Nicola Tangen, CEO of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, interviews Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, America's largest crypto exchange. Armstrong discusses his journey from reading about Bitcoin in December 2010 to building one of the most powerful forces shaping global finance today.

The conversation covers Coinbase's evolution into an 'everything exchange,' the transformative potential of stablecoins for global payments, quantum computing's impact on cryptocurrency, and Armstrong's aggressive AI adoption strategy. Armstrong also shares insights about his longevity biotech company New Limit and its breakthrough in epigenetic reprogramming.

From Bitcoin Discovery to Crypto Evolution

Armstrong first read about Bitcoin in December 2010, describing it as 'a decentralized network to move value around the world, kind of like the internet was for moving information, but this was for moving value.'

Initially only computer science PhDs, libertarians, and anarchists were excited about Bitcoin in small internet forums, but the technology evolved beyond digital gold to update all aspects of financial services.

Regulatory clarity in Europe and recent US stablecoin legislation, plus adoption by institutions like BlackRock and Apollo, have increased crypto's trustworthiness significantly.

The Everything Exchange Vision

Coinbase is building an 'everything exchange' bringing every asset class into one tradable platform - not just millions of crypto assets, but stocks, commodities, FX, and prediction markets.

Armstrong envisions all capital formation changing to crypto, making it easier to raise money as a private company and eventually go public 'totally on chain.'

This represents an evolution of traditional finance rather than its end, updating payments, borrowing, lending, and all financial categories through blockchain technology.

Stablecoins as the Ultimate Payment Rail

Stablecoins are 'the only payment rail that checks all three boxes' - fast, cheap, and global, sending value instantly anywhere for less than a tenth of a cent.

Traditional payment methods fail on at least one dimension: credit cards have high 2-3% costs, Swift takes 2-3 business days, while regional solutions like Brazil's PIX or India's UPI only work within one country.

Stablecoin growth reached approximately 100% year-over-year last year, with potential to grow '100 or 1,000x from here' as more global GDP runs on stablecoin rails.

Quantum Computing Won't Kill Crypto

A 100-qubit quantum computer would affect 'all transactions in the financial system, every login and password, every encryption database' - not just crypto.

Coinbase created an advisory council of cryptography experts to prepare for post-quantum cryptographic algorithm upgrades across Bitcoin and Ethereum networks.

Regular meetings are already happening in the Bitcoin development community about quantum-resistant algorithms, ensuring proactive rather than reactive upgrades.

Aggressive AI Adoption Strategy

Armstrong required all engineers to try AI tools like Cursor and Claude within a week, threatening a Saturday CEO meeting for holdouts without good reasons.

Only one person was fired for refusing to sign up without valid excuse like vacation or parental leave, creating 'a very clear tone from the top' about staying current with technology.

Nearly all engineers now use AI tools daily, compared to initial hesitation when the mandate was introduced about a year ago.

New Limit's Longevity Breakthrough

Armstrong co-founded New Limit because he saw 'a lot of snake oil and less serious companies' in longevity space despite it being a major technology trend.

New Limit achieved successful epigenetic reprogramming of human cells within three years, 'restoring function they had when they were younger' - faster than Armstrong's expected 5-7 years of basic research.

The company is 'on track now to get their first drug into clinical trials next year' under the leadership of scientist Jacob Kimmel.