Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong believes the company’s revenue will drop 50% or more due to a sharp decline in cryptocurrency prices and the collapse of FTX, he said Wednesday.
Armstrong made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg News about the crypto industry. He also called for greater oversight of the crypto, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulating crypto securities and other regulators overseeing different crypto products.
He labeled the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, FTX, as a “black mark” for crypto but said it was “it’s not representative of the whole industry.” Coinbase is a crypto exchange platform operating since 2012, according to its website.
Armstrong said Coinbase is “very different” from FTX because it is a U.S.-based publicly traded firm with publicly disclosed financial statements. His company has never created its own crypto token and did not have a partner hedge fund like FTX, because that would create a “conflict of interest,” Armstrong claimed. (RELATED: Here’s Why Disgraced Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Hasn’t Been Arrested)
Coinbase shares have dropped 80% this year, and they previously closed at $42.41 according to Bloomberg. Analysts expect the company’s revenue to drop 75% in the fourth quarter, Bloomberg added.
Our CEO recently sat down with David Rubenstein at Bloomberg. Brian indicated that he expects Coinbase FY2022 revenue to be less than half of FY2021 revenue.
This view is consistent with the outlook provided on our Q3 earnings call on Nov 3, 2022.https://t.co/iCDO16bFf2
— Coinbase (@coinbase) December 7, 2022
The company tweeted that Armstrong’s view is “consistent with the outlook provided on our Q3 earnings call on Nov 3, 2022.” A Coinbase spokesperson directed the Daily Caller to the tweet in response to a request for comment.
FTX, which Bankman-Fried founded in 2019, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022, after a report on alleged misuse of customer funds sparked mass withdrawals on the platform. Its valuation peaked at $32 billion in March 2022.