Brian Armstrong

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• The trust of meeting

  “It's amazing how, basically, if somebody reads something on the internet, their default instinct is often like, "This is something bad. What are they up to?" But the minute they meet you in person, they immediately trust it more.”

  Our noteBrian explains why meeting regulators in person was more effective than just communicating online.

• Power of focus

  “If you try to solve every problem in the world, you're actually going to end up solving none.”

  Our noteBrian discusses why companies should avoid being distracted by issues outside their core mission.

• Funding the vision

  “Companies often have the thing that makes money, and that's a step on the path to this longer-term vision.”

  Our noteBrian explains that current revenue streams are often just tools to reach a bigger goal.

• Volatility as feature

  “Some people use it as a medium of exchange, but as you pointed out, it's volatile. It's more often used as a store of value or an investment, and in an investment, volatility can be a feature, not a bug.”

  Our noteBrian discusses why volatility doesn't necessarily disqualify Bitcoin as an asset.

• Bitcoin capped supply

  “But bitcoin and the community behind it feels very strongly that there should be a capped supply. I think it really is emulating gold in that regard, that unless we start mining asteroids or something, they're not going to find more supply.”

  Our noteDiscussing why Bitcoin has a fixed quantity limit unlike traditional fiat currencies.

• Intrinsic value of Bitcoin

  “But I think the simple answer there is, there's probably not really a true intrinsic value to bitcoin. It's valuable because people think it's valuable, and it has some use cases.”

  Our noteExplaining the nature of value in decentralized digital assets.

• Tools for entrepreneurs

  “I don't think there's anybody who's sitting around saying, "God, I wish I could make more microtransactions," I agree with that, but I think whenever you give developers and entrepreneurs new tools, they tend to create new apps”

  Our noteResponding to skepticism about the demand for micropayments and new crypto features.

• Decentralization vs Centralization

  “It's like if a country came up with their own private internet. I'm more interested in the global decentralized internet. I think that unlocked more innovation.”

  Our noteComparing central bank digital currencies to the global decentralized nature of crypto.

• Understanding crypto potential

  “Inflation was so insidious because it eroded the wealth of the poorest people who held their wealth in cash. Anyway, just seeing that was obviously tragic, but it led me to understand and appreciate the potential for cryptocurrency more broadly.”

  Our noteBrian reflects on how seeing hyperinflation in Argentina shaped his vision for crypto.

• Preventing regulatory debt

  “One interesting idea for democracies is that you put a sunset clause in every law, where after 4 or 8 or 10 years or something, unless people actively go to reinitiate it, it sunsets and goes away.”

  Our noteBrian proposes a way to prevent the accumulation of outdated laws and bureaucracy.