Convincing the world of finance to embrace crypto has required stability. Cryptocurrency leaders have spent the year evangelizing their message and the financial world is listening.
“This is the year that crypto regulation went from kind of gray market to well-lit establishment,” said Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global, Inc., at the New York Times’ Dealbook summit.
Coinbase’s year reflected the volatility of the cryptocurrencies it exchanges. Shares are currently trading at $267.45, down 36% from its all-time high on July 18, 2025, and up 77% from its 52 week low on April 8, 2025. Revenues for the first nine months of 2025 were $5.2 billion, and profits were $1.9 billion.
Despite its ups and downs, Coinbase spent $2.9 million lobbying at the federal level this year, leading to the passage of the Genius Act, a set of rules regulating stablecoin. Armstrong’s rhetorical support of the industry through appearances at summits like Dealbook’s also brought major financial industry CEOs like Jamie Dimon, of JPMorgan Chase, and Larry Fink, of Blackrock into the crypto fold.
Fink sat on stage next to Armstrong at the summit. He once called crypto a world for money laundering “and thieves.” But at Dealbook he preached the word, claiming all financial assets should be tokenized.
“This is a very glaring public example of a big shift in my opinions,” Fink said on stage.
Armstrong, born in 1983, described the older generation as focused on the US dollar as the world’s main currency.
“We grew up in a certain environment and were shaped by the experiences we had. And I think for Charlie [Munger] and Warren [Buffet], they grew up in an environment of American preeminence. And the dollar was everything,” he said at Dealbook.
The industry faces many obstacles in replacing treasury notes and currencies, like the US dollar. But its best chance is stablecoin, a form of digital currency anchored to an existing treasury note or fiat currency.
The Genius Act established rules on how a stablecoin needs to be backed by a real-world currency. For example the USDC crypto coin claims to be backed by the US Dollar.
The future of crypto as an actual currency, not just a trading asset, depends on the regulation and acceptance of stablecoin. But protections consumers receive in regular banking, such as $250,000 worth of deposit insurance from the Fed, still lack in crypto.
“If you’re at a bank, you have FDIC insurance,” said Kevin Heal, an analyst at Argus Research. “There’s no ‘crypto insurance’ right now, or stablecoin insurance.”
Coinbase recently moved its offices from Delaware to Texas, to operate “in a business friendly jurisdiction,” Armstrong said.
But the move also reflects what Armstrong deems a move away from Delaware’s unpredictable courts that show “hostility toward founder-led companies.”
The implications of the move could indicate a rightward shift in Armstrong. Being friendly with Trump has proven to give companies advantages, another move Armstrong is willing to make to gain legislative favor.
“Moving to Texas is a bit of a political statement for them,” said Heal.
Armstrong claimed moving the company was a broader statement about how different states treat companies and their shareholders.
“You have to leave and align incentives and punish bad behavior,” he said.