Coinbase CEO says Big banks now view crypto as an ‘existential’ threat to their business

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said a top executive at one of the world’s 10 largest banks told him crypto is now the bank’s “number one priority” and an “existential” issue.

At Davos, Armstrong highlighted tokenization of assets and stablecoins as major themes, arguing they could broaden access to investments for billions while threatening to bypass traditional banks.

He described the Trump administration as the most crypto-forward government globally, backing efforts like the CLARITY Act, and predicted that AI agents will increasingly use stablecoins for payments outside conventional banking rails.