When Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced in 2020 that the crypto exchange would ban political discussions in the workplace, the move sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. Now, five years later, Armstrong is revealing the unusual sources of inspiration he turned to before delivering that controversial message: speeches from Ronald Reagan and Lee Kuan Yew.
Looking to Reagan and Lee Kuan Yew for Guidance
In a recent appearance on Jack Altman’s Uncapped podcast, Armstrong said he studied how other leaders had handled moments of deep internal division.
One example was President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 decision to fire more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers. Armstrong said that watching Reagan’s speeches gave him “a little bit of confidence” in the days leading up to his own announcement.
He also drew on the example of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, who faced labor unrest at Singapore Airlines ahead of the 1980 election. Lee famously told the pilots’ union: “Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him, or give it up.”
For Armstrong, those words resonated as he prepared to confront Coinbase employees.
Delivering a Shaky but Defining Speech
Despite the preparation, Armstrong admits he was nervous.
“I remember getting in front of the company, and my voice was cracking and my leg was shaking, and I almost couldn’t get through it,” he said on the podcast. “But ultimately it turned out to be one of the best things we ever did.”
In his September 2020 blog post, Armstrong argued that political debates at work had become “a distraction” and “a source of division.” He pointed to Google and Facebook as cautionary tales of how internal disputes could sap productivity.
Pushback From Silicon Valley Leaders
Not everyone agreed with Armstrong’s approach. Then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey questioned whether a company built on cryptocurrency itself a political and ideological project could realistically be apolitical.
Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo went even further, calling Armstrong’s move “the abdication of leadership” and likening it to telling employees to “shut up and dribble.”
The backlash was intense, but Armstrong held firm. Coinbase offered exit packages to any employees unwilling to abide by the new rules, and around 5% of the workforce (60 employees) chose to leave.
A Leadership Philosophy Built on Hard Choices
Looking back, Armstrong believes the policy was the right call.
“If you’re in a position of leadership, it will occasionally become necessary for you to do something really difficult, which will piss off some large group of people, but it’s the right thing to do for the company,” Armstrong said. “And when I did it, I had no idea I would be talking about it five years later.”
For Armstrong, the ban on politics at work wasn’t just about productivity it was about preserving focus during a period of rapid growth in both Coinbase and the broader crypto market. Whether admired or criticized, the move remains a defining moment in his tenure as CEO.
