Coinbase Reports Second Quarter Revenue Below Expectations, Shares Drop 7% in After-Hours Trading; Actively Expanding in Bitcoin, On-Chain US Stocks, and Forecasting Markets

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Revenue and Profit Below Expectations

According to data released by Coinbase:

• Total revenue reached $1.5 billion, showing slight growth from $1.45 billion in the same period last year, but still below the $1.59 billion expected by the analytics firm FactSet.
• Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) was $512 million, a decline from $596 million in the same period last year.
• Trading revenue was only $764 million, a sharp drop of 39% compared to the first quarter.

This financial report stands in stark contrast to its competitor Robinhood. Robinhood reported that its cryptocurrency trading volume reached $28.3 billion in the second quarter, significantly exceeding expectations, with its stock price having risen 160% since the beginning of the year.

Continuing to Increase Bitcoin Holdings

However, despite weak trading volumes, Coinbase continues to strategically position its assets. CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X, revealing:

“Coinbase is bullish on Bitcoin. We added 2,509 bitcoins in the second quarter and are continuing to purchase.”

While this is similar to Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, Coinbase emphasizes that they are not focusing on a “reserve strategy,” but rather operate as a “technology company based on cryptocurrency.”

Diversification Transformation and Product Layout

Coinbase is also actively transforming into a “full asset trading platform on-chain.” The company has applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch tokenized trading of U.S. stocks, allowing users to buy and sell digital fractional units of stocks on the blockchain 24/7, providing faster settlement speeds and lower trading costs.

Additionally, Coinbase plans to introduce a “prediction market” feature, allowing users to bet on future events (such as elections, economic data) using cryptocurrency assets, currently awaiting regulatory clarity. Product lead Max Branzburg told CNBC:

“We are building a ‘universal exchange’: everything you want to trade can be done on-chain. Our vision is to bring stocks, prediction markets, and all assets on-chain to construct a faster and more accessible new infrastructure for the global economy.”

At the same time, Coinbase is continuing to deepen its institutional business, including:

• Providing custody services for spot Bitcoin ETFs
• Expanding staking products for assets like ETH
• Advancing the application and adoption of its self-built Layer 2 network “Base”

Although these businesses currently do not constitute the main source of revenue, Coinbase emphasizes that these initiatives are key to its long-term strategy for promoting “financial on-chainization.”