Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Predicts Crypto Payments Will Become as Ubiquitous as Instant Messaging

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, believes that cryptocurrency is the best global payment option. Speaking at a conference, Armstrong highlighted how Coinbase’s layer-2 scaling solution, Base, which operates on Ethereum, has reduced global transaction confirmation times to under one second and transaction fees to less than $0.01. Armstrong emphasized that fast and affordable payments can enable new categories of applications.

Global Payment System

Armstrong argues that a fast, cost-effective, and decentralized global payment system can reduce “friction” in the economy. He suggests that by lowering these minor frictions in economic transactions, adoption could see a significant increase. Today, messaging apps are free, enabling billions of messages to be sent daily. Armstrong predicts a similar surge in payment transactions, with crypto becoming as seamless as sending a text message.

New Application Opportunities

Armstrong also envisions that such fast, inexpensive global payment systems could enable micro-transactions on social media, creating new business models. For instance, users could support actions like hitting a “like” button or upvoting content with small payments. Additionally, Armstrong mentioned that people could be paid by the hour, revolutionizing lending applications by providing more frequent access to wages.

Economic Impact and Future Vision

Armstrong foresees that these new payment systems could transform the nature of economic relationships. Drawing a parallel with the explosion of messaging services when they became free, Armstrong expects a similar trend in payments, enabling economic activity to proceed faster and more efficiently.

This technology could democratize payment processes, allowing a broader audience to access financial services. Armstrong suggests that reducing payment friction could increase economic mobility and spark the creation of new business models.

Armstrong’s vision emphasizes how adopting new technologies can make economic systems more efficient and inclusive. Cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain technology have the potential to revolutionize payment processes, expanding economic opportunities. This could lead to economic interactions that are faster, cheaper, and more transparent in the future.

Deythere will continue to follow these developments closely.

Coinbase crypto payments, layer-2 scaling solution, decentralized payment system, micro-transactions, blockchain economic impact