How Coinbase’s billionaire CEO weathered a clash over Black Lives Matter

Coinbase’s landmark stock listing has made billionaire CEO Brian Armstrong an instant icon of the cryptocurrency revolution — but his last major turn in the spotlight came from a dustup over the Black Lives Matter movement.

While the crypto exchange’s 38-year-old co-founder reportedly keeps a low profile by avoiding the press and public conferences, he became embroiled in controversy last fall when he told Coinbase employees not to talk politics at work. The edict was intentionally out of step with other Silicon Valley giants that issued statements in support of Black Lives Matter and pledged to support racial justice as protests raged across the country last summer.