Coinbase shares slide further after the US crypto exchange posted a $394.1 million loss in the first quarter and missed revenue forecasts. The stock dropped 4.7% in after-hours trading Thursday, falling below $184.
This is the second consecutive quarterly loss for the exchange. It reported a $667 million loss in Q4 2025. A year earlier, it turned a $65.6 million profit.
Revenue Miss Across Both Segments
Coinbase revenue came in at $1.41 billion, short of the $1.5 billion analysts had pencilled in. Transaction revenue dropped 40%. Subscription and services revenue, the business outside trading, fell 13.5% year-on-year.
Loss per share was $1.49. The Street expected a 36-cent loss.
| Metric | Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Loss | $394.1m | -$65.6m profit | -$459.7m |
| Revenue | $1.41bn | – | – |
| Transaction Revenue | – | – | -40% |
| Subscription & Services | – | – | -13.5% |
| Loss per Share | $1.49 | – | – |
Chief financial officer Alesia Haas attributed the quarter to market conditions. “Macro conditions were genuinely tough,” she said on the earnings call. “Total crypto market cap and total crypto trading volume were both down more than 20% quarter-over-quarter.”
Diversification Beyond Spot Trading
Chief executive Brian Armstrong framed the quarter differently. He highlighted the exchange’s shift away from spot crypto. “Over the past year, Coinbase has aimed to transition from a primarily spot-focused crypto platform into a place where you can now trade any asset class,” he said.
Armstrong pointed to prediction markets and tokenised assets as growth areas. “We’re in kind of this interim period where spot crypto assets were down a bit, other asset classes were up. As we diversify, these things will get balanced out.”
The exchange laid off 14% of its workforce on Monday. Roughly 700 employees. The stock is down more than 14.5% this year.
Sector-Wide Pressure
Coinbase is not alone. Robinhood Markets, its retail-facing rival, missed estimates for the first quarter as well. Crypto revenue and trading volumes nearly halved year-on-year.
The broader crypto market slump has pushed some traders into other asset classes. Total crypto trading volume dropped more than 20% quarter-on-quarter. That flow is visible in the transaction revenue line at both Coinbase and Robinhood.
Bernstein maintained a bullish rating on both exchanges in March, arguing that the decline in crypto stocks presented a more attractive entry point for investors seeking exposure to tokenisation. The firm expects stablecoins and prediction markets to gain traction over the coming years.
What Happens Next
The question is whether the diversification strategy can offset the spot trading collapse before cash burns through. Armstrong has staked the company’s trajectory on tokenised finance, but the revenue mix has not shifted fast enough to cushion the blow from lower crypto volumes.
Next print in three months. That one will show whether the layoffs and the push into new product lines are translating into a narrower loss.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Readers should not act on any information contained here without first consulting an authorised financial adviser. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
