Coinbase Global (COIN) – Get Report, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., reported its first quarterly results as a public company after the bell Thursday.
Coinbase reported first-quarter net income of $771 million, or $3.05 a share, up from $32 million a year ago. Revenue totaled $1.8 billion, up from $191 million.
The results essentially match the FactSet consensus of $3.05 in net income and revenue of $1.8 billion.
The company said it now has over 56 million verified users, including more than 8,000 institutions. Retail Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) grew to 6.1 million in the quarter, more than double compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Shares of the Wilmington, Del. company were up nearly 4% to $274.14 in after-hours trading. The stock fell 6.5% in the regular session.
The company said in a shareholders letter that “we saw many crypto assets reach all time high prices, high levels of volatility, and increased interest across the entire cryptoeconomy.”
“Despite our strong Q1 results, the rapid expansion of the cryptoeconomy also creates challenges for Coinbase,” the company said . “Competition is increasing as new market entrants join the cryptoeconomy every month.”
Coinbase said its competitors “are supporting certain crypto assets that are experiencing large trading volume and growth in market capitalization that we do not currently support, as well as offering new products and services that we do not offer.” The company doesn’t support trading in Dodgecoin, for example.
The company did not forecast revenue or earnings estimates, as “our business is inherently unpredictable.”
Coinbase did say it expected between 5.5 million and 9 million MTUs for the full year. In addition the company said it anticipate the annual average net revenue per user will exceed the historical range of $34 to $45 per month.
Coinbase made history last month when it became the first cryptocurrency exchange to go public. The company said in April it would acquire Skew, a data visualization and analytics platform for cryptocurrency markets.
The Coinbase platform allows investors to buy and sell a wide range of crypto coins from Bitcoin to Ethereum.
Shares have fallen recently as investors have questioned its valuation. The exchange’s fate is closely tied to Bitcoin, the dominant cryptocurrency.
On Wednesday, Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla (TSLA) – Get Report will no longer accept payments in bitcoin, citing the environmental impact of bitcoin mining for the decision.