Coinbase

Coinbase is an American cryptocurrency exchange platform that was founded in June 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. It is the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange and the world's biggest bitcoin custodian as of 2024.

## Company Overview

Coinbase operates in over 100 countries and serves more than 108 million customers worldwide. The company holds nearly $516 billion in assets, including approximately 12% of all bitcoin in existence and 11% of all staked Ether. It became a public company on April 14, 2021, through a direct listing on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol COIN.

## Products and Services

Coinbase offers a range of cryptocurrency products and services for retail and institutional clients:

- **Coinbase Exchange**: The main platform for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies
- **Coinbase Pro/Advanced**: Professional trading platform with advanced features
- **Coinbase Wallet**: Self-custody wallet for accessing decentralized applications
- **Coinbase Custody**: Secure storage solutions for institutional clients
- **Coinbase Commerce**: Payment processing for merchants
- **Coinbase Prime**: Trading and custody services for institutional investors
- **USD Coin (USDC)**: Stablecoin issued by Circle in which Coinbase holds an equity stake

## Company Culture

Described as a conservative and law-abiding cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has established itself as a trusted platform in the industry. As of 2025, the company operates as a remote-first organization with no physical headquarters, though it maintains offices in San Francisco, Charlotte (North Carolina), and has operations in Hyderabad, India.

In September 2020, CEO Brian Armstrong published a blog post emphasizing that Coinbase would not engage in social activism, focusing instead on its mission to increase economic freedom. The company offered severance packages to employees who disagreed with this direction.

## Regulatory Approach

Coinbase has built a strong compliance foundation that is rooted in best practices from traditional financial services. The company maintains high standards for asset listings, service provisions, and customer access. It implements:

- Know-your-customer (KYC) verification requirements
- Anti-money laundering (AML) compliance
- Regular reporting to regulatory bodies including the IRS
- Sanctions compliance monitoring

In February 2025, following the election of Donald Trump, the SEC dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase, ending a legal battle between the two entities. The company was previously sued in June 2023 by the SEC, which alleged it had been acting as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency since 2019.

## Financial Performance

Coinbase reported strong financial results in recent years:

- 2024 Revenue: $6.565 billion with net income of $2.578 billion
- 2023 Revenue: $3.109 billion with net income of $95 million
- 2021 Revenue: $7.839 billion with net income of $3.624 billion (peak during crypto boom)

The company was added to the S&P 500 index on May 19, 2025.

## Technology and Innovation

In February 2023, Coinbase launched Base, its own layer 2 blockchain built on Ethereum using the MIT-licensed OP Stack from Optimism. In November 2025, Coinbase rebranded its Coinbase Wallet as the Base app, described as combining social media, messaging, trading, and payments on its Ethereum layer-2 network.

The company has also announced partnerships with major firms including:
- BlackRock (August 2022): Allowing BlackRock clients to use Aladdin to oversee bitcoin exposure
- Google Cloud Platform (October 2022): Customers can pay for cloud services with cryptocurrencies
- Kalshi (November 2025): Launching prediction markets on the platform

## Sources

Information compiled from official Coinbase website (coinbase.com/about) and Wikipedia.