Crypto exchange Coinbase posts negative EPS and disappoints Wall Street

The big crypto exchanges are taking on water. Every week brings its share of bad news. At Binance, we deny massive leaks. At Coinbase, we count the dead. The American giant has just published its results. Wall Street was expecting a profit. He had a loss. Not a small one. A real one. The first since 2023. And the worst part is that everything seemed to work.

971,000 subscribers, 667 million losses: the Coinbase conundrum

First, the number that hits. Coinbase One now has 971,000 subscribers. Four times more than two years ago. Brian Armstrong welcomes this:

Coinbase One continues to gain traction among retail and institutional customers. We're excited to see adoption moving forward.

Second, the other number. The one who kills. The crypto exchange displays a net loss of $667 million. Its earnings per share? -$2.49. Analysts saw +$0.96. The market is hallucinating. How can you lose so much money with so many paying customers? Answer: These customers pay less. Much less. The Coinbase One plan reduces fees.

“Simple trades” are migrating to less profitable “advanced trades”. Adoption success, economic failure. The premiumization trap has closed.

Retail trading is collapsing, stablecoins don't save everything

The heart of the profession is faltering. Coinbase's transactional revenue falls below the billion mark. 983 million exactly. A year earlier, it was 1.56 billion. The fall is dizzying.

On the individual side, it's worse. Spot volume collapses to 56 billion. Income drops by 13%. Brian Armstrong tries to reassure by saying that they observed good performance of institutional derivatives during the quarter, despite lower spot volumes.

The “shock absorbers” were supposed to smooth out the cyclicality. Stablecoins bring in 364 million, up. Institutional loans are breaking records. But nothing works. The loss is there. In its letter to shareholders, the company repeats his mantra :

Crypto is cyclical, and experience teaches us that it is never as beautiful, nor as ugly, as it seems.

Clarity Act: how Coinbase torpedoed its own regulation

While its accounts bleed, Coinbase is playing another game. In Washington. The Clarity Act was to set federal rules for stablecoins. The crypto industry has been waiting for this for years. But Coinbase withdrew from the negotiations. For what ? Brian Armstrong rejects provisions that cap rewards. The same ones that bring in 364 million to his company.

In early February, a meeting at the White House ended in an impasse. Banks and crypto-firms look at each other like dogs. Result: no legal framework. Stablecoins remain unclear. What about Coinbase stock? It has lost 40% since January. Finally, the American giant defends its margins in the short term. But by sacrificing the stability that could save it tomorrow. All in all, a strange strategy.

Coinbase Q4 2025: the collapse in figures

• Net loss: $667 million, first since 2023;
• Transactional income: 983 million, below the psychological threshold of one billion;
• Individual trading: -45% over one year, the historical engine stalls;
• Coinbase One subscribers: 971,000, but each subscriber brings in less;
• Action: -40% since January, Wall Street no longer believes it.

Coinbase is not alone in the turmoil. In recent weeks, Binance has also seen its image tarnished. Rumors of massive withdrawals, for 17 billion, have circulated. The BNB issuer denied this. He even proposed an annual “Withdrawal Day” to prove his transparency. But doubt, once sown, grows like quackgrass. The crypto giants cough. The cycle does not do any favors.