San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed it holds bitcoin and other cryptoassets on its balance sheet as investments, but did not reveal exactly how much of its funds are in crypto.
In a blog post published by Coinbase’s head of institutional sales, trading, custody and prime services, Brett Tejpaul, it was revealed that Coinbase has been holdings cryptoassets on its balance sheet since it was founded in 2012. Tejpaul wrote:
Since our founding in 2012, Coinbase has held bitcoin and other crypto assets on our balance sheet — and we plan to maintain an investment in crypto assets as we believe strongly in the long-term potential of the cryptoeconomy.
While this appears to be the first time Coinbase has publicly revealed it is investing in bitcoin as part of its balance sheet, the revelation isn’t a surprise to most cryptocurrency enthusiasts as exchanges often show support for direct investments in cryptocurrency.
Data from Bitcoin Treasuries, a website tracking the corporate adoption of bitcoin, shows several cryptocurrency companies, – and some non-crypto firms – holding bitcoin on their balance sheets, including Block.one, the Tezos Foundation, Bitfarms, Argo Blockchain, Riot Blockchain, Marathon, and others.
Coinbase has helped several companies invest in bitcoin themselves, with Tejpaul saying the firm has executed “nine and ten figure trades for some of the largest institutions in the world.” The company has in the past revealed it helped MicroStrategy and One River Asset Management invest millions in BTC.
Exactly how much BTC and what other cryptoassets Coinbase holds could soon be revealed. The company has confidentially filed Form S1 last year with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a bid to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange.
The S-1 could reveal a lot of details about Coinbase’s business, including which cryptoassets it holds on its balance sheet.
