Coinbase transaction revenues plummet 44% as users activity declines in Q3

Crypto exchange Coinbase saw a huge fall in its transaction revenues in the third quarter after activity fell amid a broader market downturn, but managed to cut its losses in half compared to the prior quarter.

In its shareholder letter released Nov. 3, the company shared that transaction reven had fallen from $655.2 million in the second quarter to $365.9 million, representing a decline of 44%.

The company cited poor macro conditions with daily average crypto market capitalization falling 30% and trading volumes shifting away from the United States due to the lack of regulatory clarity as reasons for the decline. 

It also blamed the numbers on an increasing amount of retail customers holding, while advanced traders have been using other platforms with more complex products amid the bear market. 

Despite the ailing numbers, Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong appeared bullish during the Q3 earnings call, commenting that the regulatory environment could be one of the “biggest unlocks” to growing the industry and even allow for “prices to go back up.”

“I think there's an opportunity at some point for the crypto prices to potentially decouple from the broader macro environment. And we don't know if that's gonna happen, but I think it's one of the possibilities and regulatory clarity is one of the things that could help kick that off.”

During the earnings call, Coinbase’s Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas was also asked whether positive earnings could be expected in the final quarter.

Haas responded by saying that it wasn’t their primary focus, and they are looking to continue investing for growth throughout the cycle while minimizing losses, adding:

“When we’re in bull runs we’re going to make profit, when we’re in downturns we’re going to take prudent losses.”

Coinbase appears to have been successful in that aim, with the latest earnings report showing that they have managed to reduce operating expenses by 38% from the previous quarter through staff cuts and other measures.

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Overall, Coinbase reported Q3 revenue of $576.4 million, decreasing 28% from Q2, while its net loss was reduced by 50% to $544.6 million.

Coinbase noted that the fall in revenue was partially offset by an increase in subscription and services revenue — which come from its staking and custody services and interest income — which grew 43% compared to the previous quarter.

Coinbase shares (COIN) have fallen by over 8% over the days trading, with the firm's revenue for the quarter coming in below Bloomberg expectations of $649.2 million.