Coinbase has named Anthony Armstrong to its board of directors, where he will likewise take a position on the Audit and Compliance Committee. He brings roughly ten years of investment-banking background at Morgan Stanley, along with subsequent executive positions across several enterprises owned by Elon Musk.
With this addition, the American cryptocurrency exchange enlarged its board from nine to 10 members, according to a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Armstrong spent close to a decade at Morgan Stanley and ultimately held the role of vice chairman of investment banking, Coinbase noted in a blog post. Subsequently, he transitioned to the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, serving as a senior advisor. Most recently, Armstrong acted as CFO across xAI, X.AI Corp., and X Corp.
"Anthony has had a consistent focus on building things that work at scale, without waste," the company stated. "Efficient execution is one of our core operating principles, and Anthony has lived that standard across some of the most demanding environments in finance, government, and technology."
Notably, the filing pointed out that no familial connection exists between Armstrong and any other director or corporate officer at Coinbase (COIN), including CEO Brian Armstrong.
This appointment comes during Coinbase's ongoing effort to turn into the "everything exchange," expanding far beyond regular cryptocurrency trading. In the previous month, the exchange introduced 24/5 trading access to nearly 4,000 U.S. equities for qualified UK customers. In its latest quarterly earnings release, Coinbase reported that non-bitcoin spot trading activities now account for 88% of its net revenue.
Coinbase stock has declined by more than 40% across the preceding year, finishing Wednesday's trading session at $174.96.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-09-02-anthony-armstrong-former-cfo-elon-musk-xai-x-joins-coinbase-board-413405.
