Coinbase Becomes First Cryptocurrency Company to Enter Fortune 500

After becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange to be publicly traded, Coinbase has reached another historic milestone. The cryptocurrency company became the first in the industry to rank among the top Fortune 500 companies.

Launched in 1950, the Fortune 500 list is an annual ranking of the largest US corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years.

Despite the drop in its share prices and the price of cryptocurrencies in general, the largest exchange in the United States managed to reach the 437th position in this 68th edition, a milestone for the crypto asset market.

Coinbase Performance in 2021

Coinbase was able to record one of the most significant annual increases in profits and revenues in 2021 compared to the previous year, 2020. More precisely, the company recorded a 513% increase in revenue and a massive 1,024% increase in profits.

Coinbase’s 2021 revenue was $7.8 billion and profit was $3.6 billion, according to Fortune.

The year 2021 was indeed historic for Coinbase. After all, the cryptocurrency exchange went public in April of that year. COIN shares had a starting price of $400 amid what appeared to be increasing demand.

However, the scenario has changed since then. Shares in the Brian Armstrong-led company lost more than 80% of their value, closing Monday’s trading session at $66. At the time of writing, the shares are quoted at $61, down about 7%.

In this scenario, the year 2022 is not being very positive for Coinbase. The company posted first-quarter net income of $1.16 billion as well as a net loss of $430 million.

Fortune 500 List

Fortune reported that the revenue cap for the 2022 list was $6.4 billion, up 19% from last year’s cap.

In total, Fortune 500 companies account for two-thirds of US GDP. There were US$ 16.1 trillion in revenues (increase of 17%); $1.84 trillion in profits (114% increase) and $37 trillion in market cap (13% increase).

In addition, the 500 organizations employed 29.7 million people worldwide. Still, 44 companies in the 2022 Fortune 500 are led by women – an all-time high.

The top five companies maintained their positions on the list. Walmart remains in the top spot for the tenth year in a row, with cumulative revenue of $5.1 trillion over that period.

Then comes Amazon.com, which saw a 22% jump in revenue to surpass $450 billion. Third, Apple is the most profitable company on the list for the seventh time in eight years, with profits of $95 billion.

In 4th place, CVS Health and CEO Karen Lynch continue to make history on the list, with CVS the highest ranked company to be led by a female CEO.