Dive Brief:
- Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase Global named Anthony Armstrong — a long-time Elon Musk adviser and former CFO of xAI and X Corp. — to its board of directors, the company said in a Wednesday securities filing and blog post.
- Armstrong’s appointment is effective immediately, expanding the remote-first crypto trading service board from nine to 10 directors, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Anderson will also join its audit committee.
- “Anthony brings one of the most distinctive resumes we could ask for at this moment,” Coinbase said in its Wednesday post — where it also noted the former Morgan Stanley banker has no relation to its CEO, Brian Armstong. “Deep traditional finance background, direct experience in frontier technology companies and time spent driving efficiency in how the government operates. That combination matters for Coinbase right now.”
Dive Insight:
Armstrong took the top finance seat at xAI in October and departed the Grok chatbot operator in April — about two months after it was acquired by fellow Musk-led company SpaceX, CFO Dive previously reported. SpaceX completed an initial public offering in June that valued the company at more than $2 trillion — the largest IPO in history, according to reports at the time.
Armstrong’s past roles include serving as global head of technology M&A for Morgan Stanley, where he helped to advise Musk during his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now X. He also served as a senior adviser to the Office of Personnel Management — a government department with oversight of the federal workforce — during Musk’s tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Armstrong will receive compensation under Coinbase’s non-employee director compensation program as detailed by its latest proxy statement filed this April, according to the Thursday filing.
Under Coinbase guidelines, that would include an initial appointment grant of restricted stock units with an aggregate value of $550,000, automatically granted on the date of the non-employee director’s appointment to the board. Under the program, non-employee directors also receive an annual RSU grant with an aggregate value of $375,000, according to the proxy.
Each non-employee director is required to “accumulate and maintain” stock holdings equal to or exceeding $350,000 in value within five years of becoming a director, according to the company’s latest proxy statement.
Coinbase is seeking to make use of Armstrong’s unique career path and expertise as it takes steps to expand its services to new markets. Also Wednesday, Coinbase launched crypto derivatives trading in Canada, become the first major crypto platform to offer direct crypto futures in the country, according to a press release.
Through the offering, “eligible Canadian investors” can access 23 perpetual and dated futures for cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, a digital currency created by Solana Labs, according to the Wednesday release. The derivatives contracts are offered through Coinbase Financial Markets, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission registered merchant, according to the company’s website.
The offering opens up access to Canadian investors at a time when global demand “for these products is massive,” Coinbase said Wednesday.
“Globally, crypto derivative trading volume is about 4.4 times the volume of crypto spot trading,” Coinbase said. “Yet until now Canadians have not had a regulated venue to access these contracts, reducing their ability to express a market view or protect their portfolios.”
Armstrong is also joining the board at a time when the cryptocurrency industry has fallen under a regulatory spotlight.
The CLARITY Act, a bill aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, is scheduled for a key procedural vote on Sept. 15. However, the bill has stalled on the Senate floor, leading insiders to voice concern that the bill may flounder before the coming mid-term elections, according to a report by CNBC.
The CLARITY act would establish a regulatory framework for digital commodities — defined as “digital assets that rely on a blockchain for their value” — with jurisdiction between the CFTC and the SEC, according to a summary.
