Crypto to Have 1 Billion Users in 10 Years Says Coinbase CEO

Top Coinbase executive Brian Armstrong made the bold prediction at the Milken Institute Global Conference earlier this week.

As Bloomberg first reported, Brian Amstrong -- CEO of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States -- predicted to the attendees of the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday that global crypto users will likely reach 1 billion individuals as soon as 2032. He went on to say that blockchain technology, NFTs, and the crypto space overall would play a significant role in the U.S. economy in coming years.

"My guess is that in 10-20 years, we'll see a substantial portion of GDP happening in the crypto economy," Armstrong reportedly said during the forum. As an overarching indicator of a country's ability to make and market finished goods and products, GDP has been a useful benchmark to gauge, track, and compare a country’s economic health with other countries.

Armstrong's bullish remarks came while the valuation of the entire cryptocurrency market is holding steady at $1.83 trillion, which is a 38% drop from its all-time high of $3.08 trillion logged on Nov. 8, 2021 according to Coingecko.com.

Coinbase CEO suggests optimistic outlook for crypto regulation

The article also cited an optimistic outlook from Armstrong regarding the future of regulation from policy advisors and lawmakers in the nation's capital. For many months, Armstrong has been a strongarm lobbyist for a light regulatory touch when it comes to crypto, "it's been harder and harder to meet a true crypto skeptic in D.C.," Armstrong said. The article further quoted him as stating that more than half of those in Washington have adopted a pro-crypto posture.

However, it's worth noting that Armstrong's remarks preceded Tuesday's announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees the bond and equities markets. The SEC stated that it plans to nearly double the number of personnel in its enforcement division, to focus solely on policing crypto assets and trading exchanges such as Coinbase.

We'll have to see how that plays out when the federal agencies tasked with researching and recommending their respective regulatory remits report out their findings as part of President Biden's executive order earlier this year.

At press time, Coinbase's stock price is trading down 12.72% on the day at $113.59 per share according to Yahoo! Finance, while the broader crypto market is only down 3.81% intraday according to CoinMarketCap.