Coinbase Shares Are Up 60% in the Last Month -- Should You Buy Now?

After its initial public offering in April of 2021, shares of the top U.S. cryptocurrency brokerage and exchange operator, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN), have been on a roller-coaster ride. In the first month and a half of trading, the stock dropped more than 30% before rising more than 50% over the next nearly six months. And since November of last year, shares have tanked, and the company now carries a market cap of under $20 billion.

The tables have turned recently. Coinbase's stock, up 60% in the past month (as of August 17), is unsurprisingly getting a lot of attention lately. Is now the time to buy shares?

Coinbase is an unpredictable business

Even though Coinbase's stock is up recently, prospective investors must deal with the fact that the business and its shares are extremely volatile. This is obvious when you consider that revenues are largely tied to crypto trading volume, which is unpredictable quarter to quarter and depends entirely on the performance of the overall digital asset market.

In its Coinbase-earnings-what-you-need-to-know/?utm_source=nasdaq&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article&referring_guid=997a77b6-42f5-4cbb-90dd-067367925180 target=_blank>second-quarter earnings release, covering a three-month period that saw the crypto market fall from just over $2 billion to $900 million, Coinbase generated $655.2 million in transaction revenue, a 66.1% drop from the prior-year period. Retail trading volume accounted for only 21.2% of total volume, but because fees are much higher for individuals, this group represented 94% of all transaction revenue.