Public Keys is a weekly roundup from Decrypt that tracks the key publicly traded crypto companies. This week: Coinbase wallops Q3 estimates, BlackRock’s IBIT sees a sharp pullback, and REX Shares’ new ETF is harvesting crypto stock volatility.
Coinbase topped expectations on Thursday with Q3 revenue of approximately $1.9 billion and transaction revenue hitting $1.0 billion. That’s a sharp rebound as spot volumes return to the exchange.
The company also said Q4 is off to a strong start, with October transaction revenue already at $385 million. Beyond trading, Coinbase benefitted from a tailwind thanks to subscription and services: Staking, custodial services, interest. The company also flagged that the Ethereum L2 that it incubated, Base, was profitable.
The company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the COIN ticker, ended Friday having gained 4.65%. But the share price was still 3% lower than it was at the start of the week.
The earnings report reinforces that volatility and volumes—although they can be hell for traders—tend to bolster COIN’s bottom line.
And to supercharge that effect, the company has been focusing on making more and more assets available to investors. The expansion has taken Coinbase from “about 300 to over 40,000 assets in the U.S.” by way of DEX integrations, said CEO Brian Armstrong, who added that the quarter also included the first launch of “CFTC-regulated 24/7 perpetual style futures in the U.S..”
Perps have been all the rage among traders, but some industry experts have raised an eyebrow about how much risk they’re introducing to markets.
Speaking of volatility, institutions yanked funds from Bitcoin ETFs after BTC dove below $110,000 on Thursday.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, accounted for nearly half the Bitcoin ETF category’s outflows on Thursday, when it saw $290.8 million worth of withdrawals on a day when Bitcoin spot ETFs lost $488.4 million.
BlackRock’s IBIT Sheds $291M in a Day, as Bitcoin ETFs Pull Back
On Friday, IBIT saw traders sell $149.3 million worth of shares, making up 77% of outflows for the day, according to data from Farside Investors.
But IBIT is still BlackRock’s shining star among its ETF catalog. On a cumulative basis IBIT’s lifetime net inflow remains massive, with more than $88 billion worth of assets under management. One session doesn’t change the structural adoption story—just the week’s P&L.
New York-based REX Shares has built its reputation on unconventional ETFs. Its latest offering treats volatility in equities—including crypto companies—like a feature, rather than a bug.
