Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that a senior executive from one of the world’s 10 largest banks described crypto as their “number one priority” and an “existential” issue for their business. Armstrong said many traditional financial leaders are no longer skeptical but are actively exploring how to integrate crypto, seeing both risk and opportunity.

A major theme at Davos was tokenization, which is expanding beyond stablecoins into equities, credit, and other financial assets. Armstrong argued that tokenization could help provide investment access to billions of underserved people globally and predicted significant progress in this area by 2026. At the same time, tokenized finance and stablecoins raise the risk that banks could be bypassed by fintechs or asset managers offering direct, blockchain-based financial services.

Armstrong also pointed to growing political support for digital assets in the U.S., highlighting efforts to establish clearer regulatory frameworks. He said regulatory clarity will be crucial for keeping the U.S. competitive as other countries invest heavily in digital asset infrastructure.

Finally, he identified AI and crypto as the two most discussed technologies at Davos, suggesting they will increasingly converge. Armstrong believes AI agents will naturally use crypto rails, especially stablecoins, for payments, accelerating real-world usage of blockchain-based financial infrastructure.