Why Coinbase and Crypto Jumped on Tuesday

What happened 

The crypto market turned positive on Tuesday as investors poured back into riskier assets. Earnings were relatively positive on Monday after the market close and Tuesday morning and that is pushing riskier assets higher today. 

Coinbase Global (COIN 7.22%) was a big mover, jumping as much as 11% and trading 10.6% higher at 1:30 p.m. ET. After volatile trading in the last 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC 0.38%) is up 2.7% since the stock market opened, Ethereum (ETH 1.38%) jumped 7.6%, and Solana (SOL 0.06%) was up 6.6%. 

So what 

The biggest news in crypto was the $200 million hack of the Nomad bridge, which is a cross-chain bridge that allows users to send crypto to different blockchains. Bridges have been a weak point for crypto and over the course of a few hours there was a free-for-all attack on the bridge by multiple users.

Robinhood Markets also got a $30 million fine in its crypto division for violating anti-money-laundering and cybersecurity regulations by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

There was some “risk on” trading going on in crypto, but I think the most meaningful move was made by Coinbase. The company announced a staking option for Coinbase Prime members, who are usually institutional investors. This can give investors passive income on the fees paid to make transactions on the blockchain. 

Coinbase also supports staking for Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos, Tezos, Celo, and other cryptocurrencies. This could be a great new revenue stream for Coinbase and with security becoming a more important factor for investors, this platform may generate significant revenue for the company. 

Now what 

The sharp move higher this morning seems to be little more than volatility in the market. Investors were pleased with earnings reports and jumped back into riskier assets, which cryptocurrencies definitely fall into. 

More important news for Coinbase will come out next week when the company reports earnings. Investors will want to see how trading levels are holding up, but keep in mind that revenue streams from staking, cloud services, and other products will be an important piece of the company’s future. I wouldn’t expect a profit in the quarter, but laying out a plan to survive until the market turns around may be enough for investors. 

I also think the added tools companies like Coinbase are bringing to market will help expand the crypto ecosystem. Investors should want to see more activity from developers and Coinbase is enabling that development. Long-term, days like this are bullish for the industry, even if volatility may wipe away today’s gains fairly quickly.