Crypto stocks are shares of listed companies whose earnings depend on crypto assets such as Bitcoin. Their second-quarter 2026 results diverged. Strategy (ticker MSTR) reported a net loss of $8.2 billion under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Coinbase (COIN) reported a GAAP net loss of $359 million, while Robinhood (HOOD) reported GAAP net income attributable to Robinhood of $561 million.
The results differ because Bitcoin reaches each company's earnings by a different route. This guide sets out the four main business models, using the companies' own filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It describes how each model works and is not a view on any share.
What are crypto stocks? Crypto stocks are shares of listed companies whose revenue or balance sheet depends on crypto assets such as Bitcoin. They fall into four business models: exchanges, miners, Bitcoin treasury companies and platforms that carry a crypto line.
An exchange earns fees on trading, so its revenue follows trading activity. Coinbase's total revenue fell 59% in fiscal 2022, then recovered to $7.2 billion by fiscal 2025.
Treasury companies and miners are tied to the Bitcoin price itself. Strategy, which holds Bitcoin, swung from a $10.0 billion GAAP profit in the second quarter of 2025 to an $8.2 billion GAAP loss in the second quarter of 2026.
A trading platform with a crypto line is exposed in part. Crypto trading was 20% of Robinhood's fiscal 2025 revenue.
What does "crypto stock" mean?
A crypto stock is ordinary company equity. The buyer owns shares in the company and holds no Bitcoin directly. The company's earnings, its assets, or both depend on crypto prices or crypto trading.
Bitcoin is the largest crypto asset. Its protocol limits the supply to 21 million coins. What Is Bitcoin? explains how it works. Ether and Solana are other crypto assets, compared in Ethereum vs Bitcoin vs Solana.
The four models differ in what the company sells and in where Bitcoin enters its accounts.
Model | Example in this guide | What it earns from | How Bitcoin reaches earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
Exchange | Coinbase (COIN) | Fees on trades, plus stablecoin income | Through trading volume and prices |
Miner | None named | Newly issued Bitcoin and transaction fees | Through the price of the coins mined |
Bitcoin treasury | Strategy (MSTR) | A software business, plus Bitcoin held | Through the market value of the Bitcoin held |
Platform with a crypto line | Robinhood (HOOD) | Trading, interest and subscriptions | Through the crypto trading line |
How an exchange earns money
An exchange charges a fee when customers buy, sell or trade crypto assets. Coinbase's total revenue in fiscal 2025 was $7.2 billion. Of its $6.9 billion net revenue, transaction revenue was 59% and subscription and services revenue was 41%. The $0.3 billion difference is other revenue.
The subscription and services line includes stablecoin revenue of $1.3 billion. A stablecoin such as USDC is a crypto token redeemable one-to-one for US dollars. What Does Coinbase Do? covers the products behind each line.
These fiscal 2025 splits follow the 10-K's presentation. From the first quarter of 2026, Coinbase reports revenue on its corporate payment stablecoin balances in other revenue, with no change to total revenue.
Source: Coinbase Form 10-K filings; YX Insights
The chart shows total revenue and net income. Revenue fell 59% from $7.8 billion in fiscal 2021 to $3.2 billion in fiscal 2022, when Coinbase reported a net loss of $2.6 billion. It rose to $7.2 billion by fiscal 2025.
Coinbase's 10-K says lower trading volume, lower crypto prices or thinner liquidity may reduce its revenue. Bitcoin and Ethereum made up about 45% of its trading volume in fiscal 2025. Bitcoin alone produced 27% of its transaction revenue from spot trades, which are trades at the current price.
How a Bitcoin treasury company earns money
A Bitcoin treasury company keeps Bitcoin as a main reserve asset. Strategy also runs an analytics software business, which brought in revenue of $477 million in fiscal 2025.
The Bitcoin holding is far larger. At 30 June 2026 Strategy held about 846,000 bitcoin. Their fair value, which is their market price at that date, was $49.7 billion. That was 94.5% of its total assets.
Source: Strategy Form 10-K and 10-Q filings; YX Insights
Since 1 January 2025, US GAAP has required Strategy to record changes in the fair value of its Bitcoin in net income. The chart shows the result. The fourth quarter of 2025 is the full-year result less the first three quarters.
Strategy's 10-Q states the Bitcoin price at each quarter end, from the Coinbase exchange at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the last day. The price rose 30.7% in the second quarter of 2025, from $82,445 to $107,752. Net income that quarter was $10.0 billion.
The price then fell from $87,515 on 31 December 2025 to $67,773 on 31 March 2026, which is 22.6%. Net loss that quarter was $12.5 billion. By 30 June 2026 the price was $58,714, a 32.9% fall over the half year.
Strategy funded its first-half 2026 purchases by selling shares. It spent $13.7 billion on Bitcoin. It raised $8.2 billion from common stock and $7.5 billion from preferred stock. Operating cash flow was $9.9 million.
How a miner earns money
A miner uses computing power to validate Bitcoin transactions. It is paid in newly issued Bitcoin and transaction fees. Revenue is therefore the number of coins mined times the Bitcoin price.
The reward per block halves about every four years. The most recent halving, in April 2024, cut it from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoin. The next is expected in April 2028.
One listed miner's 2025 annual report calls energy the most significant cost of mining, at 38.5% of its owned mining revenue. Energy is paid for in dollars, so a lower Bitcoin price cuts revenue without cutting costs in step.
How a platform with a crypto line earns money
Some companies sell crypto trading as one product among several. Robinhood is an example. Its net revenues in fiscal 2025 were $4,473 million.
Source: Robinhood Form 10-K filing; YX Insights
The chart splits that total. Cryptocurrency trading brought in $901 million, which is 20% of revenue. Net interest revenues were 34% and options trading was 25%.
A fall in crypto activity therefore hits one line. In the second quarter of 2026, Robinhood's cryptocurrency revenue was $100 million against $160 million a year earlier, a fall of 38%. Its total net revenues rose 32%.
How differently did the three companies' results change?
The table compares the second quarter of 2026 with the second quarter of 2025, using reported GAAP results in US dollars. It measures results from the filings, not share prices. Robinhood's net income is the amount attributable to Robinhood.
Company | Revenue, Q2 2025 | Revenue, Q2 2026 | Net income (loss), Q2 2025 | Net income (loss), Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Coinbase | $1,497.2 million | $1,220.1 million | $1,429 million | −$359 million |
Strategy | $114.5 million | $122.4 million | $10,021 million | −$8,220 million |
Robinhood | $989 million | $1,308 million | $386 million | $561 million |
Coinbase's total revenue fell 18.5%. Its transaction revenue fell 21.6%, from $764.3 million to $599.2 million. Strategy's revenue rose 6.9%, but the Bitcoin result decided its net income. Robinhood's revenue grew while its crypto line shrank.
What goes wrong for crypto stocks
Each model has its own weak point. An exchange loses fees when trading slows. A platform depends on its other lines. At Robinhood those were net interest, which was 34% of revenue. Options trading was 25%.
A treasury company books losses when Bitcoin falls. Strategy's Bitcoin was worth less than its $63.9 billion cost at 30 June 2026. A miner loses revenue at each halving unless the price rises to offset it.
How to read a crypto company's filings
Three questions sort the models. How much of revenue comes from crypto activity? How much Bitcoin does the balance sheet hold, valued at what price? Is the figure GAAP or non-GAAP, meaning one the company defines itself?
The Bitcoin price is the common input, but the route differs. An exchange earns on trading activity. A treasury company earns on the price itself. A miner earns on coins mined times price. A platform feels it in one line of revenue.
Common questions about crypto stocks
What counts as a crypto stock?
A crypto stock is a share of a listed company whose earnings or assets depend on crypto assets such as Bitcoin. Examples include exchanges such as Coinbase, treasury companies such as Strategy, miners and trading platforms such as Robinhood. A buyer owns company equity and no Bitcoin directly.
Do crypto companies' earnings move with the Bitcoin price?
It depends on the business model. An exchange's revenue follows trading activity. A treasury company's net income follows the market value of its Bitcoin. A platform with a crypto line is exposed only in part, because crypto was 20% of Robinhood's fiscal 2025 revenue.
What is a Bitcoin treasury company?
A Bitcoin treasury company holds Bitcoin as a main reserve asset on its balance sheet. Strategy is an example. It held about 846,000 bitcoin at 30 June 2026. Under US accounting rules, changes in the fair value of that Bitcoin flow through its net income each quarter.
How does a Bitcoin miner make money?
A miner earns newly issued Bitcoin and transaction fees for validating transactions. Its revenue is the coins mined times the Bitcoin price. The reward per block halved in April 2024 from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoin. The next halving is expected in April 2028.
How does Coinbase make money?
Coinbase earns its revenue from trading fees and from subscription and services. In fiscal 2025, transaction revenue was 59% of its $6.9 billion net revenue. The subscription and services line includes $1.3 billion of stablecoin revenue. What Does Coinbase Do? has the detail.
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