Coinbase focused on stable coin growth, Onchain adoption in 2026: Brian Armstrong

Crypto exchange Coin base aims to scale it up stable currency offering and will increase on-chain adoption globally by 2026, according to CEO and founder Brian Armstrong.

On New Year’s Day tweetArmstrong stated that the company’s overarching goal is to make Coinbase “the #1 financial app in the world.”

The post outlined how Coinbase plans to get closer to this goal by 2026, with the company focused on scaling stablecoins and payments while also expanding its footprint globally across crypto, equities, prediction markets and commodities.

Armstrong also confirmed that the exchange will make “major investments” in automation and product quality, and that it will use its Ethereum layer-2 network Base and Base App to “bring the world onchain.”

The message follows a similar New Year’s Eve update from David Duong, Coinbase’s Global Head of Investment Research, who argued that regulatory clarity and institutional adoption are “converging to make crypto part of the financial core.”

Duong also highlighted the role of spot crypto ETFs, stablecoins and tokenization in driving growth and adoption, suggesting that these factors will combine in 2026 “as ETF approval timelines shorten, stablecoins play a larger role in delivery-vs-payment (DvP) structures, and tokenized collateral becomes more widely recognized in traditional transactions.”

These comments also come a few months after Coinbase posted better-than-expected third-quarter financial results, reporting a 26% quarter-over-quarter revenue increase to $1.9 billion.

September also brought news that the exchange is considering launching a native token for Base, although it made it clear that there is no definitive timeline for such a potential launch.

How feasible are Coinbase’s goals?

While Coinbase had a positive 2025, some industry commentators suggest that Brian Armstrong’s latest tweet was deliberately hyperbolic and perhaps should be taken more as a long-term strategy than goals for this year.

“Coinbase’s goals are directional, but overstate short-term feasibility; true adoption depends on solving real problems, not just moving users onto the chain for its own sake,” said Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain consultant and currently the Chief Digital Advisor at the Mongolia Productivity Organization.

Speak with DeclutterLian agreed that Coinbase is a “critical stepping stone” for retail and institutions, but that its stated goal of “bringing the world onchain” oversimplifies the lengthy adoption process.

Coinbase’s strengths lie in infrastructure such as custody and fiat trails, rather than “building these vertical applications,” he said, adding that the exchange’s goals are “only realistic if they enable — not lead — the use cases of others.”

That said, Lian’s prediction for the broader cryptocurrency industry is that there will be a renewed emphasis on “user-centric utility” in 2026.

“After the speculative excesses of previous cycles, 2026 will prioritize recognizable, non-speculative applications,” he explained, pointing to examples such as travel platforms using crypto for seamless cross-border rewards, supply chain tracking for ethical sourcing, and the interoperability of healthcare data across permissioned chains.

Lian also suggested that by 2026, enterprise adoption will mature in finance (e.g., tokenized assets), healthcare (e.g., secure patient records), and supply chains (e.g., origin verification), but that success will ultimately depend on interoperability and regulation.

Coinbase has been contacted for comment.