, the exchange further explained that its performance thresholds for the award “are extremely rigorous and appropriately align” Armstrong’s incentives with shareholders. 

The exchange is scheduled to go public in the next couple of weeks allowing outside investors to value shares for the first time.

Currently, Coinbase has more than 43 million users and offers the opportunity to trade in more than 40 different digital assets.