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- š¼ Coinbaseās 90% Revenue Shift Changed Everything
š¼ Coinbaseās 90% Revenue Shift Changed Everything

šGood Monday Morning, Folks!
Everyone says theyāre āearlyā to the crypto future ā but the way they react to Coinbase tells a different story.
Because the second Bitcoin wobbles 3%, the same people who swear theyāre here for the long term suddenly start checking charts like their portfolio is on life support. Meanwhile, Coinbase just dropped a quarter showing ~90% YoY growth in recurring revenue, institutional custody inflows, and actual consistent profitability ā and the market barely blinked.
This is the part that gets me:
People keep treating Coinbase like a hype asset⦠while Wall Street is literally using it as the compliant on-ramp to the new financial system.
The story already changed.
Most investors just havenāt caught up.
So today, weāre not talking vibes, candles, hopium, or bull cycle predictions.
Weāre talking about how Coinbase quietly turned into the toll booth for every meaningful crypto transaction ā and why the real opportunity isnāt in chasing the next coin pumpā¦
Itās in owning the infrastructure the world has to use, whether they like it or not.
ā” Quick Hits
The latest shutdown standoff has shifted from spending negotiations to the Affordable Care Act itself ā meaning this is no longer a procedural fight, itās ideological. When shutdown risk moves from budget lines to core social policy, volatility jumps fast. Markets tend to ignore these battles until something ābreaks,ā and by then, the trade is crowded.
Everyone is focused on the succession, but the message Buffett is leaving behind is the real signal: valuations, leverage cycles, and capital discipline matter again. This isnāt sentimental ā itās strategic. When the greatest capital allocator of the last century tells you the market is forgetting how risk works, you listen.
Long-term financial security is becoming less about āwhat you earnā and more about how you structure volatility and income. The article highlights a shift toward predictable cash flow and defensive diversification ā a realignment that often begins before markets show stress. If you wait until volatility shows up to adjust, youāre late.
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š”One Big Idea: Everyone Looked at Crypto Prices. I Looked at COINās Profit Engine - And Itās Up 90% YoY.

Most people still talk about Coinbase like itās just a place to buy crypto.
They see Bitcoin go up, they assume Coinbase goes up.
Bitcoin goes down, Coinbase must be dying.
End of story. Move on.
This is the level of āanalysisā that drives most of the marketās reaction to COIN.
But that view is outdated.
That view is shallow.
And that view is now dangerously wrong.
Because while everyone was staring at coin prices and influencer charts, Coinbase rebuilt its business into something the market isnāt properly pricing yet.
Coinbase did something far more important than benefit from a bull run:
It transformed its revenue engine.
š The Numbers That Actually Matter
Hereās what changed ā and what Wall Street is now slowly waking up to:
Segment | YoY Trend | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
Subscription & Services Revenue | Up ~90% YoY | Stable, recurring, non-speculative cash flow |
Institutional Custody | Growing with ETF AUM | Coinbase is becoming Wall Streetās crypto vault |
Trading Revenue | Up with activity but now smaller share | Business is less sensitive to hype cycles |
Net Income | Profitable, not one-time | Proof the model is durable, not episodic |
Layer-2 Network (Base) | Developer growth accelerating | Coinbase owns the infrastructure, not just the interface |
The key takeaway:
Coinbase decoupled its survival from retail trading volume.
This is the entire ballgame.
The company most investors think lives and dies by Bitcoin sentimentā¦
now has multiple revenue engines that persist regardless of market mood.
Thatās not speculation.
Thatās business model maturity.
š§ Letās Call Out the Misconception Directly
The market still sees Coinbase as: The exchange people use to buy crypto during bull markets.
But institutions see Coinbase as: āThe only compliant, regulated, insured, audited, publicly listed digital asset bank.ā
Those two identities are not even in the same universe.
One is a trading app.
The other is market infrastructure.
Market infrastructure is where long-term wealth accumulates.
šļø Coinbase Became Wall Streetās Custodian
When BlackRock launched the Bitcoin ETF, they could have gone with anyone.
They chose Coinbase.
When Fidelity launched theirs, same story.
ARK, Galaxy, VanEck, Franklin Templeton ā same answer.
Coinbase now sits at the center of the institutional crypto supply chain.
This is how the future finance rails get standardized:
Role | Old World Equivalent | Crypto Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
Clearing & Settlement | DTCC / CME | Coinbase Prime |
Asset Custody | BNY Mellon / State Street | Coinbase Custody |
Developer Infrastructure | AWS | Base (Coinbase L2) |
Coinbase is not the casino floor.
Coinbase is the vault, the settlement rail, and the toll bridge.
And toll bridges get paid every time someone crosses.
š„ Meanwhile, Everyone Else Looked at Price Charts
If youāve been feeling like:
Youāre early instead of behind
Youāre seeing something the market hasnāt priced yet
Youāre thinking in business models, not candles
Thatās not an accident.
Thatās clarity.
Everyone else is reacting to price movement.
Youāre reacting to structural change.
Thatās the difference between:
Traders who chase narrative
and
Investors who position before narrative flips.
This COIN moment is an inflection point.
And inflection points never feel comfortable while youāre in them.
They become obvious only after the revaluation happens.
šÆ The Pragmatic Playbook: How Iām Positioning in COIN

This is not a ābuy nowā hype message.
This is process, not excitement.
1. I Do Not Chase Green Candles
If COIN is running in a straight line ā I wait.
Momentum is not the friend of accumulation.
2. I Add on Macro Fear Red Days
If Bitcoin retraces and COIN pulls back without business fundamentals changing, thatās opportunity ā not danger.
Low-conviction holders panic.
High-conviction investors accumulate.
3. I Anchor on Subscription/Services Growth
As long as recurring revenue continues to expand, the infrastructure story is intact.
If that slows under ~20% for multiple quarters, I pause, not sell ā pause.
This keeps conviction rational, not emotional.
š§© How COIN Fits Into a Portfolio (This Is the Actionable Part)
Hereās the exact way I think about sizing COIN inside a real portfolio ā no hype, no bravado, no YOLO positioning:
Tier | Position Size | Purpose | Thinking |
|---|---|---|---|
Core Exposure | 1ā3% portfolio weight | Express conviction in long-term infrastructure thesis | Small but meaningful. Youāre in the game. |
Staged Adds | +0.5% on red macro days | Average in without chasing strength | Let market volatility build your position for you. |
Thesis Guardrail | Pause adds if Subscription Revenue slows <20% YoY | Discipline over emotion | Clear data-based stop signal reduces regret & confusion. |
This turns the idea into a system, not a hope.
No guessing.
No āfeeling it out.ā
No tying your emotions to the chart.
You now have:
A when to enter
A how to add
A what tells you to slow down
Thatās what real investors operate from.
š§ The Monday Reset
There are two types of investors:
Those who wait for the market to confirm the story.
and
Those who recognize the story changed long before price did.
One buys certainty at a premium.
The other builds positions at inflection points.
This week reminded me of something simple:
When the market gets noisy, I slow down.
When headlines swing, I stay centered.
When others react, I observe.
My edge doesnāt come from predicting the next candle.
It comes from seeing when the business has already changed.
And Coinbase has already changed.
The market just hasnāt fully priced it yet.
See you Wednesday.
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š§ Final Thought
Thereās a point in every market cycle where the story shifts before the crowd realizes it. Not with a headline, not with a price spike, but with a quiet change in the underlying economics. Coinbase crossed that line already ā the business became infrastructure while most investors are still trading it like a mood swing on a chart.
The hard part isnāt spotting the shift. The hard part is trusting what you saw before the market agrees with you. Thatās the real work ā holding conviction when the signal is clear but the recognition is not. If you can stay centered there, youāll be early by design, not by accident.
š§ What did you think of today's newsletter? |
Stay Sharp,
ā AK

Disclaimer: The content on this blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing in the stock market involves risks, including the loss of principal. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent any company or organization. Readers should conduct their own research and due diligence before making any financial decisions. The author and publisher are not responsible for any losses or damages resulting from the use of this information.


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