Financial Insights That Matter
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Photo Illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
NurPhoto via Getty Images
DOGECOIN CHAMPION POSTS BLOWOUT EARNINGS
Dogecoin, the $39 billion joke-turned-blue-chip of the meme coin economy, has been on a wild run, up 220% over the past year. That’s a goldmine for Robinhood, whose customers collectively hold 35 billion DOGE, or about 24% of the token’s entire supply. At current prices, that stash is worth $8.8 billion, though it briefly ballooned to $16.4 billion in December.
Crypto has become Robinhood’s cash cow. Q4 results show that digital assets were its top revenue driver, up 700% year-over-year to $358 million, making up 35% of net revenue. For all of 2024, the firm brought in $2.95 billion, while net income soared tenfold to $916 million. And it’s not just dog money: Robinhood’s meme coin buffet also includes BONK, Shiba Inu, Dogwifhat, Trump coin, and Pepe. Read more.
COINBASE’S COMEBACK
Coinbase just pulled off a comeback worthy of a bull market montage. Q4 net revenue nearly doubled to $2.2 billion, blowing past the $1.8 billion analysts expected. Net income rocketed 1,600% from the previous quarter to $1.3 billion, as trading volume surged 176% to $94 billion—proof that retail investors are back and betting big.
Not bad for a company that just a year ago was clawing its way out of post-FTX wreckage, with revenue around $3 billion and its stock trading below $200. Now, with Bitcoin ETFs gaining traction and D.C. getting friendlier, Coinbase is inching back toward its 2021 glory days, when revenue was over $7 billion and shares briefly topped $357.
CRYPTO PUSHES FOR INFLUENCE IN D.C.
Crypto’s power players have stormed Washington, lobbying for influence in the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, led by Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks, and working to shape discussions with the SEC’s newly formed Crypto Task Force under Commissioner Hester Peirce. Some had hoped for a formal role on the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, initially expected to include industry executives. But sources indicate a different approach favoring issue-specific roundtables over direct industry appointments. Read more.
ELSEWHERE:
US SEC Case Against Crypto Exchange Binance Put On Hold [Reuters]
From BNY To Citi, Wall Street Moves In On Crypto [The Information]
Abu Dhabi Discloses $437M Stake In BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF [CoinDesk]
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