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Coinbase CEO reportedly buys LA mansion for $133M

The estate was formerly owned by Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, the daughter of billionaire Seagram’s heir Charles Bronfman.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase — the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States — reportedly made a multi-million-dollar real estate purchase at the end of 2021.

Armstrong bought a $133-million Los Angeles property from Japanese entrepreneur Hideki Tomita in December, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing anonymous people familiar with the matter.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Tomita originally purchased the real estate for $85 million in 2018. The new deal allegedly marks the biggest home purchase ever completed in the L.A. area.

Prior to being sold to Tomita, the Bel-Air estate was formerly owned by Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, the daughter of billionaire Seagram’s heir Charles Bronfman.

The property includes a 19,000-square-foot mansion featuring a theater, a gym and a double-height dining room. The property also reportedly had a 6,600-square-foot guest house designed by Paul Williams.

Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with American business executive and investor Fred Ehrsam back in 2012. The exchange has been growing massively in recent years, becoming the largest crypto trading platform in the U.S. in terms of trading volumes and going public on Nasdaq in April 2021.

With a reportedly 19% stake in Coinbase, Armstrong had an estimated net worth of $14.7 billion as of November 2021, being one of the world’s richest crypto investors alongside FTX exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Armstrong was also referred to as the world’s biggest crypto billionaire by China’s Hurun Research Institute in March 2021.

Coinbase did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. This article will be updated pending any new information.

Related: Russian bank Sber launches blockchain ETF tracking Coinbase, Galaxy Digital

Crypto executives have been increasingly buying real estate recently. Jonathan Yantis, co-founder of the nonfungible token platform Worldwide Asset eXchange, reportedly purchased a 70-acre estate outside Denver for $12.5 million in mid-December.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, reportedly bought his first home in Dubai in October 2021. He previously said that he did not own any real estate as of April 2021, claiming that he sold his apartment in Shanghai back in 2006 to buy Bitcoin (BTC).

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Mandates Ban Unvaccinated From Visiting Banks in Multiple Countries, Australian Premier Says ‘There’s Going to Be a Vaccinated Economy’

Mandates Ban Unvaccinated From Visiting Banks in Multiple Countries, Australian Premier Says ‘There’s Going to Be a Vaccinated Economy’Over the last few weeks, furious debates over Covid-19 and vaccine mandates have divided people into two classes. On December 21, one individual from Argentina explained in a forum that “banks in Argentina are not letting unvaccinated people inside.” The person said that whether people are for or against vaccines, the mandate was “nuts” and […]

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Crypto​.com partners with Los Angeles’ Angel City Football Club

The exchange said the partnership was aimed at encouraging “financial education, independence and financial empowerment” for women.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has inked another deal to expand its brand recognition in the United States with the professional women’s sports team Angel City Football Club.

In a Tuesday announcement, Crypto.com said it had partnered with the Los Angeles soccer team in an effort to increase the awareness of and access to crypto, blockchain and Web 3.0 among Angelenos, soccer fans and the athletes themselves. The exchange said it plans to continue looking for “unique and impactful ways” to invest in L.A., with the partnership aimed at encouraging “financial education, independence and financial empowerment” for women.

“Given the speed with which Web 3.0 and cryptocurrency is changing our world, we want to ensure that women are being brought along on the journey as investors and creators,” said Angel City Football Club co-founder and president Julie Uhrman. “We are excited to work with [Crypto.com] to educate our community and players on crypto and allow our players to use the power of NFTs to connect with and create a deeper relationship with their fans.”

The partnership is the crypto exchange’s latest expansion into Los Angeles. Crypto.com announced in November that it had secured the naming rights to the city’s multi-purpose Staples Center for 20 years in a $700 million deal. The venue — expected to officially change names on Saturday — has been home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

Related: Angelenos push back on new Crypto.com arena: 'It will always be the Staples Center'

As it grows, Crypto.com has been partnering with high-profile individuals and companies to promote cryptocurrencies and blockchain. In July, the company signed a $175-million sponsorship agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Actor Matt Damon also appeared in ads released around the world beginning in October.

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Angelenos push back on new Crypto.com arena: ‘It will always be the Staples Center’

"We are always gonna call it Staples Center no matter what lil name you slap on the building," said writer and professor Roxane Gay, who owns a home in Los Angeles.

Residents of Los Angeles, sports fans, and social media personalities are making light of Crypto.com’s agreement to rename the city’s Staples Center for its own marketing purposes. 

The Staples Center, a multi-purpose arena that has been home to the Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers and other major sports franchises for years, is scheduled to be renamed as the Crypto.com Arena starting on Dec. 25. This follows a $700 million agreement with the platform to hold the naming rights for 20 years. However, since its opening in 1999, the venue has always been called the Staples Center, and fans don’t seem to want Crypto.com or observers forget this fact when the handover happens.

“It will always be known as the Staples Center, no matter how many hundreds of millions of dollars Crypto.com paid for the naming rights,” said USA Today reporter Bryan Kalbrosky, who also called it “bonkers” to refer to the arena by its new name:

“Nothing means anything until we decide that it means something. This place is only going to be known as Crypto Dot Com Arena (it really doesn't roll off the tongue, my goodness) if people buy in and agree to call it that."

Even some of the professional sports players currently using the venue have reportedly said they will continue to be calling it by its original name. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Clippers guard Reggie Jackson said he “can’t see” the arena as anything other than Staples, an opinion echoed by teammate Paul George:

Many cities around the world have colloquial names for streets, parks, and buildings that have long since been changed to honor historical figures or reflect sponsors. In Chicago, many residents still refer to the Willis Tower skyscraper as the Sears Tower, though it was renamed in 2009 and the department store has closed many of its once-ubiquitous branches. Lady Bird Lake in Austin is still known by many as Town Lake, though it was changed in 2007 to honor the former First Lady.

Related: FTX set to secure naming rights to Miami NBA stadium until 2040

As it grows, Crypto.com has been inking deals for reasons of brand recognition and more. In July, the company also signed a $175-million sponsorship agreement with Ultimate Fighting Championship. Actor Matt Damon recently appeared in ads released around the world promoting the platform as well.

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Small Business Owners Study Says Los Angeles Ranks the Most Crypto-Friendly City in the US

Small Business Owners Study Says Los Angeles Ranks the Most Crypto-Friendly City in the USA recent study conducted by the online invoicing company that works with small businesses Skynova explains that the city of Los Angeles (LA) is the “most crypto-friendly city in the United States.” Skynova surveyed close to 600 small business owners and top-level executives from the U.S. in order to get their perception of the cryptocurrency […]

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