As Bitcoin goes, so goes the rest of crypto, and that includes Coinbase.
In less than two weeks, the exchange’s stock has soared approximately 56%, exceeding more than $83 per share, the highest in six months.
Coinbase’s recent resurgence reflects a broader rally in the crypto market. On Sunday, Bitcoin broke $28,000 for the first time since June 2022, as investors rushed to the digital asset amid fears of a banking crisis. Other cryptocurrencies are also up, including Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the native token for the Ethereum blockchain, which has gained 20% in less than two weeks.
The rising share price is welcome news after a tough year for Coinbase, which reported fourth-quarter earnings that included a $2.6 billion net loss for 2022. Amid a prolonged Crypto Winter, the cryptocurrency exchange reported a 50% decline in total trading volume compared with 2021.
“To state the obvious, 2022 was a challenging year for the crypto markets and our transaction revenues,” Coinbase wrote in its shareholder letter.
A spokesperson for Coinbase declined to comment on the recent share gains when reached on Tuesday by Fortune.
The company, headed by founder and CEO Brian Armstrong, also has been battling an increasingly hostile regulatory landscape as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the federal government have pursued a widespread crypto crackdown after the sudden fall of FTX.
In January, the SEC charged crypto firms Genesis and Gemini with selling unregistered securities through the companies’ yield-bearing product, Gemini Earn. In February, the competing cryptocurrency exchange Kraken then agreed to pay a $30 million fine and shut down its staking service, which the SEC alleged was tantamount to selling unregistered securities.
And Coinbase, along with the broader crypto landscape, has also reckoned with the sudden disappearance of Silvergate and Signature, which once were the banks of choice for the industry.
But the recent resurgence in crypto prices—and Coinbase’s stock—has enthusiasts hopeful that the enduring chill of Crypto Winter may soon subside.
We about to enter a “Crypto spring”?
— Arkaydeus 🤘 (@arkaydeus) March 20, 2023
