Coinbase stock plunges to a record low

Wednesday saw Coinbase – one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges – suffer its lowest stock market close ever at $219.50, losing 1% for the day and 12% for the year.

The previous lowest close for the exchange occurred on July 19 this past year, when Coinbase stock dropped to $220.61. However, the exchange has yet to hit its record intraday low of $208, which was set last May.

Its record high intraday share price of $429.54 – a figure reached just hours after its direct listing on NASDAQ – is a far cry from where the exchange is now after ending yesterday almost 50% below that record high.

It’s been a challenging year for Coinbase since its NASDAQ listing in April of last year, with its stock down more than 42% since then.

The San Francisco-based exchange has had several executives dump stock since its direct listing, with the likes of chief operating officer Emilie Choi and chief executive Brian Armstrong dumping just under $5.8 billion in company stock.

Low trading volume to blame?

It’s been a bearish beginning of 2022 for the cryptocurrency market with the two biggest cryptocurrencies in the world – Bitcoin and Ethereum – currently trading at $42,136 and $3,172, according to market data from Coin Rivet.

FTX.US President Brett Harrison said the volatility of the market had led to a longer period of decreased volume.

“To me, it looks like we’re in the period of just decreased volume and subdued trading activity following drops in general,” he said.

For Coinbase in particular, trading volumes make up a majority of its revenue which in turn explains its low performing stock prices.