Brian Armstrong Says Coinbase Considered Putting 80% of Balance Sheet to Crypto, but Decided Against It: Report

The CEO of the largest digital asset exchange in the US reportedly says Coinbase explored investing most of its cash reserve in Bitcoin ( BTC ).

Brian Armstrong says that Coinbase previously considered the idea of adopting the same crypto investment strategy taken by Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, reports Bloomberg.

“There were definitely moments over the last 12 years where we thought, man, should we put 80% of our balance sheet into crypto – into Bitcoin, specifically.”

But Coinbase eventually decided against the idea because it could jeopardize the company’s cash position as a startup and even potentially cause its demise.

“We made a conscious choice about risk.”

Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas supports the move, explaining that the company doesn’t want to appear as though it’s stockpiling Bitcoin in competition with its own customers.

While the crypto exchange abandoned its massive Bitcoin accumulation plan, its latest shareholder letter shows that the firm spent $153 million in Q1 of this year to accumulate digital assets, mostly in Bitcoin. The company now holds $1.3 billion in crypto. 

Says Haas,

“Rest assured, we are not stopping there.”

According to Coinbase, it established a huge crypto trove to meet regulatory capital needs, support growing utility and reinforce the firm’s commitment in the digital asset industry.

At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading for $103,935.

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