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- Brian Armstrong said the financial system still needed eight major upgrades, with real-world asset tokenization and 24/7 global markets at the heart of his argument.
- The Coinbase CEO described a financial system that is becoming more global, more automated and more reliant on on-chain infrastructure.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, once again laid out a broad thesis about where finance is headed. His point is not limited to the fact that cryptocurrencies will add some new tools to the current system. He argues, in fact, that much of the current financial architecture still operates along outdated paths.
The list he published covers eight areas, ranging from token assets and global trade to stablecoin payments, AI-based compliance, self-custody, and sound money. It’s a broad framework, but the basic message is fairly straightforward. Financing remains fragmented, slow in some places, expensive in others, and relies heavily on intermediaries.
Armstrong places the token on top
Armstrong named Real World Assets Coding As the first major upgrade. This includes real estate, stocks, bonds, funds and other traditional assets moving across the chain, with the aim of faster settlement, fractional ownership and wider distribution.
This is no small technical change. In traditional markets, settlement may take one or two business days, depending on the asset and jurisdiction. Title records are often split between brokers, custodians, transfer agents and clearinghouses. Tokenization attempts to compress part of this process into a programmable digital property, where transfer, settlement, and record-keeping can occur more directly.
The attraction is obvious. For example, tokenized bonds could be settled faster and perhaps distributed to a wider group of investors. Tokenized real estate can lower the entry barrier for equity in assets that are typically illiquid and expensive. The boxes could also become more programmable, through automated compliance checks and cleaner transportation mechanisms.
However, the difficult part is not just the technology. Legal recognition, custody rules, investor protection, secondary market liquidity and the correlation between the token and the underlying assets remain crucial. A token is only useful if the claim behind it is enforceable.
Armstrong also pointed to 24/7 global trading. Within it, futures markets should not be linked to national exchange clocks or isolated liquidity pools. Cryptocurrency markets already operate around the clock, and this has shaped users’ expectations. In contrast, traditional finance still stops and starts according to business days, public holidays and regional market schedules.
This difference is important. A more continuous market could reduce some settlement gaps and improve accessibility for global users. It can also create new risks, especially with respect to out-of-hours liquidity, market monitoring and volatility when there are fewer active professional desks.
Key areas where the financial system still needs modernization:
1. Tokenization of real world assets – real estate, stocks, bonds, funds, etc. On-chain for instant settlement, fractional ownership, and distribution at scale.
2. Global trading 24/7 – Aggregated global liquidity, every…
– Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) May 24, 2026
Stablecoins, AI, and self-protection move in the same picture
Payments were another central point. Armstrong said next-generation payments should be near-instantaneous and low-cost stablecoins Play an essential role. This is one of the clearest areas where cryptocurrencies have actually moved beyond theory.
Stablecoins are increasingly being used for cross-border transfers, exchange settlement, and access to dollars in markets with weaker banking infrastructure and treasury operations within local crypto businesses. The appeal is not complicated. A dollar-denominated token can move at almost any time, often faster than a traditional bank transfer, and without relying on multiple correspondent banks in the middle.
Armstrong also mentioned “agent payments.” This term refers to a newer idea: artificial intelligence agents that can make or trigger payments on behalf of users, companies, or software systems. In practice, this could mean automated purchases, machine-to-machine payments, subscription management, treasury rebalancing, or microtransactions between digital services. For this to succeed at scale, payment paths must be fast, cheap, and programmable. Stablecoins fit naturally into that discussion.
The Coinbase CEO also included AI-powered risk, credit, compliance, and financial advice. This is where the argument moves beyond cryptocurrency trading. Financial institutions are already using automation in fraud detection, underwriting and transaction monitoring, but the next step will be more real-time and more personalized. AI can help assess credit risk, report suspicious activity, improve compliance workflows, and facilitate access to basic financial advice.
There is a catch, of course. Better automation does not automatically mean better results. Models can make errors, reproduce bias, or create new forms of systemic risk if too many institutions rely on similar tools. This is why Armstrong’s point about regulation is important. He called for setting innovation-friendly rules based on risks instead of a one-size-fits-all model.
Self-guarding and open protocols also fall within the same vision. Armstrong said open wallets and financial networks could cut out intermediaries and expand access to anyone with a smartphone. This is the strongest philosophical line on the list. It’s about users holding assets directly, moving money without requesting permission from a central gatekeeper, and interacting with financial services through software rather than bank branches.
He also highlighted capital formation, describing a system in which raising money becomes cheaper and more accessible to founders. In theory, cross-chain fundraising can expand access to early-stage capital markets. In practice, this remains a sensitive area because public token sales have a long history of speculation, poor disclosure, and enforcement problems.
The final point was “sound money,” which Armstrong coined as a refuge from inflation when confidence in legal discipline weakened. This is a familiar argument about cryptocurrencies, especially regarding Bitcoin, but it also reflects a broader concern in the markets. Investors continue to search for assets that can hold value as monetary policy, public debt and inflation expectations become more difficult to read.
For Coinbase, Armstrong’s list also serves as a working thesis. The company sits at the intersection of tokenization, stablecoins, custody, trading infrastructure, wallets, and regulation. So his message is not just a prediction about financing. It’s a map of where Coinbase believes the next competitive layer of the financial system will be built.
