Coinbase Posts Q2 Earnings of Over $1.6bln as ETH Trade Volume Surges

During the second quarter of fiscal 2021, Coinbase earned $2.23 billion in income as Ethereum (ETH) transaction volume exceeded Bitcoin (BTC) for the foremost occasion on the platform. On August 10, Coinbase released its Q2 earnings report, and the cryptocurrency exchange’s sales exceeded analyst expectations, with equity research firm Refinitiv predicting $1.78 billion in revenue for the firm.

Earnings per share for Coinbase were $3.45, compared with forecasts of $2.33. In Q2, the trading platform earned $1.6 billion in net earnings, a 4,900% rise over the $32 million earned during the same period last year.

For the foremost time in Coinbase’s nine-year existence, ETH outpaced BTC in transaction volume, accounting for 26% and 24% of aggregate volume, respectively.

BTC trading volume fell 39% from Q1 to Q2, while ETH trading volume rose 23% over the same period. According to the study, the decrease in BTC transaction volume may be attributed to the overall Bitcoin volume reducing “as a proportion of worldwide exchange spot volume,” as well as the inclusion of numerous new investment vehicles that sparked keen interest and speculation. The company ascribed the surge in ETH trading volume to the expansion of the DeFi and NFT platforms, as well as increasing demand from Eth 2.0 staking.

Coinbase’s overall volume increased 38% in comparison to the first quarter, with the company handling $462 billion worth trades in the second-quarter. Operating costs were $1.35 billion, accounting for 67% of net sales. Coinbase said that the second quarter of 2021 was a “good quarter” with “development and diversification” throughout the network, with the document highlighting a substantial rise in retail and institutional customers:

“Retail Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) increased by 44% from Q1 2021 to 8.8 million. There were 68 million authenticated users. We currently have more than 9,000 institutions that are deepening and broadening their involvement in the cyber economic system.”

Retail traders represented $145 billion in aggregate volume, while institutional investors contributing $317 billion, representing gains of 20% and 47%, respectively, over the previous quarter. Customers of the platform include ten of the top 100 biggest hedge funds with respect to assets under management (AUM):

“Furthermore, we have established relationships with industry heavyweights such as Elon Musk, PNC Bank, SpaceX, Tesla, Third Point LLC, and WisdomTree Investments in the past few months.”