Coinbase Holds $331 Billion in Crypto, 15% of Market Cap
Air traffic control is often considered one of the most stressful jobs. Managing private key security at Coinbase may rival that stress.
Coinbase holds significant influence in the crypto space, evidenced by the amount of assets it safeguards.
By the end of September, Coinbase users held $272.7 billion in crypto and $4 billion in cash. This reflects an increase of nearly $3.5 billion in crypto since June, likely due to rising asset prices, while cash holdings decreased by $200 million.
Additionally, Grayscale's suite of ETPs and ETFs accounted for $22.62 billion as of Q3, with Coinbase Custody managing these assets since 2019. Other ETF issuers like BlackRock, Bitwise, and Ark/21Shares have another $31.7 billion custodied with Coinbase.
In total, Coinbase managed $331 billion by Q3, representing 15% of the total crypto market cap. Chainalysis estimates that about 1.8 million BTC could be permanently lost, equating to 9.1% of the circulating supply. Excluding these lost coins from the market cap suggests Coinbase manages closer to 17% of the remaining paper value of crypto.
Given this context, Coinbase may indeed be among the most aptly named companies in fintech history: a base for virtually all coins.