Coinbase Reports a 32% Surge in Retail Trading in Q4 2021
Renowned US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. reported on February 24 a 67% jump in trading volumes for the last quarter of 2021. Coinbase also warned that this growth might slow down in the current quarter.
The trading columns reached $547 billion in Q4 2021, with retail trading rising 32%, while crypto assets contributed 68% to the total trading volume.
“The sequential increase in retail trading volume was driven primarily by higher levels of volatility as well as strong consumer interest in a wider variety of crypto assets,” the statement Coinbase issued to shareholders said.
With the explosion of Bitcoin’s and other cryptocurrencies’ prices in November 2021, the total market cap grew nearly trifold to reach the $2.3 trillion mark at the end of Q4, prompting many businesses around the globe to invest further into their crypto infrastructure.
However, Bitcoin’s price has since dropped as central banks all over the world signal the end of their pandemic-era stimulus, and the overall crypto market capitalization quarter has decreased 20% to date.
While many crypto enthusiasts were worried about an upcoming period of stagnation when Bitcoin dropped in value on crypto exchanges in December, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that use cases of cryptocurrency had changed significantly, and that he expected a decline but far less noticeable than during previous “crypto winters.”
Coinbase has attributed the decline in Q1 2022 to macroeconomics factors and predicted that the total trading volume in the current quarter would be lower. The letter to shareholders also warns that 2022 will bring a reasonable level of uncertainty for the company.
“We enter 2022 with even more unknowns, which make our business all the more difficult to forecast,” the letter said, emphasizing unpredictable interest rates, inflation, and volatile crypto prices.
Coinbase went public in April through a direct listing. Currently, this renowned crypto exchange is currently working on diversifying its portfolio by launching a nonfungible token (NFT) platform.
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