Coinbase’s first-quarter 2025 earnings weren’t exactly stellar. While they beat some expectations, overall revenue and profits took a hit.
Revenue and Profit Dip
Revenue came in at $2 billion, a 10% drop from the previous quarter. Profit plummeted to $66 million, a huge fall from $1.29 billion in Q4. A big reason for this was a $596 million paper loss on their crypto holdings. However, they still slightly exceeded analysts’ predictions for earnings per share.
Trading Slowdown
The crypto market wasn’t exactly booming in Q1, leading to a significant decrease in trading activity on Coinbase. Transaction revenue fell by almost 19% to $1.26 billion, and trading volume dropped over 10% to $393 billion. Coinbase partly blamed this on market anxieties related to trade tariffs. They contrasted this with the strong Q4 of the previous year, which they attributed in part to the US presidential election.
Bright Spots: Subscriptions and Stablecoins
Not all was bad news. Coinbase’s subscription and services business saw a nearly 9% revenue increase to $698 million, largely thanks to stablecoin-related income. This diversification is a positive sign, showing they’re not completely reliant on volatile trading activity.
Market Share Gains and Legal Victory
Despite the overall slowdown, Coinbase reported gaining market share in both spot and futures markets, particularly in emerging markets like Argentina and India. They also celebrated a court decision dismissing a lawsuit from the SEC, viewing it as a win for sensible crypto regulation.
Big Acquisition: Deribit
In a major move, Coinbase announced a nearly $3 billion deal to buy Deribit, a huge player in crypto derivatives. This acquisition is expected to make Coinbase the top dog in the global crypto derivatives market.
