[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the value of cryptocurrencies fell and market enthusiasm cooled, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, saw its revenue for the second quarter (April to June) of this year drop by 64% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, it recorded a net loss of over 1.4 trillion won, turning to a deficit.
According to CNBC and others on the 9th (local time), Coinbase announced in a letter to shareholders that it posted revenue of $883 million (approximately 1.0564 trillion won) in the second quarter. This figure fell short of the market forecast of $832.2 million compiled by financial information firm Refinitiv and represents a 64% decrease compared to revenue in the same period last year. The net loss for the second quarter was $1.1 billion. Considering that it posted a net profit of $1.59 billion in the second quarter of last year, it has turned negative within a year.
The main cause of this deterioration in performance is the sharp decline in cryptocurrency values. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, was around $40,000 in the second quarter of last year but fell below $25,000 this year. CNBC reported that Bitcoin prices dropped 59% during the second quarter. Accordingly, as of the end of June, Coinbase's cryptocurrency assets totaled $428 million, less than half of the $1 billion held at the end of March.
In a letter to customers, Coinbase described the second quarter as "a period that tested the resilience of cryptocurrency companies and was overall a complex quarter."
Coinbase's monthly active users in the second quarter were 9 million, fewer than the 9.2 million in the first quarter but more than the analysts' market estimate of 8.7 million. Coinbase revised its annual forecast for monthly active users downward from the 5 million to 15 million range projected three months ago to 7 million to 9 million.
Coinbase's stock price closed down 10.55% on the New York Stock Exchange that day.
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