Coinbase returns to profit as $715 million crypto gain lifts quarter

Coinbase returned to quarterly profit after three consecutive losses, reporting $718.7 million of net income for the three months ended September 30. The result was heavily influenced by a $715 million gain on crypto assets held for investment, making the composition of the earnings more significant than the headline profit alone.

The company released the results on October 29, after the quarter had ended. Total revenue was $1.216 billion, effectively unchanged from the second quarter but 35% below the $1.869 billion reported for the same period of 2025. Coinbase’s adjusted net income, which excludes the tax-adjusted effects of crypto holdings and other investments, was $77.7 million.

That adjustment is a company-defined, non-GAAP measure rather than an alternative set of audited earnings. It helps isolate operations from market-value changes, but it also excludes real gains and losses recognized under accounting rules. The appropriate reading is therefore not that Coinbase generated only $77.7 million of profit, but that most of the reported GAAP result did not come from its exchange, subscription or service operations.

Trading revenue remained under pressure

Transaction revenue was $590.2 million during the quarter, down 1% from the preceding three months and 44% from a year earlier. Coinbase said total crypto-market trading volume fell 10% quarter over quarter while volatility reached multiyear lows.

Consumer transaction revenue was approximately $450 million, broadly flat from the second quarter. Institutional transaction revenue declined 8% to $92 million, while other transaction revenue rose 2% to $48 million. These figures cover Coinbase’s July-through-September reporting quarter and should not be treated as a measure of activity after September 30.

Reuters independently reported that the weaker transaction result reflected difficult trading conditions even as lower operating expenses and investment gains returned the company to profitability. Coinbase’s total operating expenses fell to $1.154 billion from $1.388 billion in the year-earlier quarter, a 17% reduction based on the company’s financial tables.

Coinbase also reported $333 million of adjusted EBITDA, up 60% from the second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA excludes several costs and non-operating items, including stock-based compensation, depreciation, interest and taxes, so it does not represent operating cash flow or GAAP profit.

Newer products softened the decline

Subscription and services revenue increased 3% from the second quarter to $570.2 million, although it remained 20% below the year-earlier period. It represented 49% of net revenue, with stablecoin revenue accounting for $307 million of the category.

Coinbase said its prediction-market business surpassed a $200 million annualized net-revenue rate during the quarter. That figure is a run-rate measurement based on the most recent qualifying quarter, not $200 million of recognized third-quarter revenue. Reuters reported that prediction markets and derivatives together represented about one-quarter of transaction revenue, according to Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas.

The company placed its share of measured crypto trading volume at 10.7% for the quarter, compared with 5.6% a year earlier. This is a company-defined market-share estimate derived partly from third-party market information, which Coinbase says it has not independently verified. It indicates relative gains under Coinbase’s methodology, not growth in the overall market: the exchange gained estimated share while its transaction revenue still contracted substantially from the prior year.

The next quarter remains market-sensitive

Coinbase disclosed approximately $165 million of fourth-quarter transaction revenue through October 25 but explicitly cautioned against extrapolating that partial-period figure. It projected fourth-quarter subscription and services revenue of $550 million to $630 million, a forward-looking range rather than an established result.

The third-quarter report shows that Coinbase’s newer products and lower expenses can cushion weak spot trading. It also demonstrates that quarterly earnings remain highly sensitive to the valuation of crypto held on the company’s own balance sheet. Future results will depend on both operating performance and asset prices at subsequent reporting dates.