Crypto Crash Rocks Coinbase as Mainstream Investors Flee Bitcoin

Coinbase Global  (COIN)  wants to be seen as something other than an exchange primarily offering the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrency. 

Unfortunately for the platform – the largest in the U.S. and most commonly used in the U.K. – its future seems for the moment linked to that of crypto.

Its stock is one of the collateral victims of the cryptocurrency crash, which has already wiped out more than $1.3 trillion since record highs were set in early November.

Coinbase lost 13.38% on Friday to end the session at $191.97. The stock price is now well away from its IPO price of $310 dollars last April. On that day, its market cap stood at 85.6 billion dollars. It has dropped by $35 billion in less than a year. 

Since January, Coinbase investors have seen $16 billion in market capitalization evaporate in the rout of cryptocurrency markets.

The platform has not yet had time to catch its breath.

“What a week, ” the company posted on Twitter on January 21, adding “Drop an emoji to show us how you’re feeling…”