People 4 min read· beginner
Coinbase, the company
The exchange that built Base — and how it got here.
Founded
2012
Founders
Brian Armstrong & Fred Ehrsam
IPO
April 2021 (Nasdaq: COIN)
YC batch
S12
Origins
Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. It went through Y Combinator's S12 batch and grew into the largest US-based cryptocurrency exchange.
Going public
In April 2021 Coinbase listed on the Nasdaq via direct listing, ticker COIN. The IPO was widely treated as a milestone moment for the crypto industry entering public markets.
Why Base exists
Coinbase built Base as the onchain counterpart to its exchange — a way to let users do more than buy and hold. The bet: bring Coinbase-scale UX to onchain apps, then bring Coinbase's users into them.
Resources
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