Coinbase has appointed Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and chief financial officer at Elon Musk’s xAI and X, to its board of directors.
The appointment, announced on September 2, adds a finance and technology executive with experience across Wall Street, government and Musk’s companies as Coinbase expands its business beyond traditional crypto trading. Armstrong will also join Coinbase’s Audit and Compliance Committee. His appointment increases the company’s board from nine to 10 directors.
Armstrong spent nearly a decade at Morgan Stanley, where he built and led a technology-focused mergers and acquisitions practice. He eventually became vice chairman of investment banking.
He later joined the Department of Government Efficiency as a senior adviser in the Executive Office of the President before moving into senior financial roles at Musk’s companies.
Most recently, Armstrong served as CFO across xAI, X.AI Corp. and X Corp., overseeing financial operations at some of Musk’s most closely watched technology businesses.
Coinbase said Armstrong’s combination of traditional finance, technology and operational experience was a strong fit for the company.
He is not related to Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong, a distinction Coinbase made in its announcement.
Why Coinbase is adding him now
The appointment comes as Coinbase continues to expand from a crypto exchange into a wider financial platform.The company now offers crypto trading alongside derivatives, prediction markets and other financial products. Coinbase has also been building infrastructure around custody, settlement and tokenisation as it develops what it calls an “everything exchange.”
The timing also comes as Coinbase prepares to combine its International Exchange with derivatives platform Deribit. The company says the combined platform will offer perpetuals, dated futures, spot markets and crypto options to eligible users.
Armstrong’s background in technology deals and large-scale financial operations could therefore be relevant as Coinbase manages a business increasingly spanning traditional finance and digital assets.
A board with finance and technology experience
Armstrong joins a board that already includes Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, lead independent director Fred Wilson and technology investor Marc Andreessen, among others.
His appointment gives Coinbase another director with direct experience working across traditional financial markets and the technology sector.
For a company seeking to build financial products that connect crypto with more conventional markets, that combination could prove particularly useful as Coinbase continues expanding its platform.
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