Coinbase Global, Inc.
Coinbase Global, Inc. operates platform for crypto assets in the United States and internationally. It provides the primary financial account in the crypto economy for consumers; a brokerage platform with a pool of liquidity across the crypto marketplace for institutions; and a suite of products granting access to build onchain for developers. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in New York, New York.
What does it do?
Coinbase is essentially the New York Stock Exchange of cryptocurrency. If you want to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or hundreds of other digital coins, Coinbase is one of the most popular places to do it — you create an account, deposit money, and trade crypto just like you would stocks on a normal brokerage app. Beyond regular people, big financial institutions like hedge funds also use Coinbase to trade large amounts of crypto. Developers building new crypto apps and projects also rely on Coinbase's behind-the-scenes tools to get their products off the ground.
Coinbase is essentially a barometer for the entire crypto industry — when crypto is hot, Coinbase's revenues spike, and when it cools, they drop sharply, which makes it a high-stakes bet on the future of digital assets. The approval of Bitcoin ETFs (funds that let everyday investors buy Bitcoin through normal brokerage accounts) and a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment in the U.S. have put Coinbase back in the spotlight as the most established regulated crypto company in America. Investors are watching it closely because if crypto goes mainstream, Coinbase is positioned as the infrastructure company that benefits most.
How does it make money?
Coinbase makes the bulk of its money from transaction fees — every time someone buys or sells crypto on its platform, Coinbase takes a small cut, and with $7.2 billion in revenue in its latest year, that adds up fast. It also earns subscription and services revenue, which includes interest earned on stablecoins (a type of digital dollar) held on its platform, as well as fees from tools it sells to developers and institutions. This second revenue stream is important because it is less dependent on whether crypto prices are rising or falling, giving Coinbase a more stable financial cushion. Net income came in at $1.3 billion, meaning the company is actually profitable — something many crypto companies cannot claim.
Why do investors care?
The growth story here is straightforward: if more people around the world adopt cryptocurrency as a normal part of their financial lives, Coinbase is the company most likely to capture that wave in the regulated, institutional-grade market. Revenue grew from $6.6 billion to $7.2 billion year-over-year, showing momentum even as the crypto market remains volatile. For the bull case to work, Bitcoin and crypto prices need to stay elevated or keep rising, regulators need to keep loosening restrictions rather than tightening them, and Coinbase needs to keep growing its non-trading revenue so it does not live and die by market swings. Its expanding international business and developer ecosystem are the wildcards that could make it bigger than just a trading app.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on Coinbase Global, Inc. — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.