I’ll be stepping back from my day to day responsibilities at Coinbase at the end of January. I’ll continue to be involved with the company as a board member. I plan to take my first real time off in 7 years and then start tinkering again.

This experience has been incredible. When I first met Brian, we had a dream that we could bring digital currency to millions of people. What seemed crazy is becoming reality. Coinbase is the best known name in the space and is flourishing. We’ve onboarded over 5 million people, are adding more than ever at 300,000 every month, and store the most digital currency in the world at close to $1 billion.

I’m thankful for all of the faith everyone around the company has put in me and the experiences we’ve had together. To Brian: I cherish the life-long friendship we’ve forged through amazings ups and downs. To the employees at Coinbase: you’re the most talented, hard-working group of people I know. Your constant thirst for knowledge is a source of inspiration. To our supporters, customers, and investors: thank you for placing your confidence in us.

Two reasons why now is a good time for this transition: 1) Coinbase is strong — we grew 250% in 2016, just hired a CRO, and obtained the NY Bitlicense — and 2) the industry is finally growing to a place where it can start to support powerful new businesses and ideas.

We are on our way to blockchains as the fabric of society — the system for what we own (assets), who we are (identity), how we make decisions (governance), and more in an increasingly digital world. It’s going to be a wild ride.