--- title: "Coinbase CEO Says Crypto Exchange Is ‘Misunderstood’" description: "Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong claims the cryptocurrency exchange is \"misunderstood\" by investors, citing Wall Street's underestimation of the company amid a 30% stock decline this year. He argues that " type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/276453663.md" published_at: "2026-02-20T14:37:18.000Z" --- # Coinbase CEO Says Crypto Exchange Is ‘Misunderstood’ > Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong claims the cryptocurrency exchange is "misunderstood" by investors, citing Wall Street's underestimation of the company amid a 30% stock decline this year. He argues that traditional finance views digital assets as a threat, similar to past disruptions by companies like Uber and Airbnb. Critics on social media questioned his credibility, pointing out his stock sales totaling $550 million between April 2025 and January 2026. Armstrong maintains that Coinbase shares are undervalued, currently trading at $165.94, down 52% over five years. Coinbase Global (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong says the cryptocurrency exchange he runs is “misunderstood” by investors. Armstrong, who also co-founded Coinbase, took to social media to fire back at crypto bears and critics of his trading platform. In several online posts, the CEO described what he called Wall Street’s persistent underestimation of Coinbase. Armstrong argued that his company is dealing with a classic “innovator’s dilemma” as traditional finance grapples with digital asset disruption. He wrote that Coinbase is often “misunderstood or under-appreciated” by traditional financial analysts and many investors. Armstrong also said that banks and Wall Street firms view digital assets as a competitive threat, comparing crypto to disruptions caused by Uber, Airbnb and SpaceX. The comments and criticisms come with COIN stock down 30% this year as prices for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies crash. As might be expected, Armstrong’s comments drew sharp responses from other social media users, many of whom accused the Coinbase CEO of whinging. One critic argued that Coinbase appears misunderstood because Armstrong continues selling shares in the company, questioning why investors should hold the stock if the CEO doesn’t. Another user on social media asked: “Why aren’t you buying your own stock then if it is so misunderstood?” Between April 2025 and January 2026, Armstrong sold 1.5 million shares of COIN stock, generating $550 million U.S. in proceeds. Armstrong didn’t comment on his stock sales but said that Coinbase’s shares are undervalued by traditional metrics. Coinbase’s stock is currently trading at $165.94 U.S. per share, having declined 52% over the last five years. ### Related Stocks - [ETH.US - Grayscale Ethereum Mini Staking ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ETH.US.md) - [QETH.US - Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/QETH.US.md) - [BTCW.US - WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCW.US.md) - [ARKB.US - ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKB.US.md) - [BITO.US - ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BITO.US.md) - [ETHA.US - IShares Ethereum Trust ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ETHA.US.md) - [BRRR.US - CoinShares Bitcoin ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRRR.US.md) - [EZBC.US - Franklin Bitcoin ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EZBC.US.md) - [CETH.US - 21Shares Ethereum ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CETH.US.md) - [COIN.US - Coinbase](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/COIN.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 08:27 ETPhemex 启动了 AI 原生革命，标志着全面的 AI 转型的开始 | Phemex，一家以用户为导向的加密货币交易所，宣布推出其 “AI 原生革命”，标志着其核心运营、产品理念和战略方向的全面转型。Phemex 并不将人工智能视为一个独立的功能，而是围绕智能系统进行重组，以增强管理、运营、产品开发和战略规划。 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276338138.md) | | 随着 IPO 谈判的传播，Polymarket 宣布与 Substack 达成独家合作伙伴关系 | Polymarket 与 Substack 合作，允许作家将实时预测市场数据整合到他们的文章中，从而增强新闻报道，提供关于各种主题的实时更新。这一独家合作旨在将 Polymarket 的影响力扩展到其交易平台之外。尽管该公司仍为私有公司，但 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276474060.md) | | Ledn 通过以比特币抵押贷款为担保的债券筹集了 1.88 亿美元 | 加密货币贷款公司 Ledn 通过与比特币抵押贷款相关的资产支持证券筹集了 1.88 亿美元，这标志着比特币抵押贷款与结构化债券市场整合的重要一步。这笔交易使机构投资者能够在不直接持有数字资产的情况下获得加密信用的敞口，反映出传统金融与数字资 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276326164.md) | | 05:41 ET Phemex 推出 AI 原生革命，并宣布全面进行 AI 转型 | Phemex，一家以用户为中心的加密货币交易所，宣布启动其人工智能原生革命，开始全面转型，将人工智能融入其核心商业模式和战略方向。这一转变旨在简化运营、增强产品开发和改善决策过程。首席执行官 Federico Variola 强调，这场人工 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276433390.md) | | 特朗普支持的 American Bitcoin 在精英企业加密货币圈中获得一席之地 | 美国比特币公司（American Bitcoin Corp）由埃里克·特朗普（Eric Trump）支持，已积累了 6,039 个比特币，使其在全球企业比特币国库中排名前 20。尽管通过挖矿和购买迅速积累了比特币，该公司的股票自纳斯达克上市 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276360652.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.