Coinbase reportedly explored the idea of adopting a Bitcoin investment strategy similar to the one championed by Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy on several occasions since its founding in 2012, but ultimately decided against it, according to Bloomberg.
“There were definitely times in the past 12 years where we thought about allocating 80% of our balance sheet to crypto — especially Bitcoin,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said during a May 9 video interview with Bloomberg. However, Armstrong explained that such a move could have jeopardized the company’s liquidity and potentially undermined its core business as a crypto exchange. “We made a deliberate decision based on our risk appetite,” he added.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas, who joined the call, echoed that sentiment. She said the company was mindful of the perception that it might be competing with its own users by favoring certain cryptocurrencies. “We didn’t want to pick winners,” she said.
Still, Coinbase has made significant crypto purchases. On May 8, the company announced in its Q1 earnings report that it had added another $153 million in crypto to its holdings — most of it in Bitcoin. According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, Coinbase currently holds around 9,480 BTC, valued at roughly $988 million. That makes up the bulk of its $1.3 billion in digital assets and places it as the ninth-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind companies like MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital (MARA), and Tesla.
Many firms have followed Saylor’s model, funding large Bitcoin purchases via stock or debt sales with the hope that BTC appreciation will drive up share prices. Over 100 public companies globally now report Bitcoin on their balance sheets, alongside dozens of ETF issuers, private firms, and even 12 sovereign nations.
Coinbase Expands Into Derivatives With Deribit Acquisition
In addition to boosting its crypto holdings, Coinbase made headlines on May 8 with its acquisition of crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion — marking the largest M&A deal in the crypto sector to date.
Previously limited to its derivatives operations in Bermuda, the acquisition will dramatically grow Coinbase’s reach in the fast-growing derivatives market. Deribit processed more than $1 trillion in trading volume in 2024 and currently has about $30 billion in open interest.
With this acquisition, Coinbase declared itself the new “global leader” in crypto derivatives trading.
