Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recorded over $660 million in losses during the previous quarter.
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Coinbase’s institutional and subscription businesses helped cushion the impact of poor retail trading volumes.
Coinbase Feels the Market Dip
Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, suffered massive losses during the fourth quarter of 2025, as softer crypto markets affected trading activities.
The company released its earnings statement on Thursday, reporting a total fourth-quarter revenue of $1.8 billion, down 5% from the prior quarter.
Coinbase added that transaction revenue fell 6% quarter-on-quarter to $983 million, while subscription and services revenue also slipped 3% to $727 million.
The company posted a net loss of $667 million for the quarter, compared with a profit in the prior quarter. Most of Coinbase’s losses were investment-related, tied to its crypto asset portfolio and strategic investments.
The poor quarter comes shortly after a stronger third quarter, when revenue surged as trading activity rebounded and Ethereum volumes gained share on the platform.
The Q4 results came as the broader cryptocurrency market recorded massive losses during the final months of 2025, pushing total crypto market capitalization down about $1.1 trillion, or roughly 25%.
The selloff has continued into 2026, with the broader market shedding another $700 billion since the start of the year.
However, Coinbase Institutional is optimistic about the current market conditions. The firm argued that this dip has helped reset crypto markets, leaving positioning healthier and downside risks less fragile heading into 2026.
Despite that, consumer transaction revenue declined 13% quarter-on-quarter, driven in part by a shift toward lower-fee advanced trading and greater usage by Coinbase One subscribers.
Furthermore, institutional spot trading volumes also declined, though institutional transaction revenue increased due to strength in derivatives trading, including newly acquired Deribit operations.
Finally, stablecoin-related-revenue offered hope for Coinbase during this trying period. The company revealed that stablecoin revenue rose 3% quarter-on-quarter to $364 million as average USDC balances held in Coinbase products hit new highs, even as lower interest rates partially offset growth.
Coinbase ended 2025 with $11.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents and continued to repurchase shares, buying back roughly $1.7 billion in stock through early February.
Earlier this week, Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets, enabling AI bots to independently hold funds, send payments, trade tokens, earn yield, and transact onchain. Last month, the company also launched its prediction markets to all U.S. customers, allowing them to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, including elections, sports, collectibles, and economic indicators.
