Coinbase

Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam opened Coinbase in San Francisco in 2012. It listed on Nasdaq in 2021.

Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam opened Coinbase in San Francisco in 2012, when buying bitcoin still meant a bank wire and a long wait. The company listed on Nasdaq in April 2021 under the ticker COIN. By 2025 it described itself as remote-first, with no physical headquarters, and put its user count above 100 million. The US app is still a dollar book: bank account in, bitcoin or ether out, with custody and staking beside the spot desk.