[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong set out eight key tasks the global financial system needs to address, including tokenised assets, stablecoins and artificial intelligence (AI). Armstrong stressed that blockchain-based finance is expanding beyond simple cryptocurrency trading into asset distribution, payments and the broader financial infrastructure.

On May 25, blockchain outlet BeInCrypto reported that Armstrong cited tokenised real-world assets (RWA), a 24-hour trading market, stablecoin payments and AI-based financial services as financial innovation challenges that technology developers and policymakers should tackle together.

The area Armstrong highlighted first was moving real-world assets on-chain. He argued that putting real estate, stocks, bonds and funds onto blockchain networks would enable instant settlement, fractional ownership and broader distribution to global investors.

The comments align with the rapid growth of the tokenisation market. By RWA.xyz data, the global market size of tokenised RWA topped $34.9 billion in May this year and grew about 200% over the past year.

Armstrong also mentioned the need for a 24-hour global trading system. He said an integrated market operating year-round could improve capital efficiency compared with a structure in which trading hours are split by country and market and liquidity is fragmented.

He explained that linking global liquidity into a single pool could also expand investor access and the scope for using leveraged products. This ties in with a push to shift from a system constrained by traditional market hours to always-on trading based on blockchain.

Stablecoins were also included as a key agenda item. Armstrong said stablecoins could expand beyond simple person-to-person remittances to become payment infrastructure even between autonomous AI agents.

Coinbase already runs the stablecoin payments protocol 'x402' and said it processed more than 75.4 million transactions over the past 30 days. The industry is interpreting this as a sign that stablecoins are expanding beyond a tool for cryptocurrency trading into payments between automated software and services.

On AI, he stressed a practical, finance-focused approach. Armstrong argued that AI-based risk management, credit assessment, compliance and financial advisory systems could enable better decision-making, reduce fraud and expand access to capital. He said, "Everyone will be able to access great financial advice," and said AI could change the cost structure of financial services itself. He framed AI not as simple back-office support but as a core tool reshaping risk analysis, suspicious transaction detection and investment advice.

On regulation, he argued that a risk-based approach is needed rather than one-size-fits-all rules. Armstrong said regulatory intensity should be applied differently depending on the nature of the service and asset, adding that applying the same standards across the entire innovation industry could be inefficient.

He also listed a sound monetary system, self-custody and low funding costs as priority tasks the financial system needs to address.

The industry sees Armstrong's eight items as less a simple introduction of technology trends than a condensed list showing how blockchain-based financial infrastructure could be reshaped. As tokenised assets, stablecoins and AI-based financial services are bundled into a single flow, analysis is emerging that competition in financial markets is increasingly likely to expand beyond payments and asset trading into compliance and data processing as well.

Markets are watching whether the growth of tokenised assets can translate into actual institutional reforms and changes in global trading infrastructure.