Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong boldly predicted that a crypto-based economy would account for 10% of global GDP by 2030, translating to $10 trillion in on-chain value.
During Coinbase’s recent earnings call, Armstrong positioned the US resurgence to lead in crypto transformation backed by Congress support and stablecoin-specific regulations.
The cryptocurrency space constantly evolves, supported by the speedy introduction of new technologies and laws. The rapidly changing environment prompts business leaders, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, to express an ambitious outlook for the crypto future.
Armstrong views the transition to a crypto-driven global economy as highly probable. This represents a departure in views that closely link crypto to the dark web and integration by governments globally. Today, President Donald Trump’s administration and tens of US states champion Bitcoin inclusion in the reserves.
Amidst these changes, institutional investors’ entry and regulatory environment are game changers that could potentially reshape the runway for crypto, powering a notable portion of the global economy by 2030.
Crypto Potential by 2030
Per Coinbase chief, the US is ushering a new dawn for crypto forecasting on February 13 that by 2030, the global GDP will run on the crypto rails as this decade concludes.
During the earning call, the executive compared blockchain integration to the early 2000s when businesses embraced the internet.
Armstrong predicts an active role for the US, given it accounts for 30% of the global GDP. The CEO hailed the pro-crypto composition as behind the endorsement for comprehensive laws to facilitate stablecoins and crypto market structure. He considers the rest of the world will ultimately adopt the provisions.
The Coinbase boss hails the heightened activity by President Trump to deliver on his promise of transforming the US into the global crypto capital. Establishing regulatory clarity will eliminate the existing ambiguity and create a predictable market. The stability will attract institutional investors and bolster innovation that will ultimately drive the subsequent adoption of digital assets.
Growth Needed to Achieve This Target?
The crypto exchange executive considers the US is entering a new phase under Donald Trump, with Coinbase poised to become the preferred partner to facilitate more companies integrating blockchain-based systems.
The bullish prediction is premised on an 88% surge in Coinbase Q4 earnings to $2.3 billion. Coinbase has $420 billion held on behalf of clients to surpass the 21st largest bank in the US per assets under management. This figure would earn Coinbase eighth position among the largest brokerages in the US.
The enormous scale positions the exchange on par with the traditional financial (TradFi) giants. This suggests deep integration of crypto into the broader financial system. Looking ahead, the executive highlighted Coinbase’s priorities in scaling revenue from the existing products. Besides, the crypto exchange plans to bolster the usefulness of crypto in the growing sectors as it lays the groundwork for long-term development.
Coinbase priorities are pegged on the forecast that crypto will power over $10 trillion of the $100 trillion global GDP per World Bank estimates. The crypto industry needs to grow threefold from its current market capitalization of $3.2 trillion. While on-chain is relatively new, businesses must adopt now or risk lagging behind.
Coinbase Vulnerability
While Coinbase (COIN) has realized significant trading volume growth, it is vulnerable to volatility characterizing the crypto market. This volatility necessitates Coinbase diversifying its revenue streams to pursue a sustainable business model.
Coinbase needs to introduce models on service consumption beyond trading fees to balance potential decline in earnings. This awareness informs the futuristic planning by Coinbase to proactively participate in developing technologies and Layer 2 scaling solutions.
Armstrong considered Layer-1 blockchain as suffering slower yet high-cost transactions. He profiled Layer 2 as the innovative technology piece to address challenges affecting the Layer-1 blockchain. Coinbase realizes the blockchain potential via a Base protocol that is an Ethereum-based Layer 2 network.
While subscriptions and service-based revenue have impressive growth, Kaiko reports that Coinbase is still reliant on trading activity for over half of its revenue. As such, the reliance on trading fees confirms the need to diversify revenue streams and develop sustainable income sources.
Final Thoughts
While Armstrong harbors big-picture predictions for the crypto, Bitcoin retains dominance across the industry. The achievement of his ambitious prediction will require Bitcoin and altcoins to mirror the rapid internet and mobile phone adoption so that they can expand their user bases to billions of individuals by 2030.
For crypto to power, $10 trillion of global GDP would involve accelerated adoption of blockchain to have more industries tokenized and banking-crypto integration. Investors will have massive opportunities as digital assets increasingly power international trade and consumer lending.
Embedding crypto into everyday activities will attract regulatory scrutiny as it becomes deeply integrated into the global economy.
