Coinbase plans 'media arm' that reports to its marketing team: report

Crypto exchange Coinbase reportedly has plans to launch its own media arm.

Axios reported that the exchange is looking for a media editor to helm the operation, which would report to Coinbase's marketing team.

Coinbase declined to comment on the existence of such plans when reached, but the idea is still in its early stages, according to Axios. Sources told the outlet the exchange is looking to hire a team led by a vice president for content & editorial. No hires have been made, and the team would produce content for those who use Coinbase's platform. 

The move may be part of a bigger picture to sustain revenue from a strong first quarter after going public. On the Q1 2021 earnings call, Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas said historically, revenue has been strongly linked to price cycles. 

"Historically, there's a lot of volatility in our revenue as our revenue is influenced by trading volume on our platform, which in turn really reflects the overall crypto economy conditions, price of Bitcoin and crypto asset price volatility," she said.

In the past, Coinbase has spent about 5% of its net revenue on marketing, but to gain more consistency in its revenue and grow over the long term, it plans to spend 12-15% of this year's net revenue on marketing efforts. Coinbase reported $1.6 billion in net revenue last quarter, meaning it could look to spend more than $192 million of that on marketing. 

Though the media arm would report to the marketing team, it's unclear if it would fall under those spending plans. Coinbase declined to comment on questions related to a potential media team.

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.