Coinbase Shares Skyrocket, Surpass Crypto Giants Bitcoin, Ethereum In 2023

Heading into the final weeks of 2023, Coinbase Global Inc. COIN is outperforming the broader market, as its stock price surges alongside the upward momentum of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD.

What Happened: While Bitcoin and Ethereum have reported gains of 161% and 81% respectively on a year-to-date basis, while shares of Coinbase are up over 381% so far in 2023.

Chart: TradingView

Riding on the stock's gains, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has reduced its holdings in COIN in December. In the most recent transaction, Ark offloaded 34,261 Coinbase shares through ARK Innovation ETF ARKK and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW. The transaction was valued at $5.5 million.

Meanwhile, in mid-December, Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam offloaded 97,836 COIN shares for $13.2 million.

Why Does It Matter: For its latest Q3 results, Coinbase said that “amid multi-year low levels of volatility, we are pleased with our financial results.” The exchange is still in the process of navigating its legal fight with the SEC as it was sued for allegedly operating an unlicensed crypto securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

Also Read: 'Coinbase Is Focused In A Complicated Environment,' Will Benefit From Bitcoin ETF Approval: Analyst           

The company's revenue increased 14% to $674 million in Q3. Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas in the earnings call said that, “We continue to experiment with our pricing models, and price changes may impact future quarters.” 

In mid-December, Coinbase announced that it would be offering the option to spot-trade cryptocurrencies outside the U.S. amid global expansion plans. Recently, the asset management arm of Coinbase has been looking to bring TradFi assets to the blockchain with a new platform, Project Diamond.

The exchange enabled PayPal integration for German and U.K. users in late August, making it possible to buy and withdraw cryptocurrencies using PayPal accounts.

Price Action: Coinbase was up 0.43% on Wednesday, closing at $167.18.

Read Next: Coinbase CEO Warns Being Anti-Crypto Will Be A Bad Political Strategy In 2024

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