Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong unveiled the company’s ambitious 2026 roadmap, promising a global “everything exchange”.
While the vision is bold, users and developers alike are signaling frustration, citing a widening gap between Coinbase’s stated priorities and their on-the-ground experiences.
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Brian Armstrong Takes Fire as Coinbase’s 2026 Roadmap Faces User Backlash
According to the Coinbase executive, the Everything app would span crypto, equities, commodities, and prediction markets. It would also feature scaled stablecoins and payments, as well as expanded developer onboarding through the Base chain and the Base App.
Critics have long highlighted safety lapses. In 2025, Coinbase experienced a data breach allegedly involving insider participation.
Despite Armstrong’s 2026 focus on global expansion and automation, many users feel security and customer support remain afterthoughts.
The backlash against the Base App has compounded frustrations. The rebranded self-custody wallet, designed as a hybrid of trading, social feeds, and messaging atop Coinbase’s Layer-2 Base chain, has been criticized for prioritizing creator and content coins over meaningful DeFi or gaming projects.
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Many builders report feeling unsupported and gaslit by Base management. In a lengthy post, developer Coco argued that Coinbase is effectively competing with its own builders, favoring insiders over long-standing projects.
BeInCrypto recently reported on the controversy surrounding Soulja Boy, where backlash erupted after Base creator Jesse Pollak endorsed a meme coin associated with the American rapper and record producer.
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Retail Wants a Financial Super App—Not Social Experiments
Users are also questioning Coinbase’s focus on social versus financial utility. While Armstrong emphasizes onboarding through the Base App, retail traders argue that the company is neglecting the next generation of finance users.
Regulatory decisions have added to confusion. Coinbase plans to turn off on/off ramps in Argentina, a region with high stablecoin adoption. This prompts questions about whether such moves are regulatory, political, or internal.
Finally, analysts and users also cite a disconnect between roadmap and execution, with execution having historically fallen short. This pertains to uneven token listings and opaque decision-making on the Base chain.
Longstanding Base builders echo this, describing an “uneven, unfair playground” where merit is often secondary to internal alignment. Many users perceive Armstrong’s playbook as repetitive and disconnected from community needs.
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Despite these criticisms, some see potential in Coinbase’s 2026 vision. Users acknowledge the Base chain’s promise for on-chain payments and retail adoption, and the Base App could eventually streamline social trading if execution aligns with community needs.
Yet, without addressing security, developer trust, and the disconnect between ambition and delivery, Coinbase risks alienating the very users its roadmap aims to onboard.
As Armstrong pushes for a global “everything exchange,” critics argue that Coinbase must first prove it can secure, support, and empower its existing base before betting on the future of on-chain social finance.
Until then, 2026 may be a year of promise, but also of mounting skepticism.
Source: https://beincrypto.com/coinbase-security-backlash-2026/
