Fred Ehrsam

Frederick "Fred" Ernest Ehrsam III[1] is an American business executive and investor who is the co-founder and former managing partner of cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm. He is also the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.[2]

Fred Ehrsam
Born
Frederick Ernest Ehrsam III

(1988-05-10) May 10, 1988
Boston, Massachusetts
EducationDuke University
Occupation(s)Co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm
Known forExecutive, entrepreneur, co-founder of Coinbase
Websitewww.fredehrsam.org

Education and early life

Ehrsam was born on May 10, 1988, in Boston, growing up in Concord, Massachusetts.[3] He played video games professionally in high school, and was an avid World of Warcraft player, which introduced him to the concept of in-game digital currencies.[4][2]

In 2010, Ehrsam graduated with distinction from Duke University,[4] earning a B.S. in computer science with a minor in economics.[5] At Duke, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[6][7]

Career

After graduating from Duke, Ehrsam became a foreign exchange trader at the investment bank Goldman Sachs in New York.[2][8] He learned about Bitcoin from a Georgetown University professor's paper, and began trading in his free time.[4]

Coinbase
Main article: Coinbase

In 2012, Ehrsam and Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase in an apartment in San Francisco, as a way for cryptocurrency enthusiasts to trade bitcoins and other digital currencies.[9][4] The two met on the Bitcoin subreddit forum.[4] Ehrsam served as Coinbase's first President.[10] Ehrsam reportedly reached out to his alma mater Duke to invest in Coinbase's 2015 Series C. He increased Duke's initial investment a hundredfold.[11] In January 2017, he announced he was leaving the company, but would remain on its board.[9] He also reportedly still owned 8.9% of Coinbase stock as of April 2021, and was assigned to the company's audit committee before its April 2021 public offering.[10]

Ehrsam was featured as one of the main protagonists in the 2020 novel "Kings of Crypto: One Startup's Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street."[12]

Paradigm

In 2018, Ehrsam co-founded cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm with former Sequoia Capital investor Matt Huang.[13] They founded the company to invest in cryptocurrencies and the companies that focus on that market, and became the firm's managing partners.[14][15] As of October 2020, the company had made 28 investments in cryptocurrency-related companies.[13]

On November 15, 2021, Paradigm closed the largest-ever cryptocurrency venture capital fund at the time. The fund raised a total of $2.5 billion to invest in nascent cryptocurrency and Web3 projects.[16]

In October, 2023, Ehrsam stepped down from his managing partner role at Paradigm and announced he will continue to act as a general partner.[17]

Recognition
  • 2013 – Ehrsam was named to TIME Magazine's list of 30 People Under 30 Changing the World[18]
  • 2014 – Ehrsam was named to Forbes' 30 under 30 list at age 25[3]

See also

References
  1. Neghaiwi, Steve Stecklow, Anna Irrera, Brenna Hughes (2017-12-01). "Exclusive: Tezos founders push for legal bailout from Swiss foundation". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2018-07-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "#1664 Fred Ehrsam". Forbes. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  3. "30 Under 30: Futures Market". Forbes. June 30, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. "Coinbase mafia shows how tight a circle holds sway over Bitcoin". Japan Times. March 1, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  5. Becker, Charles (2018-10-28). ""The downfall of Durham's historic Hayti: Propagated or preempted by urban renewal?"" (PDF). Duke University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  6. SAE Alumni Directory. Evanston, IL: Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. 2018.
  7. "Fred Ehrsam, Paradigm Operations LP: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  8. "BrokerCheck - Find a broker, investment or financial advisor". brokercheck.finra.org. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  9. "Why Coinbase's Cofounder Is Moving On". Fortune. January 21, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  10. "Coinbase Independent Directors Have Close Company Ties". Wall Street Journal. April 5, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  11. "Duke University's Early Coinbase Investment Could Now Be Worth $500M: Sources". Yahoo Money. March 26, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  12. Roberts, Jeff (December 15, 2020). Kings of Crypto: One Startup's Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street. Harvard Business Review Press. p. 188. ISBN 9781647820183.
  13. "These Young Investors Betting Big On Crypto Are Taking Harvard And Stanford Along For The Ride". Forbes. October 18, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  14. "Fidelity, Square, Coinbase Launch Bitcoin Trade Group". Wall Street Journal. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  15. "Fred Ehrsam". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  16. Matney, Lucas (November 15, 2021). "Crypto VC firm Paradigm debuts monster $2.5 billion fund". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  17. "Paradigm's Fred Ehrsam Steps Back From Crypto-Focused VC Firm". Bloomberg.com. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  18. "These Are the 30 People Under 30 Changing the World: Fred Ehrsam". Bloomberg. December 5, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
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