Coinbase Global Inc user numbers soar amid Bitcoin boom
The crypto trading group reported that user numbers in the first quarter of 2021 had surged to 6.1mln from 2.8mln in the fourth quarter of 2020, while assets on the platform swelled to US$223bn from US$90bn
User numbers at cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase soared in the first quarter of 2021 as a boom in the price of Bitcoin and other digital tokens sent retail investors flooding into the market for a slice of the action.
In the company’s results for the first quarter of 2021, published late on Tuesday, it reported that active users on its platform had surged to 6.1mln from 2.8mln in the fourth quarter of 2020, while verified users, those with Coinbase accounts, jumped to 56mln from 43mln.
READ: Coinbase valuation reaches US$90bn ahead of public listing
Meanwhile, the firm reported that it had raked in US$1.8bn over the period as well as a net income of around US$730-US$800mln.
The company also saw its trading volumes top US$335bn, while the total assets on its platform swelled to US$223bn from US$90bn in the fourth quarter of last year. Around US$122bn of those assets came from institutions, showing the firm has managed to attract professional cash into the crypto market.
Looking ahead, Coinbase said for the full year 2021 it had a mid-case scenario of 5.5mln monthly transacting users (MTU), assuming crypto market capitalisation remained flat with low price volatility, which would be a “Modest decline” from the first quarter numbers. For its high-case scenario is forecast MTUs of 7mln assuming increased market capitalisation and moderate to high price volatility.
The boom in user numbers is fortuitous timing for Coinbase, with the results coming one week ahead of its planned direct listing on the Nasdaq next week.
In a private auction in early March, reports indicated that shares in the firm were changing hands at US$350 each, giving it a possible market cap of around US$90bn.
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