From Bitcoin to Brainwaves

In 2012, most people had never heard of Bitcoin. The ones who had often thought it was a joke, a scam or something for criminals.

Fred Ehrsam, a young trader at Goldman Sachs, saw something else. He saw the future of money.

So he quit one of the most respected jobs on Wall Street to help build a tiny startup called Coinbase.

Coinbase grew into the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in America. Fred later co-founded Paradigm, one of the most powerful crypto investment firms in the world.

Then, just when he could have relaxed forever, he did something even stranger. He started a company to change how the human brain works, using sound waves.

A gamer who understood digital value

Fred grew up loving video games. In online worlds like World of Warcraft, players traded swords, gold and rare items that only existed on a screen. Yet those items felt valuable.

That idea stuck with him. If people value digital things in games, why not digital money in real life?

He studied computer science and economics at Duke University. After college, he went to work at Goldman Sachs in New York as a foreign exchange trader, buying and selling world currencies.

Finding Brian Armstrong

While at Goldman, Fred became obsessed with Bitcoin. He found out that an engineer in San Francisco named Brian Armstrong was building a simple way for regular people to buy and store Bitcoin.

Fred reached out. The two hit it off. In 2012, Fred left Goldman Sachs and joined Brian as co-founder of Coinbase.

Brian was the builder. Fred brought knowledge of markets and trading. Together, they made buying Bitcoin almost as easy as online shopping.

2:55 Finding Brian Armstrong

Explaining Bitcoin to the world

In the early years, Coinbase had to teach the world what Bitcoin even was. Fred became one of its explainers. He spoke at events, including Google Zeitgeist, and met with lawmakers to talk about how crypto should be treated.

Coinbase grew fast. Millions of people opened accounts. It became the main door for Americans entering crypto.

Leaving early, again

In early 2017, Fred stepped away from Coinbase. He was less interested in running a big company and more interested in what came next in crypto: new blockchains, new ideas, new kinds of apps.

In 2018, he co-founded Paradigm with Matt Huang, a former partner at Sequoia Capital. Paradigm invested in crypto companies and did deep research to help them grow.

It worked. In November 2021, Paradigm closed a $2.5 billion fund, then the largest crypto venture fund ever raised. Its bets included big names like Uniswap and Optimism.

That same year, in April 2021, Coinbase went public on the Nasdaq. The startup Fred joined when Bitcoin looked like a joke was now a giant public company.

From Bitcoin to brainwaves

In October 2023, Fred stepped down as managing partner at Paradigm. He stayed on as a general partner but said he wanted more time for science.

The science he chose was the human brain.

In 2024, he co-founded Nudge with Quintin Frerichs and Jeremy Barenholtz, a former leader at Neuralink. Nudge is building a brain computer interface that does not need surgery. Instead of putting chips inside the head, it uses focused ultrasound, gentle sound waves aimed from outside the skull, to reach deep parts of the brain.

The goal is to help the brain work better, starting with people who have neurological problems.

In April 2025, Nudge unveiled its first device, the Nudge Zero, a wearable ultrasound headset used in research studies. In July 2025, Nudge raised $100 million in a Series A round led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks.

The man who helped make money digital now wants to make the brain easier to understand and heal.

Where he is now

Today, Fred Ehrsam runs Nudge in San Francisco and remains a general partner at Paradigm. He is one of the few founders who has helped build a major company in crypto and is now trying again in neuroscience.

Why the story matters

Fred Ehrsam keeps doing the same brave thing: leaving a comfortable position to chase what most people do not understand yet.

He left Goldman Sachs for Bitcoin. He left Coinbase for the next wave of crypto. He stepped back from Paradigm for the brain.

Each time, he looked early, not late.

For young builders, the lesson is simple. Pay attention to the strange things you already love, like games. Trust ideas that others laugh at, if you truly understand them. And do not let success lock you into one path forever.

He did not follow the future. He walked out to meet it.

The Record

Studied: Computer science and economics, Duke University

First career: Foreign exchange trader, Goldman Sachs

Built: Coinbase (with Brian Armstrong), Paradigm (with Matt Huang), Nudge (with Quintin Frerichs and Jeremy Barenholtz)

Now: CEO of Nudge, general partner at Paradigm

Timeline

Early career Trades currencies at Goldman Sachs.

2012 Joins Brian Armstrong as co-founder of Coinbase.

2017 Steps away from Coinbase.

2018 Co-founds Paradigm with Matt Huang.

2021 Coinbase goes public. Paradigm closes a $2.5 billion fund.

2023 Steps down as Paradigm managing partner to focus on science.

2024 Co-founds Nudge.

2025 Unveils Nudge Zero headset.

2025 Nudge raises $100 million.

2026 Building non-invasive brain technology.