Coinbase UK's Profit Affected by Turnover Decline of 38%

Coinbase UK, the London-based subsidiary of the leading American crypto exchange, has published its annual financial details for 2019, showing a 38 percent decrease in its annual turnover with €94.8 million.

The crypto exchange’s 2019 revenue is significantly less than the reported numbers in both the previous years: in 2018, Coinbase UK generated €153 million, while, in 2017, it was €127.9 million.

The yearly profits also took a hit with the declined business as pre-tax profits of the London subsidiary for 2019 went down to €7.2 million from the previous year’s €7.8 million. That was an annual decline of around 8 percent.

However, on the positive side, the digital currency exchange saw a healthy influx of new cryptocurrency users. It registered approximately 5.3 million new users last year, a strong year-on-year jump of 32 percent. The exchange ended the period with a total user base of 21.8 million.

An Uncertain Might Affect Operations

Founded in 2012, Coinbase remained one of the top crypto exchange and wallet providers in the US. Out of the home turf, it offers services mostly under the UK-registered entity.

Though incorporated in 2014, Coinbase UK began distributing ‘brokerage and exchange’ services in January 2017. As the Companies House filing highlighted, the primary source of the exchange’s income was generated from fees.

The British operation of the crypto exchange incurred a total sales cost of €86 million in 2019 with a further €0.2 million in administrative expenses. It also reported an interest cost of €1.4 million and a tax charge of €2.1 million. The net income of the exchange came in at €5.1 million.

Coinbase UK operates with a partnership with CB Payments, tapping its electronic money license issued by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). As the company passports its licensing rights for offering services in Europe, it warned that an uncertain Brexit might hamper its operations in the European Economic Area markets.