Coinbase to Add Over $500M in Crypto to Current Holdings

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted the crypto exchange will also invest 10% of its profits in cryptocurrency.

By James Rubin

Aug 20, 2021 at 12:47 a.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 1:42 p.m. UTC

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Coinbase will purchase more than $500 million in cryptocurrencies to add to its holdings, the exchange giant's CEO and co-founder, Brian Armstrong, tweeted on Thursday.

Armstrong wrote that the company had "received board approval" to add these assets to its balance sheet.
He also wrote that Coinbase will invest 10% "of all profit going forward in crypto." He added that he expected "this percentage to keep growing over time as the crypto economy matures," and that he hoped to "operate more of our business in crypto."
The company started trading publicly in April via a direct listing, and earlier this month, it reported a net income of $1.6 billion for its second quarter, up from $771 million in the first quarter.
According to a report Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, Coinbase has amassed a cash stockpile of $4.4 billion to ensure it can continue growing despite potential risks such as regulatory crackdowns, cyberattacks and declines in trading volume.
Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas noted in a blog posting that most of the exchange's "corporate financial transactions "remain heavily weighted in fiat," and added that the company was "in a strong position to lead by example and double down on how we can enable crypto adoption and utility."

UPDATE (August 20, 01:22 UTC): Adds bullet point quoting Coinbase blog posting.

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