What To Know:
- Brian Armstrong sold 40,000 Coinbase shares on Jan. 5 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, generating roughly $10 million in proceeds.
- The sale follows a series of large divestments across 2024 and 2025, with dozens of sell orders and no recorded purchases.
- Armstrong says he remains bullish on Coinbase, but is reducing concentration risk by diversifying part of his net worth.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has continued to reduce his holdings in the crypto exchange he co-founded, selling another 40,000 shares of COIN in early January.
According to VanEck’s Director of Digital Asset Research, Matthew Sigel, Armstrong sold 40,000 shares on January 5, 2026. The transactions were executed at weighted average prices between $248 and $250 per share. The total sale amounted to roughly $10 million. Trade tracking platforms initially estimated the value at over $100 million based on broader calculations, but SEC filings show proceeds closer to $9.9 million for that specific transaction.
The sale was carried out under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Armstrong adopted the plan on August 15, 2025. Such plans allow corporate insiders to sell shares at predetermined times in order to avoid accusations of trading on material nonpublic information.
Coinbase CEO Continues to Sell Coinbase Stock
On the same day, Armstrong exercised 40,000 employee stock options at an exercise price of $18.71 per share. He received 40,000 Class A shares and subsequently sold the entire lot in multiple transactions. Sale prices ranged from $248.00 to $250.07 per share.
I think I’m more of a “you go first, @brian_armstrong” kind of guy here. https://t.co/zdZSb8a0WC pic.twitter.com/HrrtTbr8wD
— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) February 11, 2026
Following the January trades, Armstrong directly held 2,553,924 employee stock options. He did not retain any Class A shares from that exercised batch. An additional 526 Class A shares are held indirectly through The Brian Armstrong Living Trust.
The January transaction follows another 40,000-share sale in late December 2025. On December 22, Armstrong sold 40,000 Class A shares at weighted average prices between $248.60 and $252.30. This sale generated nearly $10 million in proceeds. After those trades, he no longer directly owned Class A common stock, aside from shares tied to options and trust holdings.
Armstrong’s divestment trend has drawn attention over the past year. In the fourth quarter of 2024, he sold roughly $437 million worth of shares. In the second and third quarters of 2025, he sold about $196 million and $268 million, respectively. Trade trackers report 88 sell orders under his plan and no buy orders.
The activity has sparked debate among market observers. The debate intensified after Armstrong commented on a social media post celebrating a new Coinbase feature that lets users to invest in stocks directly via the platform. “Buying Coinbase through Coinbase feels good,” he wrote.
As a Section 16 officer, Armstrong faces regulatory constraints on how he can trade company shares. He has said he uses a 10b5-1 plan to manage his sales. CEO Watcher, a platform that monitors insider transactions, noted publicly that while Armstrong has executed dozens of sales, there have been no corresponding purchases.
Armstrong acknowledged this and argued that concentrating nearly all personal wealth in a single stock after more than a decade building the company would create excessive exposure. He added that he remains “super long” on Coinbase and that most of his net worth is still tied to the firm. Some proceeds from the stock sales, he said, have been used to fund new ventures.
Coinbase shares have experienced significant volatility over the past year. The stock previously traded as high as $444.64 and is currently priced at around $153.20. The decline reflects broader shifts in crypto market sentiment as well as equity market pressures.
Analysts generally view sales under preset trading plans as routine. But, the scale of Armstrong’s transactions continue to attract scrutiny. Insider selling can influence investor perception, particularly when it occurs during periods of price weakness.
At the same time, financial advisors often caution founders against maintaining extreme concentration in a single equity position. Diversification is a common wealth management strategy, even among executives confident in their company’s long-term prospects.
Also Read: Coinbase Launches CoinbasePredict for Regulated Event Trading
