Coinbase Appoints Former Morgan Stanley, Musk Executive Anthony Armstrong to Board

Coinbase has appointed Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley executive who also held senior roles at Elon Musk-led companies, to its board of directors.

The crypto exchange disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 2 that Armstrong had been named a director, The Block reported. He will also serve on the audit and compliance committee. The appointment expands Coinbase's board to 10 members from nine.

Armstrong spent about a decade in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and rose to vice chairman of the investment banking division. He later served as a senior adviser at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

More recently, he served as chief financial officer at Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI, as well as X.AI and social media company X. Coinbase said Armstrong has maintained a consistent focus on running large organizations efficiently and without waste in complex environments spanning finance, government and technology.

The board expansion comes as Coinbase pursues its "everything exchange" strategy, aiming to offer a broader range of financial products beyond digital-asset trading. Last month, the company launched a service for eligible users in the U.K. to trade about 4,000 U.S. stocks 24 hours a day, five days a week.

The company's revenue mix is also becoming more diversified. In its latest quarterly report, Coinbase said 88% of net revenue came from businesses other than spot Bitcoin trading.

Coinbase shares closed at $174.96 on September 2. The stock has fallen more than 40% over the past year.