Credit: Anna Tutova(Founder AI Crypto Minds) with Brett Tejpaul(Co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional) at the USA House during World Economic Forum in Davos.
“Bitcoin is a fixed supply and there’s growing demand. So my long term outlook is constructive… no matter what happens week to week… it’s not going to stop the secular trend.”
Even as Bitcoin hovers around $70,000 after a steep February correction, Coinbase Institutional co-CEO Brett Tejpaul sees unstoppable momentum in bank partnerships and tokenization. In an exclusive interview reflecting on his January Davos discussion updated with post-GENIUS Act developments Brett Tejpaul details how five of the world’s top 20 banks now rely on Coinbase’s infrastructure.
From TradFi to Crypto Pioneer
Brett Tejpaul’s three-decade TradFi career at Barclays and JP Morgan primed him for crypto’s institutional wave. “I’ve got a long career that came before all the exciting things in crypto. But I’ve been at Coinbase now for six years. I co-founded the business with Greg Tusar, my partner, and together we built a pretty phenomenal business,” he says.
His epiphany hit early, via traders pitching Bitcoin before modern infrastructure existed. “The very first time I was still working within TradFi and a long time ago my traders and commodities suggested that we add Bitcoin trading…And then Barclays was at a point where it wasn’t really the best place to try new things. I got really excited by it, and opted not to do it within the confines of banking. And then as luck would have it, I was introduced to Brian [Armstrong] and his super expansive vision on where crypto was headed.” Tejpaul joined Coinbase to bridge TradFi rigor with blockchain innovation, capturing 90% of US ETF volume via BlackRock and others.
Bank Deals Signal Mass Adoption
Post-Davos, Coinbase’s bank integrations have accelerated, fueled by the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin clarity passed last July. Brian Armstrong noted partnerships with five top-20 global banks; Brett Tejpaul aims for all 20. …