Coinbase earns fees when people trade crypto and income when they hold it. In the third quarter of 2026, revenue fell faster than costs, and the two income streams were almost level.
Someone who buys a slice of Bitcoin on a phone app pays a small fee each time the trade goes through. Coinbase runs one of those apps, used by individuals and large institutions alike. Most of its revenue comes from the United States, and it holds licences in Europe, Singapore, Bermuda and elsewhere. Beyond trading, it earns money when customers hold and use crypto on its platform, including stablecoins (digital tokens designed to keep a steady dollar value).
Traders pay a fee on every trade, so this engine rises and falls with how eager people are to buy and sell. In the third quarter of 2026, everyday consumers provided most of it. A second stream is not charged trade by trade. It comes from stablecoin income earned through an arrangement with Circle Internet Financial and from staking rewards (earned by helping verify transactions on certain crypto networks), plus the Coinbase One subscription and fees for storing assets offline. What remains depends on costs that move slowly: engineers and technology, sales and administration, and pay in company shares. When trading drops, revenue falls fast but these costs lag, so profit shrinks far more than sales.
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