2023 still at a loss

Crypto exchange Coinbase surprises with billion-dollar profit

In the same period last year, Coinbase made a loss of 79 million dollars.

(Bild: AFP)

Brisk trading in cryptocurrencies has given Coinbase a leap in earnings. Net profit amounted to 1.2 billion dollars (1.12 billion euros), according to the largest US exchange for cyber currencies. In the same period of the previous year, it had posted a loss of 79 million dollars.

Following the announcement of the results on Thursday, the share price nevertheless fell by three percent after ending regular trading with a plus of just under nine percent.

The US approval of the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) to invest directly in Bitcoin had temporarily lifted the oldest and most important internet currency to a record high of just over 73,800 dollars in recent months. According to insiders, however, applications for the market launch of similar ETFs on the second most important cyber currency, Ethereum, currently have little chance of being approved.

Regardless of this, Coinbase is facing numerous lawsuits. Among other things, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is accusing it of operating an unlicensed trading platform, as cryptocurrencies are securities. These are subject to regulation by the SEC. The head of the SEC, Gary Gensler, wants to keep a tight leash on the industry, which has so far been barely supervised and which he accuses of using "Wild West methods". Some customers have also taken Coinbase to court due to the lack of a US license.