Coinbase (COIN) Executives File $2.2B Stock Sale Plans

Three Executives, 13.6 Million Shares

Three top executives at Coinbase (COIN), the largest US crypto exchange, have filed plans with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell a combined 13.6 million Class A shares, a block worth roughly $2.2 billion at Thursday's closing price of $160.59. CEO Brian Armstrong holds the largest portion at 8.17 million shares, under a plan he adopted in August. Co-founder Fred Ehrsam registered 3.87 million shares and President Emilie Choi 1.56 million. All three rely on Rule 10b5-1, the SEC provision that lets insiders pre-schedule trades so their timing cannot be tied to inside information, meaning the plans were locked in before the quarter's results were known. The sale window runs from November 16, 2026 through October 22, 2027, subject to stock-price conditions, and the filings cover potential sales rather than completed transactions. Armstrong is no stranger to the mechanism. VanEck analyst Matthew Sigel previously tracked about $545.7 million in sales by the CEO across nine months starting in April 2025, and Armstrong has described those disposals as personal risk management rather than a verdict on the business. Still, the disclosures landed at a delicate moment, a day after the company's third-quarter report knocked the stock down. The shares dropped about 13% on Friday to trade near $139, and the sell side moved with them: Barclays cut its price target to $120 from $149, and Jefferies, Wells Fargo, Canaccord and Mizuho also lowered theirs.

Third Quarter Leans on Paper Gains

The quarter's headline profit flatters the underlying business. According to the company's quarterly results disclosure, third-quarter revenue came to about $1.22 billion, down 35% year over year and short of the $1.233 billion analysts expected, with transaction fees contributing $590 million. Net income jumped 66% to $719 million from $433 million, but $715 million of that came from mark-to-market gains on digital-asset investments rather than operations. Adjusted net income was $78 million, and operating income fell 87.2% to $61.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA, a proxy for cash operating profitability, reached $332.9 million, a 15th straight profitable quarter on that measure. Recurring income is doing more of the work. Subscription and services revenue reached $570 million, the prediction markets business passed $200 million in annualized revenue and the Coinbase One subscription hit a record subscriber count. The trading side keeps shrinking: monthly transacting users fell to 7.4 million from 9.3 million a year earlier, a decline management attributed on the earnings call to broader market conditions, though Coinbase's share of overall crypto trading volume rose to 10.7%, a fourth consecutive quarterly gain. The company also added 643 Bitcoin (BTC) in the quarter, lifting holdings to 17,954 BTC, and Armstrong used the call to restate strong optimism on Bitcoin. The sell-off unfolded against wider market stress after Binance disclosed a security breach on October 29 estimated at $6.3 billion, the largest crypto theft on record. The episode fed fresh market FUD, though about $3 billion in assets have been frozen so far, with $6.34 billion in reserves earmarked for losses and withdrawals set to resume within 48 hours. The Bitcoin (BTC) price fell roughly 4.5% to below $77,000, shares of Strategy lost nearly 10%, and Coinbase stock is down more than 55% year to date.

$136 Support Is the Next Test

Friday's slide leaves the stock probing its strongest nearby support. COINOTAG data shows the last price at $139.20, down 12.49% over 24 hours, after a session range of $137.37 to $163.79. The composite scoring rates the $136.41 support at 44 out of 100, a moderate shelf, while the $166.55 resistance carries a 94 out of 100 reading and is the level any recovery must clear first. Momentum confirms the downtrend: the daily RSI sits at 24.6 with a bearish MACD signal. Derivatives positioning is modest, with perpetual open interest at $25.7 million and a funding rate of 0.0380% per interval. A daily close below $136.41 would expose the deeper supports at $106.38 and $96.74.