Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) lost $359.5 million, or $1.36 per share, in the second quarter of 2026, and the stock slid roughly 5–6% in after-hours trading on July 30. For shareholders and users of the platform, the report boils down to a handful of questions.
Why did Coinbase lose money?
Not because day-to-day operations stopped earning. Adjusted EBITDA, the company’s non-GAAP measure of operating profitability, came in positive at $207.8 million, a 14th consecutive quarter in the black. Most of the net loss is a $209.5 million mark-to-market hit on crypto held as investments. Under this accounting, holdings are revalued at current market prices every quarter, and crypto prices fell about 11% during Q2. CFO Alesia Haas said on the call that delayed signings of commercial contracts for USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin, also weighed on results, as did the deeper-than-expected price drop, which cut staking revenue.
Why did the stock fall?
Revenue of $1.22 billion missed analyst consensus, which ranged from about $1.29 billion to $1.35 billion depending on the provider. Adjusted earnings per share of -$0.40 landed far below the expected -$0.11. In after-hours trading, that double miss counted for more than the quarter’s operational records.
Is anyone still trading crypto?
Less than a quarter ago: market-wide crypto spot trading volume fell 25% quarter over quarter, and Coinbase’s transaction revenue dropped 22% year over year to $599 million. Even so, the exchange captured a record 10.3% of global crypto trading volume, up from 9.1% in Q1 — its third record quarter in a row.
Where does the money come from instead?
Subscription and services revenue reached $555 million, a record 48% of net revenue. Stablecoin revenue hit $292 million as average USDC balances on the platform grew 44% year over year to $20 billion. Prediction markets — contracts tied to real-world event outcomes — grew 106% quarter over quarter in both contracts and revenue and now run above $100 million annualized. The company says 88% of net revenue comes from sources other than spot bitcoin trading. “Coinbase is no longer a bet just on the price of Bitcoin,” CEO Brian Armstrong said on the call.
What does Q3 look like so far?
Coinbase projects subscription and services revenue of $500–580 million for the third quarter, below the FactSet consensus of $633.9 million, and guides adjusted expenses at $980 million to $1.08 billion. Transaction revenue stood at roughly $130 million quarter-to-date as of July 26.