Coinbase (COIN) Q4 FY25 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Are you making any headway on positive outcomes regarding the CLARITY Act?

Brian Armstrong is optimistic about achieving regulatory clarity in the next few months, noting bipartisan effort and the crypto industry's united asks for a level playing field. He believes a win-win outcome is possible for all stakeholders.

“I'm actually quite optimistic that we'll get something through here in the next few months.”

asked by @MikePob65 · answered by Brian Armstrong

With Base TVL and sequencer revenue growing strongly, what percentage of overall subscription and services revenue do you expect Layer 2 activity from Base and partners to contribute in 2026? And are there plans to further incentivize builders there?

Alesia Haas clarified that Base sequencer fees are recorded in transaction revenue, not subscription and services. Brian Armstrong detailed incentives for builders, including Base grants, improved developer tools, distribution through Coinbase apps, and exploring a Base token.

“Base revenue, we monetize both directly and indirectly. Directly, we're monetizing Base through sequencer fees. And those sequencer fees are recorded in other transaction revenue, not in our subscription and services revenue.”

asked by @InternetToken · answered by Alesia Haas

Could your economic relationship with Circle change depending upon language in a market structure bill, particularly regarding promotional payments to stablecoin holders?

Brian Armstrong stated that the market structure legislation would not change their economic relationship with Circle. He explained that prohibiting rewards would ironically make Coinbase more profitable as they pass most economics to customers, but they oppose such prohibitions for customer benefit and U.S. competitiveness.

“The short answer to your question is no. We don't see any way that this market structure legislation would change our economic relationship with Circle.”

asked by Ken Worthington · answered by Brian Armstrong

How does Coinbase think about the opportunities in larger-scale buybacks and M&A given the valuation of the whole sector has come down?

Alesia Haas highlighted Coinbase's strong financial position with over $11 billion in cash. She noted they deployed $1.7 billion for share repurchases, doubled BTC native units in their investment portfolio, and will continue opportunistic M&A, emphasizing 12 consecutive quarters of adjusted EBITDA profitability.

“We've deployed $1.7 billion to repurchase 8.2 million shares under our buyback program. That includes Q4 through February 10.”

asked by Owen Lau · answered by Alesia Haas

Can you talk about your 2026 spending plans? Given a wide variety of potential top line outcomes in 2026, how do you think about need to spend versus want to spend? And where is there most flex in the cost base?

Alesia Haas stated that 2025 was an investment year, with increases mainly in sales & marketing (USDC rewards) and M&A deal-related costs. For Q1 2026, expenses are expected to be flat quarter-over-quarter, with flexibility to adjust based on market conditions and opportunities.

“When you look at our Q1 expense outlook, the range in the outlook is flat to our Q4 expense outlook.”

asked by Ben Budish · answered by Alesia Haas

Coinbase reportedly had issues with customers trying to buy, sell and transfer. Was the Coinbase issue just a tech mishap and not a more severe issue?

Alesia Haas confirmed that the recent interruption in buy, sell, and transfer functionality was a technical issue, unrelated to trading volume or market conditions, and has since been resolved. Derivatives and equities trading were unaffected.

“This was a result of a technical issue, unrelated to trading volume, unrelated to any market conditions. The issue is now resolved.”

asked by Robbie Bamberger · answered by Alesia Haas

As you work to scale the Everything Exchange, can you describe the strategy for bringing customer assets to Coinbase? To what extent do you believe -- do you expect equities and prediction markets to act as a front door to net new users?

Brian Armstrong described the 'asset accumulation flywheel' strategy, starting with trust to attract assets, then connecting more products. Equities and prediction markets make the product more valuable for existing users and are also attracting traditional investors seeking an easy, single platform for all asset classes.

“The first step is it just makes the product more valuable for our existing users, but we're also seeing it help attract more traditional investors who want to come in and onboard and just have an easiest place to trade every asset class in one spot.”

asked by Alex Markgraff · answered by Brian Armstrong

You guys have made some key acquisitions in 2025. Can you help us think through your M&A strategy at this point? What parts of the business are you looking to bolster with M&A? And what types of assets are you looking at?

Emilie Choi stated that 2025 was a strong year for M&A, with 10 acquisitions/acqui-hires accelerating product roadmap. For 2026, they will be selective but aggressive, focusing on M&A opportunities that advance the Everything Exchange, enhance onchain infrastructure, and bundle stablecoins and payments infrastructure.

“Thematically, we're looking for incremental M&A opportunities in advancing the Everything Exchange, owning more onchain infrastructure and bundling stablecoins and payments infrastructure.”

asked by Emilie Choi · answered by Emilie Choi