"Was a Fintech VC - my two cents. I would say two major things with FAANG vs. CB.
1. CB is about employees vs FB is , so you'd be a bigger deal there, have better career opps, cooler projects (probably)
2. Coinbase is very undervalued compared to competitors (e-trade, scott trade, exchanges) - they made (I think) about 1.5B in the past two years in Rev with very small headcount. This means they're crazy profitable which is very rare in the valley, and will make them an attractive IPO compared to non-profitable recent IPOs like Uber, Lyft, Slack, etc. - IMO equity upside is much, much higher here than FB would be
3. Coinbase model isn't really predicated on crypto asset price, only really on volume. More and more DApps are coming out, which means regardless of crypto value, volume will be there, which means that CB is very resillient against crypto market shocks. Also geopolitical instability is a driver of crypto value, so if there's a recession, brexit, impeachment, etc. that's actually good for Crypto - not bad, unlike all other things.
4. Coinbase appreciates in value every time a regulation around privacy comes out because crytpo is inherently protective of privacy - FB is the opposite and is looking at anti-trust issues.
To me it would be a no brainer assuming you're early(ish) in your career. In terms of work-life balance, FAANG companies are notoriously bad. They don't design those crazy campuses with dorms on-site so that their employees go home. That said, if you're further along in your career, and are past the sweat work stage, FB could be a good .place to collect a safdr (prob slightly larger) paycheck with (arguably) less risk (but way less upside) on the equity side." |