Coinbase CEO Armstrong Foresees Everything Going On-Chain—Including Your Grandma’s Bonds
Brian Armstrong just dropped a bombshell at Coinbase’s 2025 keynote: "Every asset—stocks, real estate, even that vintage Pokémon collection—will live on-chain." The crypto titan doubled down on his bet that blockchain infrastructure will eat traditional finance within a decade.
Wall Street’s paper pushers won’t know what hit them.
Armstrong’s vision? A world where settlement times shrink from days to seconds, where custody battles get solved by smart contracts instead of lawyers. "We’re building the rails for the next trillion-dollar asset migration," he declared, conveniently omitting how many SEC lawsuits that might trigger.
The kicker? He casually mentioned Coinbase’s new institutional-grade tokenization platform—because nothing screams ‘mass adoption’ like hedge funds FOMO-ing into blockchain-ized T-bills.
One hedge fund manager in attendance whispered: "God help us if they put the S&P 500 on Uniswap." Meanwhile, Bitcoin maximalists are already shorting the NYSE.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, believes that all assets will eventually MOVE onto the blockchain.
According to him, this shift could make financial transactions faster, cheaper, and more efficient, and WOULD transform the entire financial system. He notes that the shift will be gradual, with bigger companies leading the way, using blockchain to raise capital. And over time, other companies will follow.
Crypto is at its Blockbuster vs Netflix moment.
Right now, businesses are going onchain and adopting crypto because they want to. They get it.
Soon, the other businesses will be desperately trying to catch up. They'll go onchain because they need to.
My advice: be early.
Coinbase Expands DEX Trading
Coinbase recently launched DEX trading, letting users trade millions of on-chain assets directly from the app. New tokens become available moments after creation, making it faster than ever to access emerging projects.
Select U.S users can trade Base-native tokens from projects like Virtuals AI Agents, Reserve Protocol DTFs, SoSo Value Indices, Auki Labs, and Super Champs. Coinbase will add new assets in batches, gradually covering the full Base ecosystem.
It plans to add more networks, assets, and countries soon, giving traders faster access to new tokens and helping creators reach millions.
“The Everything Exchange”
This comes after Brian announced that Coinbase aims to be the “everything exchange.” His plan includes offering all assets in one place, DEX integration for millions of assets, expanded derivatives, and tokenized equities soon.
Armstrong has also said that the platform plans to become the top financial services app globally within 5–10 years, as crypto increasingly integrates with traditional finance. He sees a future where all asset classes, money market funds, real estate, securities, and debt, move on-chain.
Coinbase Plans to Become A One-Stop Platform
Coinbase now offers more than trading, including stablecoin payments, staking, rewards, and custody for institutions like BlackRock, Stripe, and PayPal. Armstrong says banks will adopt more crypto solutions, and Coinbase plans to support them.
Coinbase is also expanding beyond crypto to let users trade tokenized stocks, derivatives, prediction markets, and new token sales. The U.S. rollout comes first, with international access later.
In an interview with CNBC, Armstrong said that Coinbase is creating a one-stop shop, on-chain, for all assets- stocks, prediction markets, and more, to build a faster, more accessible global economy.
JPMorgan Explores On-Chain Capital Markets
Wall Street giants are also exploring how traditional markets can go on-chain.
Recently, JP Morgan executives met with the crypto task force to discuss how capital market instruments could move on-chain and what regulatory steps might be needed. They explored which parts of the current system could change and how firms can assess the risks and benefits of going on-chain.
The discussion also focused on JPMorgan’s existing crypto operations, including its digital platform for repurchase agreements. The bank is looking for ways to stay competitive as more financial institutions explore blockchain for faster, cheaper transactions and tokenized assets, a trend that is gaining traction across the industry.
