Coinbase has just released its 2026 Q1 earnings report: a net loss of $394 million.

Total revenue was $1.41 billion, which is lower than the market expectation of $1.48 billion.
Trading revenue was $756 million, down 40% year over year.
Net loss was $394 million, of which $482 million came from “paper unrealized losses” on crypto asset investments.
You heard that right—even the coins they hold are losing.
Even CEO Brian Armstrong has started calling for a shift in strategy—derivatives, futures, prediction markets—everything they want to do.
The moment the earnings report came out, the stock price dropped 6% after hours.
The only number in the entire report you can really pay attention to is:
Stablecoin-related revenue was $305 million, up 11% year over year against the trend.
What does that mean?
Everyone doesn’t want to gamble anymore.
Even institutions are converting their money into USDC, sitting there on the books without moving, just to collect interest.
How cold is the market? So cold that people who trade are almost gone.
If even a platform like Coinbase at this level is losing like this, how can those small and mid-sized exchanges—whose daily active users are in the hundreds and that rely on pumping volume to keep the lights on—stay alive?
By relying on the U you top up?
By relying on the contracts you open?
By relying on you not withdrawing?
At least Coinbase can still afford to lose—cash on hand and EBITDA have been positive for 13 consecutive quarters.
But what about small and mid-sized exchanges?
They don’t have $400 million they can afford to lose.
If they lose $4 million, they might shut down and disappear overnight.
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