Crypto exchange Coinbase logs third straight quarterly loss on trading slowdown

By Rishab Shaju and Prakhar Srivastava

July 30 (Reuters) - Coinbase Global COIN.O posted a third straight quarterly loss on Thursday, hurt by lower trading volumes as a prolonged downturn in cryptocurrency markets curbed trading activity.

Shares of the crypto exchange were down 5.3% in trading after the bell.

Cryptocurrency markets came under pressure during the April-to-June quarter as investors shunned riskier assets amid uncertainty over U.S. interest rates, geopolitical tensions and persistent outflows from crypto investment products. The weakness extended a retreat from record highs reached in October.

Coinbase's transaction revenue dropped 21% to $599 million during the quarter, from $764 million a year earlier.

"This deep and sluggish crypto winter has continued to put pressure on Coinbase and regulatory clarity is not happening fast enough," said Third Bridge analyst Jacob Zuller.

"Tokenized equities and perpetual futures could offset spot crypto trading volumes, but Coinbase is behind on both."

Robinhood Markets HOOD.O, a much smaller firm in terms of the number of token offerings, also reported a 38% slump in second-quarter crypto transaction revenue, suggesting softer trading volumes across the market.

Revenue from Coinbase's subscription and services unit — which includes businesses outside trading — fell 12.2% to $555.1 million.

Total revenue fell 18.5% to $1.22 billion in the second quarter.

The company reported a loss of $359.5 million, or $1.36 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of $1.43 billion, or $5.14 per share, a year earlier.