What happened
Coinbase Global (COIN) is the largest U.S. crypto exchange and, for many Korean retail investors, the listed proxy for bitcoin.
Its 10-Q for the second quarter of 2026, filed July 30, shows total revenue of $1,220m, down 19% from $1,497m a year earlier. The operating loss was $113m and the net loss $359m, or $1.36 per share.
Two things stand out in the revenue mix. Consumer transaction revenue was $452m, down 30% from $650m. Institutional transaction revenue rose 65% to $100m but remains small. Meanwhile stablecoin revenue of $292m, earned on USDC balances, reached 25.3% of net revenue of $1,154m, up from 22.1% a year earlier — nearly half the size of all transaction revenue ($599m).
What the numbers mean
Stablecoin revenue is interest-type income from the reserves behind the USDC that customers hold on Coinbase. The company's footnote states it is not revenue from contracts with customers under accounting rules. It depends on two variables: interest rates and USDC balances. The MD&A says lower average rates reduced it by $55.9m in Q2, partly offset by growth in customer USDC balances.
One more number belongs next to it. Coinbase pays customers rewards for holding USDC, and that cost — $119m in Q2, booked in sales and marketing (Note 17) — equals 41% of stablecoin revenue. It rose from $102.5m a year earlier. So the income that is replacing trading fees is a quarter of revenue on the top line but, after what goes back to customers, about $173m.
The other swing factor is the crypto the company holds as investments: 17,311 bitcoin, 150,279 ether and other tokens with a cost of $1,823m and a fair value at June 30 of $1,468m — 80.5% of cost. The quarter's unrealized loss was $209m; the first half's, $692m. At December 31 the fair value ($1,999m) had been above cost ($1,751m).
Why it matters
First, the centre of gravity is shifting from trading to interest. Transaction revenue's share of net revenue slipped from 54.7% to 51.9% while stablecoin revenue's rose from 22.1% to 25.3%. Blockchain rewards (staking and similar) fell 42% to $83m. Trading fees drop as soon as activity does; interest income holds as long as balances stay, but is exposed to the direction of rates.
Second, users and custodied assets shrank. Monthly transacting users were 7.6m, 13% below 8.7m a year earlier. Assets on platform were $245.9bn, down 42% from $425.0bn; the company attributes the decline mainly to lower crypto prices and says unit holdings grew. Customer custodial cash fell to $4.3bn from $5.3bn at December 31.
Third, cost-cutting has begun. On May 5 the company announced a reduction of about 700 employees and booked $52.4m of restructuring expense in Q2. Even so, technology and development expense rose 22% to $473m. The company says it will expand or contract its cost base with market conditions.
Fourth, the year-on-year comparison needs care. Q2 2025 net income of $1,429m included a $1,472m gain on investments (Note 17). At the operating level, Q2 2025 was also a loss, of $24.7m; this quarter's $113m operating loss is that deficit grown larger.
Company context
Coinbase lists its 2026 priorities as growing the "everything exchange", scaling stablecoins and payments, and expanding onchain adoption. From Q2 it dropped trading volume as a key metric and says it saw resilience in crypto derivatives. From year-end 2025 it classifies payment stablecoins such as USDC as cash equivalents.
Of the crypto it holds, $128.4m is subject to time-based selling restrictions lifting between 2026 and 2030. Customer crypto received as collateral rose to $2,654m from $1,507m at December 31.
What to watch
Four items in the Q3 10-Q, expected in late October:
- Stablecoin revenue and USDC rewards — $292m / $119m in Q2. Whether rate cuts or balance growth dominate, and whether the rewards rate changes.
- Consumer transaction revenue — $452m in Q2. Whether it rebounds, and whether institutional ($100m) keeps growing.
- Crypto held: fair value / cost — 80.5% at June 30. Quarterly earnings swing by hundreds of millions with prices.
- Monthly transacting users and AOP — 7.6m / $245.9bn.
These figures accumulate on the ticker page each quarter.