[News Inside] 19 Trillion Won Windfall from 'Coinbase' Listing... Who Became a Billionaire in Their 30s?

Brian Armstrong, Co-founder and CEO of Coinbase

▲Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] A man in his 30s who suddenly became a trillionaire worth 19 trillion won after Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, went public.

This is the story of Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase.

At 38 years old this year, he has joined the ranks of billionaires with $17 billion (about 19 trillion won) in wealth just about 10 years after founding the company.

Coinbase, which went public on the Nasdaq market in the U.S. on the 14th (local time), closed at $328.28, soaring 31.3% above the IPO price. On that day, Coinbase's market capitalization reached $85.8 billion. As Armstrong holds about 20% of Coinbase's shares, his fortune reached $17 billion.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "Armstrong, who is only 38 years old this year, has wealth ranking within the top 100 globally according to Forbes' billionaire list."

Armstrong majored in economics and computer science at Rice University in Texas and worked as a developer at IBM and a consultant at Deloitte.

Then, in 2010, Armstrong experienced a life-changing turning point when he read the white paper written by Bitcoin's creator, Nakamoto Satoshi. He was fascinated by Bitcoin's goal of creating a world without intermediaries like banks, and two years later, he founded Coinbase.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

In 2010, while running an e-learning startup, he recalled, "I couldn't get Bitcoin out of my head" as soon as he heard about it.

Captivated by the charm of cryptocurrency, Armstrong left Airbnb, where he was working in 2012, and founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, a former Goldman Sachs employee. Ehrsam left Coinbase in 2017, and Armstrong now leads the company alone.

Little is known about Armstrong inside and outside Silicon Valley. He is known for his reserved personality. WSJ reported, "Armstrong is not the typical Silicon Valley figure who boasts in public. His Twitter account is also quiet."

Armstrong is also known as a good CEO who shares the fruits of success with the employees who helped build Coinbase's success. To share Coinbase's success with employees, Armstrong gave 100 shares each to over 1,700 employees worldwide. This is worth about $25,000 (about 30 million won).

Currently, Coinbase is the most popular Bitcoin exchange on the iPhone App Store, with 56 million members worldwide. Recently, the number of members has been increasing by about 13,000 every day.