News

(Reuters) -Coinbase reported a surge in second-quarter revenue on Thursday as trading volumes at the crypto exchange roared back to life thanks to market euphoria over easing regulatory roadblocks.

Crypto markets have gotten a shot in the arm this year from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of an exchange-traded fund to track the spot price of bitcoin and more recently, ether, the second-biggest crypto token.

Shares in the crypto exchange rose 2.2% in extended trading after results.

The approvals came after an almost decade-long tussle with the regulator and marked the entry of traditional financial heavyweights such as BlackRock and Fidelity into digital assets, giving the sector greater credibility.

In the aftermath, the total market capitalization of the sector has swelled to roughly $2.36 trillion, according to CoinGecko, powered by year-to-date gains of around 50% and 36% in the prices of bitcoin and ether, respectively.

Coinbase's total transaction revenue climbed to $780.9 million in the second quarter, compared with $327.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Meanwhile, the SEC and Coinbase have locked horns over their divergent views on whether crypto tokens classify as securities and should be regulated similarly.

The exchange has accused the top U.S. markets regulator of overreach, while the SEC has alleged the largest U.S. crypto exchange is flouting its rules.

Revenue from Coinbase's subscription and services unit, which houses businesses outside of trading, rose to $599 million in the quarter from $335.4 million a year earlier, driven by stablecoin revenue - the interest that Coinbase earns from its partnership with fintech firm Circle.

The company's quarterly custodial fee revenue climbed to $34.5 million from $17 million, benefiting from inflows tied to spot bitcoin ETFs.

The company's net revenue came in at $1.38 billion for the three months ended June 30, compared with $662.5 million a year ago.