The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange reported first-quarter revenue of $1.6 billion, up 72% quarter-on-quarter. Coinbase reported net income of $1.18 billion (or $4.40 per share) and was driven by an increase in the number of transactions due to the broader rise of the cryptocurrency market.
Consumer transaction revenue doubled from the previous quarter to $935.2 million, with volume up more than 93% to $56 billion. Meanwhile, institutional trading saw even greater growth, with revenue up 133% from the previous quarter. to $85.4 million, and volume more than doubled to $256 billion. Bitcoin accounted for a third of both consumer and institutional transactions.
figures, according to MSNBC, significantly beating analysts’ estimates of revenue of $1.34 billion and net income of $1.09 per share. Shares were down slightly in after-hours trading after rising nearly 9% to nearly $229 earlier Thursday. A year ago they were trading at just $51.
To put earnings into perspective, the company reported a loss of $78.9 million, or 34 cents per share, in last year’s first quarter. Moreover, in the first quarter, Coinbase’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $1 billion, a figure higher than all of last year.
“We have made significant progress toward achieving our 2024 priorities of increasing revenues, utilities and regulatory clarity,” the company wrote in a letter to shareholders that accompanied quarterly report. “Our US spot and derivatives market share increased, we hit all-time highs on Coinbase Prime, and USDC market cap increased.”
Since launching in August, Base, the Ethereum second-layer chain from which Coinbase collects fees, has brought in $56.1 million. It also recorded twice as many transactions as Ethereum, and developer activity on the network increased by 800%. That same month, Coinbase also announced it was taking a minority stake in Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, which saw its market capitalization rise by 30% in the first quarter. As a result, revenue from Coinbase’s subscriptions and services grew by a third, including a 15% increase in stablecoin revenue.
While Coinbase may have diversified its revenue streams into Base and USDC, much of the recent growth is due to favorable market conditions. For example, the price of Bitcoin rose 57% this quarter, reaching an all-time high of $73,000, due to more than $50 billion entering 10 spot exchange-traded funds that were approved on January 11 by the Securities Exchange Commission and exchanges. .
However, the company’s transaction costs rose 73% to $217 million. Looking ahead to the second quarter, the company estimates its total expenses at $890 million, driven primarily by higher costs associated with increased trading volumes, such as customer support and infrastructure costs. says the company’s report.