The big picture: Shares in Coinbase are trading up more than six percent this morning after the cryptocurrency exchange announced second quarter revenue that smashed expectations. Barring another wild run, however, it seems as though the crypto industry will likely level out in Q3.
Coinbase for the three-month period ending June 30, 2021, generated total revenue of $2.23 billion compared to the $1.78 billion that Refinitiv was expecting. Net income checked in at $1.6 billion, which represents nearly a 4,900 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago.
Cryptocurrency went on a wild run back in April with Bitcoin reaching an all-time high of more than $64,000, and Coinbase was there to capitalize on the frenzy. The company said monthly transacting users (MTUs) reached 8.8 million, an increase of more than 44 percent quarter over quarter. Trading volume was also up in the quarter, hitting $462 billion compared to $335 billion in Q1.
Coinbase finished Q2 with 68 million total verified users.
Coinbase is already seeing signs of slowdown. In July, the company saw MTUs fall to 6.3 million and trading volume slide to $57 billion. So far in August, MTUs and trading volume levels have improved slightly compared to July but are still lower than earlier in the year.
Then again, crypto is notoriously volatile and it wouldn't be all that surprising to see another late 2021 push. Bitcoin has already recovered some of its losses over the past few months and is currently trading just north of $46,000.