Brian Armstrong, the billionaire CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has expressed his readiness to fund a US startup focused on gene-editing human embryos. This potential investment would mark the first major commercial backing for one of medicine’s most controversial concepts. On June 2, Armstrong announced on social media platform X that he was seeking gene-editing scientists and bioinformatics specialists to form a founding team for an “embryo editing” initiative targeting unmet medical needs, such as genetic diseases.
The announcement from Armstrong, whose fortune is estimated at $10 billion by Forbes, represents a significant shift in a field that has been considered taboo since the 2018 birth of the world’s first genetically edited children in China. This secretive experiment led to international outrage and resulted in prison time for the lead scientist involved. According to Dieter Egli, a gene-editing scientist at Columbia University who has briefed Armstrong, the billionaire’s plans may be motivated by recent advancements in editing technology that have made it safer and more precise to alter the DNA of embryos.
The technique in question, known as base editing, allows for the deft alteration of a single DNA letter without making cuts to the double helix, thereby reducing the risk of damaging the DNA or causing whole genes to disappear. “We know much better now what to do,” Egli stated. “It doesn’t mean the work is all done, but it’s a very different game now—entirely different.”
Embryo editing, which aims to produce humans with genes tailored by design, has been heavily stigmatized and underfunded. While studying embryos in labs is legal, producing a gene-edited baby is illegal in most countries. In the US, a law prohibits the FDA from considering applications to attempt the creation of gene-edited babies. However, this rule could be changed, especially if scientists can demonstrate a compelling use for the technique or if a influential figure like Armstrong lobbies for it.
Armstrong’s post included an image from a seven-year-old Pew Research Center poll, showing that Americans were generally favorable towards altering a baby’s genes if it could treat a disease, although most opposed experimentation on embryos. Until now, no US company has openly pursued embryo editing, and the federal government does not fund studies on embryos. Research in this area has been carried out by just two academic centers in the US – Egli’s at Columbia University and another at the Oregon Health & Science University – operating on limited budgets and private grants.
Researchers at these centers have expressed support for a well-financed company that could advance the technology. “We would honestly welcome that,” said Paula Amato, a fertility doctor at Oregon Health & Science University and past president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. “More research is needed, and that takes people and money.”
While editing embryos could theoretically be used to correct genetic errors that cause serious childhood conditions, many argue that it will be challenging to identify a true unmet need where this technique is necessary, given that genetic testing of embryos can often avoid such errors. The bigger market for this technology might lie in making humans resistant to common conditions like heart disease or Alzheimer’s, but this is more controversial as it constitutes a form of enhancement and the changes would be heritable.
Recently, several biotech trade and academic groups called for a 10-year moratorium on heritable human genome editing, citing the technology’s limited medical applications and long-term risks with unknown consequences. They warned that the ability to “program” desired traits or eliminate undesirable ones risks a new form of “eugenics” that could potentially alter the course of evolution.
Armstrong did not respond to inquiries from MIT Technology Review about his plans. His company, Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform that went public in 2021, is the source of his wealth. Armstrong has previously co-founded NewLimit, a “life extension venture” that raised $130 million this year to explore methods to reprogram old cells into an embryonic-like state.
The potential funding of an embryo-editing startup by Armstrong represents a more transparent approach compared to the secretive “biohacker groups” that have quietly raised small amounts of capital to pursue similar technologies. “It seems pretty serious now. They want to put something together,” Egli commented, hoping that the Coinbase CEO might fund some research at his lab. “I think it’s very good he posted publicly, because you can feel the temperature, see what reaction you get, and you stimulate the public conversation.”
