The deep dive · NASDAQ: COIN · Read November 1, 2026

Coinbase

The biggest US crypto exchange, now earning about half its money from stablecoins and services as trading fees fall, and betting that AI agents will pay each other in crypto.

10-Q Q3 2026
Since you opened this page
Coinbase's revenue at its last-quarter pace of $153 a second.
Revenue
$1.22B in Jul to Sep 2026, down 35% from a year earlier.
Profit
+$62M operating profit in Q3. The $719M net profit is mostly a rise in its own crypto.
Debt
$5.95B of notes, against $8.6B of cash.
Watch
26% of net revenue is its share of USDC, a coin issued by Circle.
AI
Building rails it created x402, a way for AI agents to pay over the web.
Hiring
4,204 full-time staff in Q3, down from 4,988 in Q1 after a 14% layoff.
Listings
185 → 195 remote listings since Oct 10.
01 · The business

Trading fees are half the money, and shrinking.

Coinbase is known as the app where people buy bitcoin, and fees on those trades were still its biggest line in 2025. The next biggest is its cut of interest earned on USDC reserves, then staking rewards it passes through to users.

46%
Consumer trading fees, $3.32B
19%
Stablecoin (USDC) revenue, $1.35B
9%
Staking (blockchain rewards), $677M
8%
Other subscriptions and services, $555M
7%
Institutional trading fees, $480M
4%
Interest on its own cash, $298M
7%
Other trading, interest and lending fees, $500M
10-K FY2025, revenue by source
The moat, in three parts
  1. 1
    It holds a huge share of the world's crypto
    $377B of assets on the platform at Sep 30, 2026, about 12.5% of all crypto by market value.
    Q3 2026 earnings deck
  2. 2
    A share of the money behind USDC
    Its 2023 deal with Circle shares the interest on USDC reserves. About $22B of USDC sat in Coinbase products in Q3, around 30% of all USDC.
    10-K FY2025; Q3 2026 deck
  3. 3
    The top crypto options venue
    It bought Deribit for $4.29B in Aug 2025. Derivatives were $963B of its $1.21T Q3 trading volume.
    10-Q Q3 2026; Q3 2026 deck
The competition
TradingView, Oct 30 close
CompanyWorthRevenueGrowthPer employeePaid per $1Stock, 1 yr
Coinbase$38.0B$4.58B−48%$0.92M$9.03−58%
Robinhood$76.6B$5.14B+22%$1.77M$15.06−40%
Gemini$376M$162M+29%$0.25M$2.15−85%
Bullish$3.59B$354MNot read$0.85M$10.23−53%
CME Group$109B$6.97B+9%$1.80M$15.59+15%
  • Coinbase
    Worth
    $38.0B
    Revenue
    $4.58B
    Growth
    −48%
    Per employee
    $0.92M
    Paid per $1
    $9.03
    Stock, 1 yr
    −58%
  • Robinhood
    Worth
    $76.6B
    Revenue
    $5.14B
    Growth
    +22%
    Per employee
    $1.77M
    Paid per $1
    $15.06
    Stock, 1 yr
    −40%
  • Gemini
    Worth
    $376M
    Revenue
    $162M
    Growth
    +29%
    Per employee
    $0.25M
    Paid per $1
    $2.15
    Stock, 1 yr
    −85%
  • Bullish
    Worth
    $3.59B
    Revenue
    $354M
    Growth
    Not read
    Per employee
    $0.85M
    Paid per $1
    $10.23
    Stock, 1 yr
    −53%
  • CME Group
    Worth
    $109B
    Revenue
    $6.97B
    Growth
    +9%
    Per employee
    $1.80M
    Paid per $1
    $15.59
    Stock, 1 yr
    +15%

Investors pay $9.03 for every dollar Coinbase brings in. Its peers here range from $2.15 to $15.59, close to their median of $12.64.

Coinbase, TradingViewRobinhood, TradingViewGemini, TradingViewBullish, TradingViewCME Group, TradingView
02 · The money · July to September 2026, its latest reported quarter

Coinbase brought in $1.2 billion in 92 days.

−$653M
on the same 92 days a year earlier
$13M
a day, every day of the quarter
$551K
an hour, around the clock
$9,176
a minute

That is about $653 million less than the same three months a year earlier. Each of its 4,204 employees brought in about $1.71 million over the year, about $4,680 a day.

Revenue is not profit. It is the money that came in before Coinbase pays any of its costs.

10-Q Q3 2026; employees from Q3 2026 deck (FTEs)
02 · The turn

Still profitable, but down from $2.3 billion in FY2024.

Revenue more than doubled in two years. In FY2025 it kept 20 cents of every revenue dollar as operating profit.

Revenue
Money coming in, per fiscal year
Operating profit
What is left after running the business
  • FY2023: lost 5¢ of every $1
  • FY2024: kept 35¢ of every $1
  • FY2025: kept 20¢ of every $1
10-K FY2025, statement of operations
Revenue per employee

Robinhood and CME Group bring in more per person than Coinbase; Gemini and Bullish less.

  1. CME Group$1.80M
  2. Robinhood$1.77M
  3. Coinbase$0.92M
  4. Bullish$0.85M
  5. Gemini$0.25M
$0.0M$2.0M
Trailing revenue divided by employees, from the same market read as the table above.
The balance sheet

Coinbase owes bondholders, not banks, and nothing is due until 2028. Debt is not the risk here; crypto prices are.

$6.0Bof notes, more than covered by $8.6B of cash
$1.50B
0% convertible notes due 2029
$1.50B
0% convertible notes due 2032
$1.26B
0.25% convertible notes due 2030
$1.00B
3.375% senior notes due 2028
$738M
3.625% senior notes due 2031
10-K FY2025 debt schedule; 10-Q Q3 2026
03 · Footnote flags

What the filings say, and what we think it means.

The fact is the filing's. The read, in italics, is ours.

  1. 01
    Watch

    The $719 million quarter is mostly its own crypto going up.

    Q3 net income was $718.7M, but operating income was only $61.7M. A $715.0M gain on crypto it holds as an investment did the rest. For the first nine months the company lost $34.9M.

    Coinbase marks its bitcoin and other holdings to market each quarter, so profit swings with prices. The operating line is the better guide to how the business itself is doing.

    10-Q Q3 2026, statement of operations
  2. 02
    Watch

    Trading revenue fell 44% in a year.

    Transaction revenue was $590.2M in Q3 2026 against $1.05B a year earlier. Fees from everyday users fell 47%. Through Oct 25, Q4 trading revenue was about $165M.

    Retail trading follows crypto prices, and both are down. October is running at roughly the Q3 pace, so a quick rebound is not showing yet.

    10-Q Q3 2026; Q3 2026 deck
  3. 03
    Watch

    A quarter of net revenue rides on another company's coin.

    Stablecoin revenue was $306.9M in Q3, 26% of net revenue, earned under its agreement with Circle, the issuer of USDC. The 10-Q says the arrangement is unchanged.

    This income held up while trading fell, which is good. But it depends on interest rates and on a contract with one partner. Rate cuts or a renegotiation would hit it directly.

    10-Q Q3 2026, revenue note
  4. 04
    Watch

    Cut 14% of staff in May, citing market conditions and AI.

    About 700 jobs went in May 2026, about 14% of the workforce. Restructuring cost $47.8M through Sep, mostly severance. Full-time staff fell from 4,988 in Q1 to 4,204 in Q3.

    The headcount kept falling after the layoff was done, so hiring is slow. Press reports say junior engineering roles were hit hardest.

    8-K, May 5, 2026; 10-Q Q3 2026
  5. 05
    Watch

    Stock pay is 19% of revenue this year.

    Stock-based pay was $719.4M in the first nine months of 2026, up from $609.0M, on lower revenue. In 2025 it was $839.4M for the year.

    Equity is a big part of pay here. With revenue down and grants up, it is a larger cost than it was a year ago. The buyback is what keeps the share count from rising.

    10-Q Q3 2026, stock-based compensation note
  6. 06
    Good

    $2 billion of buybacks shrank the share count.

    The board raised the buyback to $4.0B in Jan 2026. $2.0B has been used for 10.17M shares, $1.19B of it this year. Shares outstanding fell 1.8% in a year, to 264.8M.

    Coinbase is returning cash despite a weak year. It bought most of those shares at prices far above today's $143.54.

    10-Q Q3 2026, capital stock note
  7. 07
    Good

    Its convertible notes only turn into stock above $333.

    The 2030 notes convert at $333.54 a share, the 2032 notes at $394.84 and the 2029 notes at $454.44. A $1.3B note due June 2026 was repaid in cash.

    None is near converting at today's price, so they act like cheap debt. If the stock stays low, $4.3B is due in cash from 2029 to 2032.

    10-K FY2025, debt note; 10-Q Q3 2026
  8. 08
    Good

    The old legal fights are shrinking.

    In the 2021 securities class action, a judge ruled for Coinbase on most transactions on Jul 30, 2026. On Oct 29, 2026 New Jersey said it intends to rescind its staking order. Five other states dropped theirs in 2025.

    The staking and listing cases that hung over Coinbase are fading. Regulators still send subpoenas on listings, staking and stablecoin yield, so the risk is lower, not gone.

    10-Q Q3 2026, commitments and contingencies
  9. 09
    Neutral

    Three senior officers are leaving in one year.

    Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal left Jul 31, 2026, and Chief People Officer Lawrence Brock on Aug 17. The Chief Accounting Officer said on Sep 29 she will retire. Each filing names a successor or a search.

    None of the filings cites a disagreement. Still, a new head of people after a 14% layoff often means pay and policy changes for staff.

    8-Ks, Jul 9, Jul 23 and Oct 2, 2026
  10. 10
    Neutral

    $377 billion of customer crypto sits off the balance sheet.

    Coinbase holds the keys to $376.6B of customer crypto and stablecoins but books none of it as an asset or liability. It calls the risk of loss remote.

    Standard treatment, but total assets of $27.4B understate what it guards. A hack is the tail risk that matters most.

    10-Q Q3 2026, commitments and contingencies
04 · Who gets paid most

Marketing is paid 46% over market. Engineering, 9% over.

Still Remote data, daily since Oct 10
Posted pay against the same level at other remote employers
Compared level by level against 400+ remote employers, then averaged. Number of posted ranges beside each team.
AI and ML listings, Oct 10 to Oct 31
12 → 14+17%
Remote listings, same days
185 → 195+5%

We save every company's roles, pay by team and level, AI share and churn every day, so each month this page can say more. Sparklines use their own scale.

05 · Built for the agentic era?

Can AI agents do business with Coinbase?

We checked the agent payment programs, developer docs and site rules an AI assistant would meet.

Our verdict

Built for agents. Volumes are still small.

Still Remote read
Live
  1. Its own agent payment standard, x402
    Coinbase created x402 and gave it to the Linux Foundation in Apr 2026. Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and AWS back the new foundation.
    Linux Foundation, Apr 2, 2026
    Yes
  2. Google's Agent Payments Protocol
    A launch backer. x402 is the extension for stablecoin payments inside AP2.
    Decrypt, Sep 16, 2025
    Yes
  3. An MCP server agents can use
    Agentic Wallet MCP lets agents hold a wallet and pay in USDC, with per-call and per-session spend caps. Works with Claude, Codex and Gemini CLI.
    checked Oct 31, 2026
    Yes
  4. Trading from ChatGPT or Claude
    Since Jun 2026 an agent can trade spot crypto and derivatives on a user's account through Coinbase's MCP server. Custom spend limits were still coming at launch.
    The Next Web, Jun 11, 2026
    Yes
  5. Merchants can take payment from agents
    Coinbase Business customers can receive USDC from AI agents through x402 since Jul 2026, with no extra setup. Volumes are described as fairly low.
    Coin360, Jul 23, 2026
    Yes
  6. Docs that AI tools can read
    Both coinbase.com and docs.cdp.coinbase.com publish an llms.txt. The docs index covers APIs, SDKs, x402 and the MCP tools.
    checked Oct 31, 2026
    Yes
  7. Lets AI crawlers read its site
    No AI bot is named or blocked. Only sign-up, OAuth, partner and landing pages are closed to all bots, and /careers is open.
    checked Oct 31, 2026
    Yes
05 · Inside the company

Where Coinbase puts AI to work.

AI and ML job titles, share of open remote listings
Coinbase
7.2%
Every company we track
6.2%
14 of 195 Coinbase listings on Oct 31. Scale 0% to 10%.
  1. 1
    Almost all code is written with AI
    Its head of platform said in Jul 2026 that 95% to 100% of code is written by or with LLMs, up from about 40% in Feb. Engineers run five to 10 agents at a time.
    Cointelegraph, Jul 14, 2026
  2. 2
    AI was part of the reason for the May layoff
    The 8-K for the 700-person cut names streamlining for AI alongside market conditions. Press reports say junior engineering roles were hit hardest.
    8-K, May 5, 2026
  3. 3
    Using AI tools is not optional
    In 2025 the CEO said engineers who did not set up AI coding tools within a week had to explain why, and some were fired.
    The Block, Sep 4, 2025
06 · What the hiring says

More listings than on Sep 7, led by engineering.

Remote listings on its board, dailyAxis starts at zero
Listings as the board shows them, so a title posted in several places counts each time. Team counts are open roles, repeated titles once.
68 of 187
roles are engineering
26
legal roles, the next biggest team
8
countries named in its remote roles, led by United States
+15
new roles in the last 7 days
06 · From its own channel

What Coinbase puts on its own channel.

Short videos from Coinbase's official YouTube channel, played here. We only use a channel that links coinbase.com and carries the company's name.

  • First time at COTA, where should we go?
    849 views
  • Investing in 1765 vs. Investing Now
    3 thousand views
  • I Went Back in Time to Stop Myself From Missing Crypto
    3.7 thousand views
  • Sending Money the Old-Fashioned Way
    1 thousand views
  • When The Charts Follow You IRL
    930 views
  • When the Market Has Your Full Attention
    1.5 thousand views
  • The $50 Blender That Became a $200 Steal
    2.2 thousand views
  • They weren't ready for new trading options
    2.9 thousand views
From Coinbase on YouTube. These are the company's own marketing, not a look inside.
07 · Scenario builder

Your view of the next year, in a share price.

A way to think, not a forecast, and not investment advice.

A share price is three numbers
$7.18Brevenue last year
×
$5.29what investors pay per $1 of it
=
$38.0Bthe whole company
÷ 265Mshares it is split into
= $143.54one share
Growth
How much bigger revenue gets in a year. More revenue to multiply.
Paid per $1 of revenue
The mood dial. High when investors expect fast growth and future profit, low when they doubt it. Coinbase sits at $5.29; the peers' median is $12.64.
Share count
Stock pay and converting notes add shares, so each is a smaller slice. Buybacks do the opposite. Last year Coinbase's share count changed −1.8%.
The analyst range
41 analysts publish a 12-month target, from $110 to $280. It is where Wall Street sits, not where the stock must go.
Pick a world

Growth and valuation hold, and the share count keeps rising at last year's rate. This lands below the analysts' average of $202.

Last year +9.4%.
No full-year revenue guidance. For Q4 2026: subscription and services revenue of $550M to $630M and adjusted expenses of $1.01B to $1.16B.
Today $5.29. Robinhood $15.06 · Gemini $2.15 · Bullish $10.23 · CME Group $15.59.
Last year −1.8%. $4.0B authorized; $2.0B used for 10.17M shares, $2.0B left at Sep 30, 2026.
$
A year from now, in your world
$160
+11% vs $143.54 today
Your grant, one year from now
$111,361

Your $100,000 grant today would be worth $111,361 in 12 months in this world, before taxes and vesting.

$7.86B revenue × $5.29 = $41.6B ÷ 260M shares
Against the 41 analysts
Today $144
Low $110
Avg $202
High $280
$0Band: low $110 to high $280$308
Revenue if this growth holds
Dotted: last year's pace, +9% a year. Bars start at zero.

A way to think, not a forecast, and not investment advice.

10-Q Q3 2026; Q3 2026 deck
08 · Where it looks headed

The signals, and which way they push.

  1. Tailwind
    Becoming an everything exchange.

    Derivatives were $963B of $1.21T Q3 volume. Prediction markets via Kalshi passed $200M of annualized revenue, and stocks and a Coinbase Pro relaunch are planned.

    Q3 2026 earnings deckhigh
  2. Tailwind
    Less dependent on trading fees.

    Subscriptions and services were $570.2M, 49% of Q3 net revenue, led by USDC income. Q4 guidance for that line is $550M to $630M.

    10-Q Q3 2026; Q3 2026 deckhigh
  3. Headwind
    Crypto prices set the hiring pace.

    Consumer trading fees fell 47% in a year. Staff fell from 4,988 to 4,204 in two quarters, and full-year expense guidance was cut.

    Q3 2026 earnings deckhigh
  4. Tailwind
    US market rules are getting closer.

    The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15 to 9 in May 2026. It still needs 60 Senate votes and a new House vote.

    Brave New Coin, May 15, 2026medium
  5. Tailwind
    Agent payments are a top bet.

    Coinbase calls agent payments one of its highest-conviction bets. Developer platform payment volume grew 160% a quarter from Q4 2025 to Q3 2026, but from a small base.

    Q3 2026 deck; Coin360, Jul 2026medium
09 · Bold predictions

Where Coinbase ends up, if we had to bet.

Our calls, not facts. Each one is tied to something that already happened, so you can judge the reasoning.

  1. 1

    Stablecoins, staking and services, not trading fees, are most of what Coinbase earns.

    Likely 72%Revenue

    That line was already 49% of net revenue in Q3 2026 while trading fees fell 44%. The stablecoin share held near $307M a quarter through the slump.

    10-Q Q3 2026
  2. 2

    Stocks, prediction markets and derivatives earn Coinbase more than spot crypto trading does.

    Coin flip 50%Products

    Derivatives are already 79% of its volume, and prediction markets passed $200M of annualized revenue within a year. Robinhood, CME and others are chasing the same customers, and states are suing over prediction markets.

    Q3 2026 deck; The Block, Jan 2026
  3. 3

    Payments made by AI agents become a revenue line Coinbase reports on its own.

    Coin flip 50%AI

    It wrote the x402 standard, and Google, Visa and Stripe now back it. Today agent payment volume is described as fairly low, and OpenAI and Stripe push a rival standard.

    Linux Foundation, Apr 2026; Coin360, Jul 2026
  4. 4

    A US crypto market law is in force, and Coinbase is regulated more like a stock exchange.

    Likely 72%Regulation

    The House passed CLARITY in 2025 and the Senate Banking Committee followed in May 2026. The fight over stablecoin yield could still change how much USDC income Coinbase keeps.

    Cointelegraph, Apr 2026; Brave New Coin, May 2026
  5. 5

    Coinbase buys at least one more company worth over $1 billion.

    Likely 72%M&A

    It paid $4.29B for Deribit and $176M for Echo in 2025 and agreed to buy The Clearing Company. It still holds $8.6B of cash.

    10-Q Q3 2026, acquisitions note

Read by the Still Remote research agent on November 1, 2026 from the sources linked on this page. Facts and scenarios only, not investment advice.