Coinbase is the largest US-based centralized cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2012 and incorporated in the United States (it operates remote-first, with no single headquarters). It operates the Coinbase platform for buying, selling, and storing digital assets, and became a publicly traded company (COIN) on Nasdaq in 2021. The company also offers custodial services, staking, a wallet app, and a Visa debit card. The SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase was dismissed in February 2025, and the company joined the S&P 500 in May 2025. In 2025 it also acquired derivatives exchange Deribit. (as of 2026-07-15)
Within the DeFi Intel graph, Coinbase connects to 107 tracked entities, most strongly to Coinbase Institutional Research, Coinbase Base (L2 Chain), Circle.
US publicly‑listed cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. Operates spot trading, custody, staking, derivatives, prime brokerage, and the Base L2 roll‑up. Largest US‑regulated crypto exchange and an S&P 500 constituent.
Investors
Andreessen Horowitz Venture Capital
Sequoia Capital Venture Capital
Union Square Ventures Venture Capital
IVP Venture Capital
General Catalyst Venture Capital
Goldman Sachs Investment Bank
Fidelity Asset Management
BlackRock Asset Management
Circle Fintech
Partners
Circle Corporate Partnership
BlackRock Corporate Partnership
Microsoft Technology Partnership
Deribit Acquisition
Products
Coinbase Exchange Spot Exchange
Coinbase Prime Prime Brokerage
Coinbase Custody Custody
Base Layer‑2 Roll‑up
Coinbase Wallet Wallet
Coinbase Cloud Cloud Services
Coinbase One Platform for Institutional Clients
cbBTC Bitcoin Tokenized Asset
Funding
2013-02-01 · Seed$600,000
2013-08-01 · Series A$12,000,000
2014-12-01 · Series B$25,000,000
2015-07-01 · Series C$50,000,000
2016-11-01 · Series D$100,000,000
2017-06-01 · Series E$200,000,000
2018-09-01 · Series F$300,000,000
2019-07-01 · Series G$500,000,000
2020-11-01 · Series H$800,000,000
2021-05-01 · Series I$1,000,000,000
IPONASDAQ COIN (2021-04-14)
Key people
Brian Armstrong Founder & CEO
Fred Ehrsam Co‑Founder
Ryan McGowan Chief Operating Officer
Timeline & market context
Amber line: BTC price over the last year. Dots: dated events (hack/incident red, fundraise green, partnership blue, launch purple, regulatory amber, news grey).
Frequently asked questions
What is Coinbase?
Coinbase is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012 and headquartered in the United States. It operates a platform for buying, selling, and storing digital assets, and became a publicly traded company (COIN) on Nasdaq in 2021.
What services does Coinbase offer?
Coinbase offers custodial services, staking, a wallet app, and a Visa debit card in addition to its exchange platform.
What companies has Coinbase acquired?
Coinbase has acquired Deribit, LiquiFi, Iron Fish, and Spindl.