Coinbase CEO Worth $8.5B Doesn't Want His Own Charity Foundation but Would Sponsor His Favourite Video Game

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong has ruled out setting up a charitable foundation, telling a podcast that much of organised philanthropy does more harm than good. In the same conversation, he confirmed his company would put money behind the competitive tournament for a mobile strategy game he plays with his wife.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Katie Miller Podcast, Armstrong said financial advisers routinely urge newly wealthy founders to set up foundations, often for tax reasons, and that he has turned them down each time. 'No, I'm not going to do that,' he said, adding that his fear is losing control of the money once it leaves his hands.

He gave both practical and ideological reasons. Armstrong argued that 'a lot of charities and philanthropies are actually net negative on the world.' He said it is 'remarkably hard to find a foundation that has not gotten captured by ideology.' He pointed to the Ford Foundation, saying its founder, the carmaker Henry Ford, would be 'turning over in his grave' at what the body has become.

He singled out Bill Gates too, suggesting the Microsoft co-founder had leaned into charitable giving to 'rehabilitate my image' rather than out of pure generosity.

Armstrong stopped short of ruling it out for good. He keeps a donor-advised fund, a personal giving account that directs money to causes without a foundation's machinery, and uses it for projects he considers 'helping civilization advance'. He would not, he added, say never.

Bankrolling a Stockholm Esports Final

The game in question is The Battle of Polytopia, a turn-based strategy title Armstrong said he and his wife had become hooked on. He noticed its tournaments carried only modest prize pots, which he put down to a small player base, guessing 'only like 50,000' people played it worldwide. The developer, Midjiwan, says the game has passed 25M downloads.

So Coinbase agreed to sponsor the game's annual World Championship. Entry is free, qualifiers run through much of the year, and the 2025 event drew more than 10,000 sign-ups. The 2026 edition carries a $10,000 (£7,400) prize pool and ends with a live final in Stockholm on 10 October, where eight qualifiers meet on stage. Armstrong called it 'a personal hobby' and said he was glad to back it, though he did not say how much Coinbase would give.

The decade-old title, playable on mobile and personal computers, leans on a loyal fan base and won a games-industry community award in 2025. Its championship has grown fast, expanding from six finalists last year to eight this time.

A Fortune Tied to Crypto and Longevity

Armstrong co-founded Coinbase in 2012 with Fred Ehrsam and took the crypto exchange public in 2021. The company is the largest crypto trading platform in the United States and, in May 2025, became the first crypto-native business added to the S&P 500.

Most of Armstrong's wealth sits in Coinbase stock, so his fortune is estimated at around $8.5B (£6.3B) but moves sharply with the share price, and tracking indices have placed it higher and lower through 2026.

Armstrong has, however, committed large sums to science. He co-founded NewLimit, a biotechnology company working to reverse cellular ageing through epigenetic reprogramming.

In June, the firm raised $435M (£322M) in a Series C led by Founders Fund that valued it at about $3.1B (£2.3B). It plans to move its first treatment into human trials in 2027, starting with liver disease. He has framed longevity, not conventional charity, as the cause worth his resources.

For now, Armstrong has been clear about where his money goes. He would rather back companies, science, and an esports tournament than run a foundation bearing his name.