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. “Brian just announced that of the top 20 largest banks in the world, 5 of them have already partnered with Coinbase, and I hope to get all 20 of them and many more beyond that.”

Standouts include JP Morgan'і deposit token, JPMD issuance and transfer on Coinbase-affiliated public blockchain Base. And JP Morgan’s Solana-based tokenization of Galaxy Digital’s corporate debt, settled in USDC with Coinbase treasury and Franklin Templeton investing, marking JP Morgan’s embrace of "a tool set and platforms and blockchains that weren’t exclusively created by JP Morgan".

"PNC, a top 10 US bank, and they enabled their high net worth clients to actually buy, sell Bitcoin and ETH and they’re using Coinbase’s infrastructure".

Tejpaul frames banks’ dilemma: build in-house or partner? “All the bank CEOs at this point are really carefully considering should I build this natively or should I partner?… We’re now offering that out to everyone else who wants to get involved.” A top-10 global bank CEO called tokenization “mission critical,” echoing Larry Fink’s push for a tokenized everything.​

Tokenization, Stablecoins, Derivatives Surge

Demand spans investments, payments, and tokenization of stocks, bonds, real-world assets for fractional ownership. “The themes for banks are… Number one… investment use case for crypto. Number two… the launch of stablecoins and the enablement of payments. And then the third big theme is all things tokenization.”​

Derivatives lead near-term: Coinbase’s $2.9 billion Deribit acquisition secured 85% crypto options share, now integrated globally from Dubai. “The most strategic and important acquisition we made last year – Deribit… now that they’re located in Dubai, they’ve maintained their share, they’ve done it profitably, they’re a significant contributor now to both revenues and margin. In terms of near-term demand, the biggest demand is clearly in all things derivatives,  now both perps and options.”​

Last year’s 10 acquisitions, including Liquifi for cap table management, "actually really help us leapfrog in terms of product capability".

Navigating Bearish Winds, Regulatory Wins

With Bitcoin down from $120,000 peaks and Ethereum near $2,000 amid “extreme fear,” institutions buy dips viewing Bitcoin as safe-haven. Brett Tejpaul downplays cycles, emphasizing use cases over price: “Now all these institutions that have yet to fully activate are saying, like, why should we do this? And so the investment case is still a thesis. It will go up and down with market forces. But what won’t go up and down is actually things like stablecoins and payments and the future disruption through tokenization.”

Coinbase Asset Management addresses entry timing fears with structured products. Bitcoin holders can lend assets for safe yield, while options-based strategies cap maximum gains and floor losses, deploying capital securely without perfect market timing. “We actually have an asset management business called Coinbase Asset Management… if you’re already long Bitcoin, you can now actually do something with your Bitcoin and earn a little bit in a safe way. And we have products where we can cap and floor your investment return. So if you were thinking about getting invested, you feel a little late, but it’s still early. You could actually safely deploy capital and sort of not lose any funds or like to pick your timing.”

GENIUS Act unlocked leaning in. “That was really the moment… all said: ‘Hey, this is the moment we really need to lean in and actually accelerate building’.” “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.”

Coinbase’s Frenemy Strategy

Coinbase competes with Binance, CME and others on trading but partners via “Crypto as a Service” for example powering PayPal custody despite retail rivalry. “Compete in some places and partner in others. But collectively, when you do that, the whole pie grows. And so I think we’re going to be a really dominant player going forward".

AI amps up: Coinbase Advisor delivers product recommendations and analysis. “The thing I’m probably most excited about is the application of Coinbase Advisor… our teams are working really hard on actually coming to market quickly with AI.”​

For Brett Tejpaul, the real story isn’t Bitcoin’s latest dip, it’s Wall Street’s quiet pivot to a tokenized future, powered by Coinbase.

Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.