Coinbase's Transaction Fees Improve: Will it Accelerate Growth?

Coinbase Global Inc. COIN generates the bulk of its revenues from transaction fees, its biggest but most volatile income source. Transaction revenues, which contribute over 50% of COIN’s top line, are closely tied to trading volumes and are primarily earned from spot trades executed by both retail and institutional customers on its platform. International revenues comprised mainly transaction revenues.

 Transaction revenues increased 18.2% year over year to $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a 26% increase in trading volume, which reflected both broader market momentum and Coinbase’s rising market share in the United States. For the second quarter of 2025, COIN expects institutional transaction revenues to be impacted by $30 million to $40 million on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

The surge in crypto trading activity, spurred by increasing adoption of Bitcoin ETFs and tokenized assets, continues to drive COIN’s transaction-based income. To support long-term growth and improve crypto utility, Coinbase is investing in foundational infrastructure like Base, its Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution. In 2024, Coinbase partnered with Stripe to integrate USDC on Base, advancing global crypto adoption. Additionally, the platform has broadened its asset offerings by launching tokenized equities such as cbXRP and cbDOGE on Base.

Transaction revenues offer strong operating leverage, with profitability improving as volumes rise faster than costs as well as scale globally. While inherently sensitive to market conditions, this revenue stream continues to be a key growth engine. At the same time, Coinbase is steadily expanding its subscriptions and services segment to diversify income and enhance business resilience.

What About COIN’s Competitors?

COIN competes with Robinhood Markets HOOD and Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. IBKR, two crypto-oriented companies.

Transaction revenues, a key contributor to Robinhood Markets’ growth, are driven by active retail trading in cryptocurrencies, options, and equities. Making up over 60% of its total revenues, these earnings reflect Robinhood’s strong sensitivity to market fluctuations and the behavior of retail investors.

Interactive Brokers Group’s commission-based transaction revenues are a key driver of growth, reflecting its success in capitalizing on rising client trading activity. This high-margin revenue stream demonstrates strong operating leverage, as increased trading volumes translate into outsized revenue gains and improved profit margins.

COIN’s Price Performance

Shares of COIN have gained 1.2% year to date, outperforming the industry.

COIN’s Expensive Valuation

COIN trades at a price-to-earnings value ratio of 45.5, above the industry average of 18.72. But it carries a Value Score of F.

Estimates Movement for COIN 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COIN’s second-quarter and third-quarter 2025 EPS has moved down 47.1% and 37%, respectively, over the past 30 days. The same for full-year 2025 and 2026 has increased 52.3% and 16.7%, respectively.

The consensus estimates for COIN’s 2025 and 2026 revenues indicate year-over-year increases. While the consensus estimate for COIN’s 2025 EPS indicates a decline, the same for 2026 EPS suggests an increase.  

COIN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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