Fred Ehrsam

Fred Ehrsam graduated from Duke University in 2012 with a degree in computer science and economics, having previously worked as a foreign exchange trader at Goldman Sachs. His Wall Street background gave him fluency in financial markets and institutional risk management that complemented Brian Armstrong's software engineering expertise. Ehrsam discovered Bitcoin while at Goldman Sachs and became convinced it represented a fundamental breakthrough in monetary architecture. He connected with Armstrong through the Bitcoin Reddit community, and the two co-founded Coinbase within months of meeting.

Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase alongside Brian Armstrong in 2012, contributing his Goldman Sachs-trained financial expertise and institutional credibility to the company's early regulatory and investor engagements. Ehrsam was instrumental in raising Coinbase's early venture capital rounds and in building the relationships with institutional counterparties that laid the foundation for Coinbase's eventual institutional services business. He stepped back from active operations as co-founder in January 2017, transitioning to a board advisory role, and departed entirely to co-found Paradigm, a cryptocurrency-focused venture capital firm that became one of the most influential investors in the crypto ecosystem. Paradigm has invested in projects including Uniswap, OpenSea, and FTX, the last of which resulted in substantial investment losses following FTX's collapse in 2022. Ehrsam remains a respected figure in the crypto venture community and has maintained a positive public relationship with Coinbase despite his departure.