This week we’re taking a look at five companies that stand out from our Blockchain 50 list, a list celebrating the companies who are best using blockchain to innovate their businesses. We take a look at Amazon’s webservices business; Walmart food tracking initiatives; LVMH antifraud tracking; the United Nations’ work in Jordan; and how Coinbase is revolutionizing financial blockchain applications. To qualify, Blockchain 50 members must be generating no less than one billion dollars in revenue annually or be valued at one billion dollars or more.
The Coinbase Mission, Vision & Strategy
Three years ago, Brian Armstrong published the Coinbase Secret Master Plan. Though much of it still holds true today, a lot has changed in the world of crypto. This week, Coinbase hosted an open house where Brian shared an update on the mission, vision, and strategy at Coinbase. In the spirit of “default to open,” which is an important part of our culture, Brian also wanted to share that talk here. At Coinbase, our mission is to build an open financial system — that’s the work we do every day. When it comes to our vision, the kind of world we want to help create, it has become increasingly clear that what we are really working toward is increasing economic freedom, a measurable concept that can be greatly improved by the adoption of cryptocurrency. In this video, Brian defines economic freedom, talks about how crypto can increase it, and how Coinbase will contribute to this goal in the coming years.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas Discusses Crypto Challenges at Brainstorm Finance 2019
Virtual currency is appearing on the balance sheet of a growing number of companies, including traditional retailers and financial institutions. Yet cryptocurrency’s rollercoaster volatility means new challenges for handling everything from payments to taxes, and more. The CFO of America’s biggest virtual currency exchange and a blockchain-evangelizing e-commerce pioneer offer an inside account.
Patrick M. Byrne, Founder and CEO, Overstock.com
Alesia Haas, Chief Financial Officer, Coinbase Global Inc.
Moderator: Adam Lashinsky, FORTUNE
Coinbase to List Additional Assets
Coinbase is a U.S. crypto exchange which supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin, which of course represent a fraction of the global digital currencies available. To become more globally competitive Coinbase will begin listing new crypto assets which are in line with local regulations. This is a significant change for Coinbase.
For more info, visit this link: Coinbase’s New Asset Listing Process.
Coinbase to Become Crypto NYSE?
Brian Armstrong is CEO of Coinbase, which has recently grown to over 500 employees (founded in 2012). Coinbase is working to establish an open financial system for the world that will create innovation, efficiency and economic freedom.
They aim to be the trusted, legal compliant place for people to trade crypto.
In this Techcruch Article (and video) the company is described:
Coinbase is known for being the most popular exchange for converting fiat currency into crypto — most of the largest traded exchanges are crypto-to-crypto — but he foresees a future in which it plays host to a growing number of cryptocurrencies as it becomes standard for companies to create their own token, which runs alongside equity as an alternative investment system.
Armstrong states the investment phase is driving the crypto market but the utility of blockchain is where the long-term value exists.
Armstrong articulated that:
Web 1.0 was about publishing information, web 2.0 was about interaction and web 3.0 is going to be about value transfer on the internet because now the web has this native currency and so applications can be built that instantly tap into this global economy on the internet.