Brian Armstrong: Bitcoin ETF Approval Is Win-Win For Coinbase

Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN is coming off a stellar year in which it surged more than 390%. The recent approvals of 11 Bitcoin BTC/USD ETFs have left many wondering if broader access to Bitcoin will help or harm Coinbase moving forward.

What Happened: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last Wednesday to discuss the impacts of the ETF approvals on Coinbase and the broader crypto space.

"There's 52 million Americans who have been using crypto over the past decade, and I think they've been waiting for some kind of acknowledgment from the government, and the SEC in particular, that this asset class is here to stay — and they finally got that," Armstrong said.

Coinbase shares have traded lower since the approval. The stock is down about 16% over the last week, but it remains up more than 77% over the last three months as Coinbase shares rallied in anticipation of ETF approval.

Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest sold 31,281 shares of Coinbase last Thursday, one day after the ETFs were approved, in a transaction valued at $4.41 million.

Related Link: Here’s How Much $1,000 Invested In Bitcoin Today Could Be Worth In 2030 If Cathie Wood’s Price Target Comes True

On the other hand, Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri maintained Coinbase with an Outperform and raised the price target from $110 to $180 late last week. Wedbush said it sees Coinbase benefiting from the Bitcoin ETF approvals and the resulting increase of investments in crypto assets by institutions.

The Coinbase CEO told CNBC the company was named as a custodian on 10 of the 13 Bitcoin ETF applications. As custodian, Coinbase is responsible for the security and safeguarding of the assets held by the ETFs and will also receive modest custody fees estimated to be between 1% and 2%.

Some have speculated that investors will choose to invest in Bitcoin through one of the newly listed ETFs rather than opening a Coinbase account and purchasing Bitcoin directly, but Armstrong disagreed. As investors become more comfortable with crypto through the Bitcoin ETFs, they will migrate to the Coinbase ecosystem, he said.

“Many of them will graduate from ETFs to actually holding it directly and then starting to use it directly,” Armstrong predicted.

COIN Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Coinbase shares closed Tuesday up 2.37% at $133.88.

Image: Coinbase Photo by Useacoin on Shutterstock