Coinbase Considered, Decided Against Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy

Coinbase Global Inc. was tempted in the past to go all in on the Bitcoin buying strategy popularized by Michael Saylor but considered the scheme too risky.

“There were definitely moments over the last 12 years where we thought, man, should we put 80% of our balance sheet into crypto — into Bitcoin specifically,” Brian Armstrong, co—founder and chief executive officer of the largest US crypto exchange, said during a video talk on the X social network on Friday.

Coinbase ultimately decided against the gambit as it risked damaging the firm’s cash position as a startup, and could have ...