Coinbase adds former xAI and X finance chief to board
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The exchange has named Anthony Armstrong, who previously served as chief financial officer at Elon Musk's xAI and at X, to its board of directors.
The appointment, first reported by The Block, brings a finance executive with direct experience inside two of Musk's companies onto Coinbase's governing body. Armstrong's background spans a period in which xAI grew from a research-focused startup into an entity now folded into SpaceX's corporate structure, and in which X underwent its own financial restructuring under Musk's ownership.
The move comes as Coinbase continues to position itself as more than a crypto trading venue, a shift the appointment is intended to support. Bringing in an executive whose recent work centered on AI infrastructure and social-media finance, rather than crypto-native markets, suggests the exchange is looking outside its traditional talent pool as it broadens its business lines.
The hire is corroborated by at least one other account describing the same board addition, with both describing Armstrong's tenure at xAI and X in identical terms. Coverage does not specify what board committees Armstrong will join or what specific expertise Coinbase expects him to contribute beyond his CFO background at the two Musk-led firms.
The appointment surfaces against a broader backdrop of xAI's own financial volatility. Separate reporting has noted that xAI's costs have pushed the company from an $8 billion profit to a loss approaching $5 billion ahead of a planned IPO, even as SpaceX has kept its 8,285 BTC holding, valued at $603 million, unchanged. Whether Armstrong's prior role touched those financial dynamics, or how his experience there might inform his advisory work at Coinbase, is not detailed in available reporting.
What remains unclear is the timing of Armstrong's board term, any compensation terms tied to the appointment, and whether Coinbase plans additional non-crypto hires as part of its expansion strategy. Also unaddressed is whether Armstrong retains any ongoing ties to xAI, X, or SpaceX that could intersect with Coinbase's business, including its bitcoin holdings or its dealings with AI-infrastructure firms.