Coinbase Global (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong sought to ease investor concerns as the cryptocurrency market plunged and a brawl broke out in Washington, D.C., dimming hopes of Congress passing another landmark legislation.
“Coinbase has been through cycles like this many times and adoption continues to grow. Regulatory clarity is coming and I’m more optimistic than ever,” Armstrong said during the company’s earnings call Thursday.
Armstrong’s comments came after Coinbase posted its second-worst quarterly net loss ever, $667 million, as its cryptocurrency portfolio posted a $718 million loss. Excluding fluctuations in cryptocurrency holdings, Coinbase reported adjusted EBITDA of $566 million, down 56% from the prior year and $89 million below Wall Street forecasts. Coinbase’s net income was $1.7 billion, a decrease of $487 million from the same period last year.
“There are opportunities in every market, whether it’s up or down,” Armstrong added, noting that the company benefited from previous cryptocurrency downturns.
Coinbase shares rose more than 18% on Friday after the results were announced.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that since the crypto world peaked in October, Bitcoin, other digital assets and cryptocurrency-related companies have been punished, with Coinbase’s stock price falling by more than 50%, and the total market value of crypto assets losing $2 trillion during this period.
Coinbase has repurchased $1.7 billion worth of its own stock over the past year, enough to cover stock payments to employees and executives amid the company’s depressed stock price. “Coinbase is buying the dip,” Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas told investors on a conference call.
Read more: How to Cope with a Cryptocurrency Crash
Coinbase’s quarterly trading volume totaled $215 billion, down 51% from $439 billion last year. The company’s main source of revenue – fees from retail traders – fell more than 45%, missing analysts’ forecasts by $41 million.
As Fundstrat head of digital assets Sean Farrell said on Thursday, “Cryptocurrencies are in no man’s land.”
Armstrong reminded analysts that the company has made significant progress in its long-term quest to reduce the exposure of its business to cryptocurrency prices. Coinbase made a splashy product announcement in December, launching trading in stocks, tokenized stocks, futures and prediction market contracts.
“We now have 12 products with annual revenue exceeding $100 million,” he said.
In Washington, Coinbase was thrust into the spotlight after Armstrong publicly displayed his company’s political muscle on social media by rejecting a major bill that would formally integrate the cryptocurrency world with mainstream finance. A congressional committee hours later canceled a hearing to advance the bill.
