Colin Armstrong is a tech entrepreneur and engineer known for founding Paragraph, a leading onchain publishing platform in the Web3 ecosystem, and serving as CEO of Mirror, another prominent onchain publishing platform. His work is instrumental in the evolution of decentralized content creation and distribution, focusing on enabling creators to own and monetize their direct audiences through innovative Web3 tools. Armstrong's career reflects a deep engagement with developments in blockchain technology and its applications to content publishing.

Education

Armstrong was born and raised in Canada, where he pursued higher education in computer engineering. He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2017.

Career

Google

Colin Armstrong began his career in software engineering with roles related to payments systems, search infrastructure, and abuse prevention technologies. In 2015, he worked at Coinbase on the payments engineering team, contributing to updates involving Bitcoin private-key infrastructure and the company’s expansion into Canada.

In 2016, Armstrong joined Google as a Software Engineering Intern working on Google Search. His work included development related to search engine results page systems and features.

Armstrong joined Google full-time in 2017 as a Software Engineer focused on Cloud Abuse systems in Sunnyvale, California. His responsibilities included work related to fraud detection and abuse prevention within cloud services.

In 2019, he moved to Google’s Communications Abuse division as a Senior Software Engineer. In this role, he worked on systems intended to address abuse and fraud affecting communication services.

In 2021, Armstrong became Engineering Manager for the Communications Anti-Abuse team within Counter-Abuse Technologies. The team worked on abuse prevention across products including Messages, Voice, and Meet. He held the position until 2022.

Paragraph

In April 2022, Armstrong founded Paragraph, a publishing platform that incorporated blockchain-based social, messaging, subscription, and NFT-related features for creators and publishers.

Paragraph later raised $5 million in funding from investors including Union Square Ventures and Coinbase Ventures.

Mirror

In May 2024, Armstrong became CEO of Mirror following Paragraph’s acquisition of the platform. Mirror, founded in 2020, operated as a blockchain-based publishing platform that included tools related to decentralized storage, domains, crowdfunding, and NFT functionality for writers and creators.

As CEO, Armstrong has overseen operational alignment between Mirror and Paragraph following the acquisition.

Armstrong’s work has primarily involved software engineering, abuse prevention systems, and blockchain-based publishing platforms associated with digital creator tools and Web3-related infrastructure. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Interviews

Paragraph and Web3 Publishing #01

In an interview published on March 16, 2023, on the YouTube channel Web3 Talks: Stories & Tips from the Builders, Colin Armstrong discussed his professional background and the development of Paragraph, a publishing platform that incorporates blockchain-related features into newsletter distribution. Armstrong referred to his previous work at Coinbase and Google when describing his interest in digital publishing systems, online communities, and decentralized technologies.

According to Armstrong, Paragraph was developed in response to limitations he associated with traditional newsletter platforms, including restricted API access and platform-controlled ecosystems. He described Paragraph as a platform that combines standard publishing tools with blockchain-based functions such as wallet authentication, token-gated content, and optional decentralized storage through Arweave.

During the interview, Armstrong stated that the platform explored the use of NFTs as subscription tools that could be transferred, limited, or configured for different forms of access. He also referenced examples of creators using Paragraph for serialized fiction, community documentation, and membership-based content distribution. In addition, he discussed the platform’s integration with decentralized social protocols including Farcaster.

Armstrong also commented on the company’s product development process, which, according to him, involved direct user feedback and iterative updates carried out by a small engineering team. He further discussed operational challenges related to wallet onboarding, email delivery systems, and adapting blockchain-based features for users without prior experience with cryptocurrency applications. ^[8]

Conversation on Blockchain Publishing #02

On September 5, 2024, Colin Armstrong participated in an interview on the YouTube channel “Kaloh’s Podcast”, where he discussed the development of the blockchain-based publishing platform Paragraph, the acquisition of Mirror, and topics related to onchain publishing platforms.

During the interview, Armstrong spoke about his early involvement with Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as his previous roles at Coinbase and Google. He described work related to payments infrastructure, anti-abuse systems, and fraud prevention, stating that these experiences informed aspects of Paragraph’s development and operational structure.

Armstrong stated that Paragraph was created to address limitations he identified in existing digital publishing platforms, including monetization methods, audience management, and platform interoperability. He explained that the platform incorporates blockchain-based functions such as wallet subscriptions and the ability to mint articles as NFTs.

The interview also included discussion of Paragraph’s integration with the decentralized social protocol Farcaster. According to Armstrong, the integration allows social interactions associated with published articles to appear alongside the content itself.

Armstrong additionally commented on Paragraph’s acquisition of Mirror. He stated that both platforms had developed related functions within the blockchain publishing sector and that the consolidation was intended to reduce overlap between the services and organize platform features under a single team.

The conversation also addressed market conditions within the cryptocurrency sector, platform development strategies, and publishing practices for online creators. Armstrong stated that Paragraph’s development process focused on long-term platform operations rather than short-term market activity. He also discussed content publishing frequency, audience interaction, and community-based distribution models used by digital creators. ^[7]

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