Anthony Armstrong, former CFO at Elon Musk's xAI and X, joins Coinbase board

Coinbase has appointed Anthony Armstrong to its board of directors, where he will also serve on the Audit and Compliance Committee. He brings nearly a decade of investment-banking experience at Morgan Stanley, followed by senior roles at several of Elon Musk's firms.

With the nomination, the U.S. crypto exchange increased the size of its board from nine to 10 members, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Armstrong spent nearly a decade at Morgan Stanley and ultimately served as vice chairman of investment banking, Coinbase said in a blog post. He then joined the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as a senior advisor. Most recently, Armstrong served as CFO across xAI, X.AI Corp. and X Corp.

"Anthony has had a consistent focus on building things that work at scale, without waste," the firm said. "Efficient execution is one of our core operating principles, and Anthony has lived that standard across some of the most demanding environments in finance, government, and technology."

Of note, the filing said there are also no family relationships between Armstrong and any director or executive officer of Coinbase (COIN), such as CEO Brian Armstrong.

The move comes amid Coinbase's push to become the "everything exchange," moving beyond strictly crypto trading. Last month, the firm rolled out access to nearly 4,000 U.S. stocks for eligible UK users with 24/5 trading. In its most recent quarterly report, Coinbase said 88% of its net revenue now comes from sources other than bitcoin spot trading.

Coinbase stock is down more than 40% over the past year, closing Wednesday's session at $174.96.