Brian Armstrong, CEO of US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has endorsed plans for global leaders to create Bitcoin strategic reserves.

Coinbase CEO envisions nation-states stockpiling Bitcoin, suggests it will be ‘central to national security’

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has endorsed plans for global leaders to create Bitcoin (BTC) strategic reserves, suggesting that the move will play a central role in determining the balance of power among nation-states.

In a Jan. 17 blog post on “economic freedom,” Armstrong laid out several suggestions for policymakers to integrate digital assets into their economies in 2025. The CEO’s ideas included crypto-friendly laws, government efficiency, special economic zones, and the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve by governments.

“The next global arms race will be in the digital economy, not space,” Armstrong speculated. “Bitcoin could be as foundational to the global economy as gold and will become central to national security in a world where holdings of Bitcoin can shift the balance of power among nation-states.”)

Coinbase deepened its ties to US lawmakers during the 2024 election cycle, contributing more than $45 million to the Fairshake political action committee and donating $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund. Armstrong reportedly met with Trump in November to discuss personnel appointments, suggesting that the crypto exchange could significantly influence US policy.

When asked by Cointelegraph about plans for a national BTC reserve, Coinbase vice president of US policy Kara Calvert said the exchange was “eager to work” with the incoming Trump administration.

President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly floated the idea of making crypto a national priority in 2025, which could include plans for a BTC stockpile — a campaign promise he made to the industry.

Coinbase, SEC legal cases to continue after Trump takes office

With the leadership of the US Securities and Exchange Commission set to fall under the Trump administration starting on Jan. 20, it’s unclear what the status of legal cases filed against Coinbase — and vice versa — will be going forward.

The SEC filed an enforcement action against the exchange in June 2023, alleging that Coinbase had operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency. On Jan. 7, a federal judge stayed the case until a higher court ruled on an interlocutory appeal.

Coinbase, meanwhile, filed a motion to dismiss the SEC’s case in February 2024, arguing that the agency had failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. A federal judge also dismissed the SEC’s case against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi in December 2024.

Separately, Coinbase filed Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against the SEC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2024 over allegations that US government agencies had attempted to debank crypto firms. An appellate court will also likely rule on a third legal matter over a 2022 request from Coinbase for the SEC to create “potential rules to identify which digital assets are securities.”