Emilie Choi (born 1979) is the President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Coinbase, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing cryptocurrencies. She is a corporate development & strategy executive and currently lives out of San Francisco, California. ^[1][2][10]

Education

Emilie Choi conducted her undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics, and continued to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School. ^[3][9][10]

Career

From 2000 to 2003, Emilie Choi worked as a Senior Analyst in Investment Banking at Legg Mason Wood Walker. Her responsibilities included various aspects of mergers and acquisitions, private equity offerings, and financial advisory services. She conducted technical valuation analyses, prepared pitch books, and participated in due diligence for transactions. ^[11]

From 2003 to 2005, Choi served as a Senior Analyst in Corporate Development and Strategy at Yahoo!. Her role involved advising the senior management team on market opportunities, executing acquisitions, investments, and joint ventures. She contributed to various business units at Yahoo!, including Yahoo! Search, e-Commerce, International, VoIP, Local, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Kids, Careers, and Yahoo! Finance. ^[11][10]

While studying at Wharton, Choi worked in International Strategy and Operations at Myspace during the Summer MBA Program in 2006. She focused on developing MySpace's China expansion strategy, conducting market research, and identifying potential structures for various markets. She also engaged in financial modeling and presented recommendations to management. ^[11]

From 2008 to 2009, Choi held the position of Director, Digital Business Strategy and Operations at Warner Bros. Entertainment. She developed long-term business strategies and plans for Warner Bros. digital businesses, negotiated business development partnerships, assessed product and technology options, and worked on audience and monetization initiatives. ^[11][10]

Linkedin

From 2009 to 2018, Emilie Choi served as the Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at LinkedIn. She led all mergers and acquisitions activities at the company, overseeing more than 40 deals during her tenure. Notable acquisitions and ventures included lynda.com, Bright.com, Newsle, Connectifier, SlideShare, and Fliptop, as well as LinkedIn's China joint venture and strategic investments. ^[8][11][10]

Board Member

Emilie Choi has served as a Board Member for various organizations. From April 2017 to August 2022, Choi was a member of the board of directors for Naspers, a global internet and entertainment company known for its investments in tech. During this time, she also joined ZipRecruiter's board in May 2018 and remained in this role until August 2022, contributing her expertise for four years and four months. Since August 2022, Emilie is a Board Member at Okta, a cloud software provider that helps companies manage and secure user authentication into applications, and for developers to build identity controls into applications, website web services and devices. ^[7][11]

Coinbase

In March 2018, Emilie Choi joined Coinbase as the Vice President of Business and Data. Within three months of her appointment, she led Coinbase's acquisition of three companies: Cipher Browser (April 2018), Earn.com (April 2018), and Paradex (May 2018). She also initiated the launch of Coinbase Ventures in April 2018, a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting early-stage companies in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. On June 19th, 2018, Emilie became the COO of Coinbase and then took on the additional role of President while retaining her position as COO on November 20th, 2018. Under her leadership, Coinbase executed a $300 million Series E financing round that valued the company at $8 billion and later completed its public listing on the NASDAQ. ^{[3][4][5][6][11][10]}

Net Worth

As of December 2024, Emilie Choi's estimated net worth was $326 million. This valuation is based on her reported shares in several companies, including Coinbase Global, Inc., ZipRecruiter, Inc., and Okta, Inc. ^[10]

Views on Cryptocurrency and Regulation

Choi is a vocal advocate for the cryptocurrency industry, frequently speaking on the need for clear regulation and the potential of blockchain technology. ^{[12] [10]}

U.S. Competitiveness and National Security

At the a16z American Dynamism Summit in March 2024, Choi expressed concern that the U.S. is losing its lead in cryptocurrency, comparing the situation to the nation's previous challenges with semiconductor chip manufacturing and 5G technology. She argued that allowing crypto development to move offshore is a "travesty" and a "national security issue." Choi noted that while 80% of G20 countries were enacting or developing crypto legislation, the U.S. had not, resulting in 70% of crypto developers moving offshore. She emphasized that the instinct for new technologies like crypto and AI should not be to "push it offshore, or push it back in the bottle." ^[12]

The Need for Regulatory Clarity

Choi has been a proponent of establishing clear "rules of the road" for the crypto industry in the U.S. She has criticized what she describes as "overzealous regulators such as the SEC, who are overstepping their boundaries." She pointed to the Fit 21 bill as a sensible piece of legislation that would provide basic clarity by giving the SEC jurisdiction over digital securities and the CFTC jurisdiction over commodities for spot trading. Choi has stated that the industry is actively asking for regulation to protect customers and consumers. ^{[12] [10]}

Upgrading the Financial System

Choi advocates for crypto as a means to "upgrade the financial system." She argues that the traditional financial system is slow, clunky, and does not serve most Americans well, particularly citing high fees. In contrast, she describes crypto as 24/7, global, and decentralized, removing intermediaries. She believes crypto is both a "libertarian movement about individual freedom" and "progressive in nature" due to its potential to serve underbanked and underserved populations, making it a highly inclusive financial technology. ^[12]

Dispelling Myths About Illicit Use

Choi has actively worked to counter the narrative that cryptocurrency's primary use is for illicit activities. She refers to this as a "myth," citing studies that show less than 0.5% of crypto transactions are illicit, compared to an estimated 3-5% for cash transactions. She highlights the traceability of the blockchain as a deterrent for criminal activity, noting that the vast majority of funds from the Colonial Pipeline hack were recovered and that Hamas announced it would no longer accept Bitcoin because it was too traceable. ^[12]

Philanthropy and Investments

Choi is an active investor in startups, focusing on the technology and cryptocurrency sectors. ^[10]

Support for Startups

Through her role at Coinbase, Choi has been instrumental in the activities of Coinbase Ventures, which has invested in over 150 startups. The venture arm focuses on early-stage companies using blockchain technology to innovate in various industries. Beyond her corporate role, Choi has made at least 11 personal investments in various startups, serving not only as a financial backer but also as a mentor to founders. ^[10]

Public Speaking and Media Presence

Emilie Choi is a prominent public figure in the cryptocurrency industry, frequently participating in conferences, interviews, and podcasts to discuss fintech and digital assets. She has appeared at major events like the Bloomberg Technology Summit and the a16z American Dynamism Summit. Her public commentary often focuses on corporate strategy, the need for regulatory clarity, and the path to mainstream crypto adoption. Her insights are regularly discussed within the crypto community on social media platforms. ^{[12] [10]}