stockrowWhat it does
Coinbase Global operates a platform for buying, selling, storing and using crypto assets. It serves individual consumers, institutions and developers, with products ranging from trading interfaces to custody and infrastructure for building applications on blockchains. Coinbase was founded in 2012 and is led by Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong. It is a remote-first company and does not maintain a headquarters.
Consumers can buy and sell crypto through a simple interface or use an advanced interface with order books, charts and other trading tools. Coinbase has also expanded beyond spot crypto trading into stocks, futures and prediction markets. Its aim is to offer an “Everything Exchange” where customers can trade different types of assets on one platform.
Institutional customers use Coinbase Prime to trade and hold crypto assets, access financing and use other services. Coinbase also operates exchanges for spot and derivatives trading. Derivatives are contracts whose value is linked to an underlying asset; the company offers products including futures and options.
For developers and businesses, Coinbase provides tools to build crypto-enabled products and access to Base, a blockchain built on Ethereum. Its Base App is a self-custodial wallet: users control the keys needed to access their assets rather than leaving those keys with a centralized custodian. Coinbase also offers services involving stablecoins, including USDC, which is redeemable for U.S. dollars.
How it makes money
For FY2025, Coinbase generated $6.9 billion in net revenue, including $4.1 billion in transaction revenue and $2.8 billion in subscription and services revenue.
Trading fees are a central source of revenue. Coinbase charges consumers transaction fees and, depending on the trade, a spread—the difference between buying and selling prices. Simple trading fees are generally higher than Advanced trading fees. Institutional customers pay volume-based fees for trades executed through Coinbase Prime, and the company’s exchanges also charge volume-based transaction fees. Coinbase earns sequencer fees when transactions are processed on Base.
Subscription and services revenue comes from several activities rather than a single subscription. Under its agreement with Circle, the issuer of USDC, Coinbase shares in the economics of reserves backing the stablecoin. Its revenue increases with the proportion of USDC in circulation generally and on its platform. In Q2 2026, Coinbase said it had met the conditions for the Circle contract to renew on the same terms.
Coinbase also earns a commission when customers use its staking service. Staking involves committing crypto assets to help validate blockchain transactions in return for rewards paid by the relevant protocol. Institutional custody fees are based on assets stored, while Coinbase One members pay a monthly or annual fee for benefits that include reduced trading fees and rewards. The company earns interest on customer custodial funds held at third-party depository institutions and offers institutional financing.
The mix of trading customers affects revenue: institutions and Advanced traders generally pay lower fees per transaction than consumer Simple traders. Stablecoin revenue is also affected by USDC balances and interest rates.
| Product or service | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer, net | $3.3 billion | 34.0% | −3.13% |
| Subscription and Circulation | $2.8 billion | 29.0% | 22.6% |
| Stablecoin revenue | $1.3 billion | 13.8% | 48.1% |
| Blockchain rewards | $677.4 million | 6.94% | −4.02% |
| Other subscription and services revenue | $554.8 million | 5.68% | 30.5% |
| Institutional, net | $479.7 million | 4.91% | 38.8% |
| Other revenue | $297.9 million | 3.05% | 10.0% |
| Other transaction revenue | $252.9 million | 2.59% | 20.3% |
Customers and how it sells
Coinbase serves retail consumers who want to hold or trade crypto, as well as those using its growing range of stocks, derivatives and prediction markets. Its consumer products include Simple and Advanced trading, the Base App and the Coinbase One subscription. Customers can also hold USDC, stake eligible assets and use other services through the platform.
Institutional customers include market makers, asset managers, hedge funds, banks, wealth platforms, payment companies and corporations. They can use Coinbase Prime for trading and custody, while exchanges provide market infrastructure for spot and derivatives transactions. Developers and businesses use Base and the Coinbase Developer Platform to build crypto-enabled products, including payment, wallet and trading applications.
The United States accounted for 83.7% of FY2025 revenue, while international markets accounted for 16.3%. International revenue consisted mainly of transaction revenue. One customer accounted for 19.0% of FY2025 revenue.
Coinbase holds licenses or registrations in a number of markets outside the United States. These include a Luxembourg license to offer crypto custody and trading across the European Economic Area, registrations in the United Kingdom and Argentina, and a license in Singapore. Product availability depends on jurisdiction and applicable rules.
| Region | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | $6.0 billion | 83.7% | 10.1% |
| International | $1.2 billion | 16.3% | 6.12% |
Suppliers and costs
Coinbase depends on partners and outside infrastructure to provide several services. Circle issues USDC and pays Coinbase under their agreement to support its growth. Coinbase holds customer custodial funds at third-party depository institutions, and its institutional staking service can use validator nodes operated by third-party providers as well as its own nodes.
The company pays rewards to eligible Coinbase One subscribers and institutional customers holding USDC to encourage use on its platform. Coinbase and Circle can also arrange fees for approved third parties that help increase circulation of stablecoins covered by their agreement. Coinbase borrows fiat currency, crypto assets and stablecoins from third parties to facilitate its financing products.
Its operating expenses include technology and development, general and administrative costs, and sales and marketing. Coinbase also commits resources to legal, compliance, product and engineering work as laws and regulations change. It plans to adjust expenses in response to market conditions and revenue opportunities, particularly certain variable expenses. Coinbase had 4,951 employees as of December 31, 2025 and operates with a remote-first workforce.
- Revenue$7.2B
- Cost of revenue−$1.0B
- Research and development−$1.7B
- Selling, general and administrative−$2.7B
- Other operating costs−$376.8M
- Operating income$1.4B
Competitive position
Coinbase competes with crypto-native businesses, decentralized and non-custodial platforms, traditional financial institutions and financial technology providers. Some competitors offer individual services to institutional customers rather than a combined platform. Its expansion into stocks and prediction markets has broadened the range of businesses it competes against. Other stablecoins and fiat currencies also compete with USDC.
Robinhood competes in crypto and has launched a blockchain. Stripe has also launched a blockchain, adding another platform on which businesses can build. Coinbase says competition varies by geography and that some crypto businesses operate under less stringent local regulatory requirements, which can enable them to add assets or products more quickly.
Coinbase seeks to differentiate itself through ease of use, secure custody, compliance and products such as staking and access to decentralized finance. It holds customer assets one-to-one and offers institutions custody and trading through the same broader product suite.
Our reading: custody and the ability to sell several services to the same customer provide a meaningful source of differentiation, although the evidence does not establish how difficult it is for customers to switch. Our reading: Base and USDC can benefit from usage across applications and platforms, but their competitive strength remains exposed to rival blockchains, stablecoins and pricing.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Robinhood | Crypto services and blockchain infrastructure | High |
| Stripe | Blockchain infrastructure | Medium |
Growth opportunities
Coinbase is expanding the assets and products customers can trade. During 2025 it added offerings beyond spot crypto, including stocks, commodity futures, perpetual futures and prediction markets. Its acquisition of Deribit added crypto derivatives capabilities, and Coinbase has also launched U.S. perpetual-style futures. Coinbase says U.S. access to its pre-IPO perpetual futures product is on its roadmap.
The company is working to grow assets held on its platform and encourage customers to adopt additional products. In Q2 2026, Coinbase said early data indicated that customers using prediction markets were also generating incremental spot trading volume. It said paid Coinbase One subscribers reached an all-time high during that quarter, even as crypto trading volumes fell.
Stablecoin adoption and payments are another focus. Coinbase plans to continue working with Circle to grow USDC and says it will invest in the OpenUSDC consortium as part of a multi-stablecoin approach. Its developer platform and Base support businesses building onchain applications. Coinbase’s goal for Base is to bring one million developers and one billion users onchain.
For FY2025, net revenue was $6.9 billion, compared with $6.3 billion in FY2024. Subscription and services revenue increased to $2.8 billion from $2.3 billion, helped by higher average USDC balances and a higher number of paid Coinbase One subscribers.
- $7.8BFY2021
- $3.2BFY2022
- $3.1BFY2023
- $6.6BFY2024
- $7.2BFY2025
Structural risks
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Crypto market volatility: Coinbase’s operating results have fluctuated and can continue to fluctuate with crypto prices, trading activity and sentiment. Trading volumes are influenced by market conditions, while changes in customer and product mix affect the fees Coinbase earns.
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Regulation: Laws governing crypto products and services continue to evolve and can be applied inconsistently across jurisdictions. Regulators may disagree with Coinbase’s assessment of which rules apply, and restrictions or enforcement could affect products or operations.
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Security and availability: Coinbase faces risks from security or privacy breaches, platform outages and failures of third-party blockchains. The company does not control decentralized networks on which some of its services depend.
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Stablecoin economics and interest rates: Stablecoin revenue depends on USDC balances and Coinbase’s agreement with Circle. Coinbase says further interest-rate declines could materially affect subscription and services and other revenue.
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Competition and pricing: Coinbase competes with traditional finance, fintechs, crypto platforms and decentralized alternatives. Changes in pricing, competitors’ products or the mix of customers using lower-fee products can affect transaction revenue.
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Credit and partners: Institutional financing exposes Coinbase to credit risk. Its operations also depend on maintaining partnerships and on third-party providers’ ability to scale and strengthen their controls.
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: Coinbase combines a transaction-sensitive trading business with custody, stablecoin and subscription services that give it several ways to earn from assets customers hold or use. Its exposure remains tied to crypto activity, interest rates and regulatory decisions, while competition and customer shifts toward lower-fee products can affect how much revenue trading generates.