Cathie Wood Bets on Coinbase: Is COIN the Real Crypto Infrastructure Play?

·

In June’s surging crypto market, the spotlight wasn’t on Bitcoin, altcoins, or meme tokens — it was on Circle (CRCL). Since its IPO, CRCL has skyrocketed over 700%, breaking into mainstream financial consciousness and emerging as a rare "crypto stock" leader in the U.S. equity markets. Yet at the peak of this momentum, Cathie Wood — famed for her bold growth-tech bets — made a counterintuitive move: she sold CRCL and bought Coinbase (COIN).

According to Ark Invest Daily, on June 23, ARK Invest sold 415,844 shares of CRCL, worth approximately $109.5 million at closing prices. On the same day, it purchased 20,701 shares of Coinbase, valued at around $7.14 million. Over June 23 and 24, ARK also acquired 146,487 shares of Shopify — a key Coinbase partner — worth roughly $16.76 million.

Today, ARK holds nearly $900 million in Coinbase** and about **$500 million in Shopify, combining for roughly 12% of the fund’s total portfolio weight.

👉 Discover how leading investors are positioning for the next phase of crypto adoption.

While CRCL’s rally reflects growing confidence in stablecoin-powered payments, Coinbase sits at the convergence of settlement infrastructure, on-chain networks, and user traffic — closer to the core of this narrative. Moreover, Coinbase is one of Circle’s largest shareholders, owning nearly 50% of the company. With these structural advantages, is Coinbase fundamentally undervalued?

The Hidden Engine: Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS)

On June 24, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made a landmark statement during a House Financial Services Committee hearing: banks can legally serve crypto firms, provided they maintain safety and soundness in the financial system.

The very next day, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong unveiled Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) — a full-stack institutional infrastructure platform already partnered with nearly 200 banks, brokers, fintechs, and payment providers worldwide.

CaaS offers a complete suite:

For traditional banks, this means they can launch crypto services without building from scratch, all within regulatory compliance. For brokers and exchanges, Coinbase Prime delivers institutional-grade custody, cross-platform liquidity, real-time pricing, and white-glove execution for complex orders.

This isn’t just a product launch — it’s a strategic pivot toward becoming the operating system for institutional crypto adoption.

Base Chain & USDC: The Twin Engines of Growth

On June 13, Coinbase announced two major developments:

  1. Integration of Base Chain payments via USDC on Shopify across 30+ countries — marking the first real-world stablecoin settlement on a global e-commerce platform.
  2. Native integration of Base’s DEX router into Coinbase’s main app, allowing centralized exchange users to execute on-chain trades without leaving their accounts.

Coinbase is not only Circle’s largest shareholder but also the sole issuer partner of USDC. It’s now standardizing USDC as a settlement rail for both domestic and cross-border payments, combining real-time clearing, fiat gateways, and dynamic treasury tools.

Even more importantly, USDC dominates Base Chain, accounting for over 90% of its stablecoin supply (source: Dune). As more DeFi apps, NFT marketplaces, and consumer platforms deploy on Base — attracted by low fees, speed, and Coinbase’s regulatory clarity — the demand for USDC grows exponentially.

👉 See how decentralized ecosystems are reshaping digital finance.

In essence, every action on Base reinforces USDC usage, which strengthens Circle’s business — but also deepens Coinbase’s control over the entire value chain.

Deribit + CFTC License: Building a合规 Derivatives Powerhouse

Coinbase faced revenue and earnings declines in its last quarterly report, primarily due to shrinking trading fees and institutional activity. To counter this, it’s aggressively expanding into regulated derivatives — a high-margin, high-frequency revenue stream still largely untapped in the U.S.

Key moves:

Deribit brings deep institutional liquidity and dominance in Asia and Europe. Combined with Coinbase’s U.S. regulatory standing and user base of over 100 million, this creates a unique hybrid advantage: global reach with American compliance.

For U.S. traders, the options have long been limited: CME serves only institutions; Binance is inaccessible; and many resort to offshore or on-chain platforms like Hyperliquid. But now, Coinbase could become the only legal gateway for Americans to trade perpetuals — capturing a massive underserved market.

The Three Stages of Coinbase’s Vision

Coinbase isn’t just reacting to market shifts — it’s executing a long-term structural transformation:

  1. Phase 1: Crypto as an Investment Platform
    Starting with Bitcoin trading and expanding asset listings.
  2. Phase 2: Rebuilding Finance from the Ground Up
    Not just digitizing old systems, but creating native crypto financial products — think DeFi lending using BTC as collateral or instant cross-border payments via stablecoins.
  3. Phase 3: Infrastructure for Web3 Applications
    Evolving into a platform where value flows directly to creators and users — powered by Base, USDC, DEX tools, and compliant derivatives.

When you map it out:

Coinbase no longer looks like just an exchange. It resembles an App Store for compliant on-chain applications — where developers build, institutions integrate, and users transact securely.

Why Structure Matters More Than Price

Yes, Coinbase earns only a portion (about 34%) of the interest from USDC’s $60 billion+ float. But that misses the bigger picture.

ARK’s portfolio shift — selling CRCL to buy COIN and Shopify — signals a belief in ecosystem leverage over single-point exposure. Circle benefits from stablecoin issuance; Coinbase benefits from everything that happens around it: trading volume, on-chain activity, institutional integrations, developer growth.

Value discovery isn’t always about being cheap — it’s about being structurally aligned with the future. And right now, Coinbase may be the most comprehensively positioned player at the intersection of regulation, infrastructure, and mass adoption.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Why did Cathie Wood sell CRCL and buy COIN?
A: ARK likely sees CRCL’s IPO surge as overextended short-term momentum. In contrast, COIN offers broader exposure to crypto infrastructure — including USDC, Base Chain, derivatives, and institutional services — making it a more strategic long-term bet.

Q: What is Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS)?
A: CaaS is Coinbase’s institutional platform enabling banks and fintechs to integrate crypto services like custody, trading, lending, and stablecoin payments through APIs — all under regulatory compliance.

Q: How does Base Chain benefit Coinbase?
A: Base drives user growth and on-chain activity tied to Coinbase’s ecosystem. With USDC making up over 90% of its stablecoins, increased Base usage directly boosts demand for USDC — reinforcing Coinbase’s strategic position.

Q: Is Coinbase profitable from USDC interest?
A: Not directly. While Circle earns most of the yield from USDC reserves, Coinbase captures indirect value through increased trading volume, wallet activity, and ecosystem lock-in.

Q: Can Coinbase succeed in U.S. derivatives?
A: Yes. With its CFTC-regulated exchange, Deribit’s liquidity, and unmatched U.S. user base, Coinbase is uniquely positioned to become the primary legal platform for American traders seeking perpetual contracts.

Q: Is COIN stock undervalued?
A: Traditional metrics may understate its value. As a multi-layered infrastructure provider — not just an exchange — COIN’s potential lies in ecosystem scale and future revenue streams from CaaS, Base, and derivatives.

👉 Explore how next-gen financial platforms are redefining value creation.