Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO and founder, attends Consensus 2019, at the Hilton Midtown in New York City on May 15, 2019.Central bank records show that Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman, met Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in May.This meeting took place May 11, and was the Fed's second with CEOs. Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase (the largest bank in America by assets), was the other meeting that month.The Fed declined to comment beyond the time it was scheduled for Powell.Powell's meeting is taking place amid increased scrutiny of cryptocurrency trading, as digital coin prices have shot up. Fears of inflation have been linked with explosive gains in products like bitcoin, Ethereum, and dogecoin, which in turn has been tied to Fed's easy monetary policy.The Fed is also exploring the possibility of a central bank digital currency. A paper on the potential ramifications will be published this summer. Recent statements from prominent central bank officials have raised doubts about the necessity of a CBDC.Paul Ryan, former House Speaker, was also listed as attending the meeting with Powell & Armstrong.Armstrong also met with several Washington political leaders at the same time. He tweeted on May 14 a photo of himself with Ryan, and another one with Nancy Pelosi, the current House Speaker. Armstrong's 21-part thread on the visits didn't mention Powell.Armstrong stated in one of his tweets, "The politicians and head agency officials I met with were all thoughtful, committed individuals, so I was happy having our teams connected, as well as new friendships formed."As with the other meetings, it is expected that the Fed's decision to create a digital currency will be a topic at the Amrstrong–Powell meeting.Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency platform, has 56 million users verified and $223 billion of assets. It became the first cryptocurrency exchange to list its shares directly on the Nasdaq in April. Coinbase shares traded at $241 per share on Friday.According to Canaccord Genuity, 81% of the company's revenues come from retail trading while 5% are from institutional trading. It is the crypto exchange with the highest trading fees.Tanaya Macheel contributed this report.
