Coinbase posted a net loss of $394 million, or $1.49 per share, for the first quarter of 2026, badly missing analyst expectations of a $0.04 normalized EPS profit.
Total revenue came in at $1.41 billion, down 31% year-over-year and short of the Wall Street consensus of $1.48 billion.
The revenue collapse
Transaction revenue was the biggest wound, slumping roughly 40% to $756 million compared to a year earlier.
A $482 million drag from unrealized losses on crypto assets held for investment—tied largely to bitcoin’s slide during the quarter—compounded the pain.
Subscription and services revenue also fell, dropping 13.5% to $583.5 million as risk-averse investors pulled back on discretionary crypto exposure.
CFO Alesia Haas was blunt about the environment on the earnings call:
“Macro conditions were genuinely tough. Total crypto market cap and total crypto trading volume were both down more than 20% quarter-over-quarter.”
Bright spots in a down quarter
Not everything was grim.
On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted EBITDA came in at $303 million, marking Coinbase’s 13th consecutive positive quarter on that metric.
Derivatives trading volume surged 169% year-over-year, and prediction markets hit $100 million in annualized revenue within just two months of launch.
Coinbase also reached an all-time high crypto trading market share of 8.6%.
CEO Brian Armstrong pointed to stablecoin momentum as another tailwind:
“We hit a new all-time high in USDC held in Coinbase products and saw 10x year-over-year growth in stablecoin transactions on Base.”
Layoffs and legal headwinds
Ahead of earnings, Coinbase announced it would cut roughly 700 jobs—about 14% of its global workforce—citing crypto market cyclicality and AI’s growing impact on productivity.
Armstrong framed the cuts as necessary to:
“Emerge leaner ahead of the next crypto cycle.”
The company also faced two lawsuits heading into the print.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Coinbase on April 21, alleging its prediction market platform constitutes illegal gambling under state law and seeking forfeiture of profits plus treble damages.
A second suit, filed May 4 by a trader identified only as “D.B.,” alleges Coinbase froze stolen DAI stablecoin funds traced to one of its retail accounts but refused to return them without a court order.
Clarity act outlook
Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal offered a confident read on the Clarity Act, the legislation aimed at establishing a clear regulatory framework for digital assets:
“We are confident that the bill is going to head to markup this month, with a floor vote to follow in early summer. All that translates to our confidence that we’re going to see a signed piece of legislation by the end of the summer.”
COIN shares closed 2.53% lower at $192.96 on the day of the report and have lost nearly 15% of their value so far in 2026.
