Brian Armstrong sold more stock in 12 months than Coinbase’s Q1 loss
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong personally sold more stock over the past year than his company lost on behalf of its COIN shareholders last quarter. Although he took a break from his sales in Q1, he entered the quarter with more personal compensation than his company would lose in three months.
The company lost $394 million for its shareholders during the first quarter of 2026. Armstrong, between May 2025 and January 2026, personally sold over $540 million worth of COIN.
Coinbase reported a $394 million net loss on $1.4 billion in revenue compared to a profit of $66 million in Q1 2025 during the brief exuberance over Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies.
Net transaction revenue, the engine of the business, fell 40% from Q1 2025 to less than $756 million.
Coinbase also marked the start of the Consensus conference in Miami by slashing its workforce by 14%, firing about 700 employees on the first day of the mega-event.
The company’s stock closed yesterday down roughly 57% from its July 18, 2025 high of $444.64. The stock was trading another 4% lower in after-hours trading on its earnings disappointment.
Read more: Coinbase sued for witholding frozen crypto linked to $55M hack
Brian Armstrong takes a break from dumping COIN
Armstrong’s sales are filed with the SEC under his name or the name of his living trust. Both report dispositions of beneficial ownership by the same person.
Many sales occurred within a day of his stock-based compensation.
A sum of his sales from May 5, 14, June 2, 11, 25-26, July 1, 11-14, 15-16, August 4, 12, September 4, 15, October 2, 13, November 3, 10, 17, 26, December 8, 22, and January 5 equal 1,550,000 shares of COIN sold for $541,863,703.
That gave Armstrong an average sale price of $349.58 — double the price available to retail shareholders today.
Indeed, Armstrong’s largest sales clustered in late June and mid-July 2025, when COIN traded above $350. By the time the Q1 2026 arrived and profitability collapsed, Armstrong was done selling.
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