Fred Ehrsam


Frederick "Fred" Ernest Ehrsam III is an American businessman, and the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and the venture investment firm Paradigm.

Education and early life

Ehrsam was born on May 10, 1988, in Boston, growing up in Concord, Massachusetts. 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.
In 2010, Ehrsam graduated with distinction from Duke University, earning a B.S. in computer science with a minor in economics. At Duke, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Career

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

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. The two met on the Bitcoin subreddit forum. Ehrsam served as Coinbase's first President. In January 2017, he announced he was leaving the company, but would remain on its board. 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.

Paradigm

In 2018, Ehrsam co-founded cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm with former Sequoia Capital investor Matt Huang. They founded the company to invest in cryptocurrencies and the companies that focus on that market and became the firm's managing partners.
In October, 2023, Ehrsam stepped down from his managing partner role at Paradigm and announced he will continue to act as a general partner.

Nudge

Ehrsam is the cofounder of Nudge, a neurotechnology startup focused on non-invasive brain-computer interfaces based on low-intensity focused ultrasound, which he incorporated in 2024.

Recognition

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