Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently published an article listing eight upgrades he believes the modern financial system still needs to complete. Foreign media commentary suggests that this roadmap covers areas such as tokenization of real-world assets, 24/7 trading, stablecoin payments, self-custody wallets, and AI compliance tools, but these proposals are not new—the industry has repeatedly put forward similar ideas over the past several years.
The focus remains on asset tokenization.
Armstrong proposes that assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate be fully tokenized on-chain to enable faster settlement, fractional ownership, and broader global liquidity. In his vision, on-chain financial infrastructure can reduce intermediaries and allow more users to directly access global markets.
Foreign media note that this narrative aligns closely with the early crypto industry’s push toward financial tokenization. The difference is that Coinbase now places greater emphasis on integrating traditional financial assets, stablecoin networks, and compliance tools into actionable infrastructure, rather than leaving it at the conceptual stage.
AI compliance and self-custody in parallel
On the technical path, Armstrong listed AI-driven compliance tools as a key component, arguing that such tools help bridge traditional finance with on-chain systems. He also advocated for expanding access to self-custody wallets, enabling any user with a smartphone to directly hold and transfer assets.
- Key focus areas include the tokenization of real-world assets.
- Payment scenarios include stablecoins and cross-border transfers.
- The infrastructure also includes AI compliance and self-custody wallets.
The article argues that this solution aims to address two types of issues simultaneously: one being the efficiency of cross-border payments and asset transfers, and the other being compliance costs and access barriers. If pursued in this direction, stablecoin payments, on-chain settlement, and global liquidity pools will become the core pillars.
The real bottleneck remains the advancement of regulation.
Foreign media believe that the technology itself is not the hardest part; the more realistic barriers remain insufficient regulatory clarity and the slow adoption of on-chain financial infrastructure by large institutions. Armstrong also calls in the article for a more innovation-friendly regulatory approach, advocating rules based on risk rather than one-size-fits-all restrictions.
The article also notes that Coinbase's frustration with the slow pace of U.S. regulatory developments is growing. In particular, the sluggish approval process in areas such as tokenized stock trading is pushing the industry to seek more favorable regulatory environments overseas.
Based on this, foreign media concluded that Armstrong’s recent unified statement was not only an articulation of industry vision but also a signal to U.S. regulators: if a clear regulatory framework is not established domestically, related infrastructure and capital activities may continue to shift to other jurisdictions.