Coinbase Global (COIN.O) beat second-quarter revenue expectations on Thursday, despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing a lawsuit against the crypto exchange and its rival Binance in June. The lawsuit alleged that Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities without registering them with the regulator, marking a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the crypto industry.
Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in a post-earnings call that they “do think we can win” and “expect to win” the litigation with the SEC. Despite initial enthusiasm, shares in Coinbase were last down 1.2% in volatile extended trading.
The company reported revenue of $707.9 million in the second quarter, beating estimates of $663 million, according to Refinitiv data. Interest income in the quarter surged to $201.4 million from $32.5 million a year ago. Trading volumes in the quarter dropped to $92 billion from $217 billion a year ago, while its loss narrowed to $97 million from $1.09 billion in the same period in 2022.
Coinbase expects third-quarter subscription and services revenue of at least $300 million, compared with estimates of $336.15 million. Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau said the investor enthusiasm got subdued, as they realized guidance was in line with expectations.
Finance head Alesia Haas said that crypto volatility, a key input into the trading business, continued to decline and reached multi-year lows in the second quarter.
Reporting by Manya Saini and Sri Hari N S in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Arun Koyyur. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Manya Saini reports on prominent publicly listed U.S. financial firms including Wall Street’s biggest banks, card companies, asset managers and fintechs. She covers late-stage venture capital funding, initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges alongside news and regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency industry. Her work usually appears in the finance, markets, business and future of money sections of the website. Contact: 9958867986
