--- title: "Armstrong Files to Sell $1.31 Billion of Coinbase After a $719 Million Profit That Is Mostly a Crypto Mark" description: "Coinbase printed a $2.51 beat from a $715 million unrealized crypto mark while its CEO, co-founder and president filed plans to sell 13.6 million shares starting November 16. The GAAP number and the insiders' schedule arrived in the same filing." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Economy" published: 2026-10-30T15:18:28.463Z modified: 2026-10-30T15:18:28.463Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/armstrong-files-to-sell-1-31-billion-of-coinbase-after-a-719-million-profit-that-is-mostly-a-crypto-mark language: en keywords: "Coinbase, Insider Sales, Crypto, Earnings, Bitcoin" --- # Armstrong Files to Sell $1.31 Billion of Coinbase After a $719 Million Profit That Is Mostly a Crypto Mark > Coinbase printed a $2.51 beat from a $715 million unrealized crypto mark while its CEO, co-founder and president filed plans to sell 13.6 million shares starting November 16. The GAAP number and the insiders' schedule arrived in the same filing. [Brian Armstrong](https://theinference.org/markets/people/brian-armstrong) printed the best earnings headline of the quarter, then [filed to sell about $1.3 billion of stock](https://thedefiant.io/news/cefi/coinbase-ceo-armstrong-adopts-plan-to-sell-up-to-1-31-billion-in-shares) [2][3]. [Coinbase](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/coinbase)'s chief executive adopted a Rule 10b5-1 plan on August 12 to sell up to 8.17 million shares between November 16 and October 2027 [2][3]. That is the pre-set trading schedule an executive locks in while holding no inside information, which is why it can be disclosed weeks before the first sale. It is 2.2 times the 3.75 million shares his year-ago plan covered [2]. Co-founder Fred Ehrsam filed for up to 3.87 million shares and President [Emilie Choi](https://theinference.org/markets/people/emilie-choi) for up to 1.56 million [2][3]. Together the three plans cover 13.6 million shares, about 6% of Coinbase's 223.7 million Class A shares, [roughly $2.2 billion at Thursday's $160.59 close](https://beincrypto.com/coinbase-q3-profit-insider-share-sales/) [2]. ## The $719 million is mostly a bitcoin mark The same filing shows why the timing matters. [Net income was $719 million, $2.51 a share](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/29/coinbase-coin-earnings-q3-2026-.html), against forecasts of a loss [1][2]. Under GAAP, the accounting standard whose rules let unrealized crypto gains into net income, about $715 million of that is a mark on the crypto Coinbase holds as an investment, worth whatever the tokens trade at next quarter [1][5]. Adjusted net income was $78 million [1]. Operating income, the profit from actually running the exchange, was $61.7 million, down from $480.5 million a year ago [2]. Revenue fell 35% to $1.22 billion [1]. *Chart: **Of $719 million of Q3 net income, $715 million is an unrealized crypto mark** Bars comparing Coinbase Q3 2026 net income of $719 million, crypto investment gains of $715 million, adjusted net income of $78 million, and operating income of $61.7 million, showing nearly all net income came from unrealized crypto marks.* *Coinbase Q3 2026, millions of dollars, GAAP net income against its two components and adjusted net income; sources 1, 2 and 5 [1][2][5]* Those gains come from coins Coinbase owns, not fees from customers, and the coins' price answers to the Fed. Bitcoin rose 39% during the quarter [7]. But the Fed [held rates at 3.75% to 4% on October 28](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/bitcoin-shrugs-off-hawkish-fed-220347204.html) in a 10-2 vote, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissenting for another hike, and traders put 82.6% odds on a December hike [6]. A hawkish Fed drains appetite for risky assets, the force that left COIN [down 4.6% at $153.28 premarket on October 30](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/why-coinbase-stock-falling-4-104024090.html), 57.6% below its $361.40 high, as the [Binance](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/binance) breach hit the sector [5]. ## A $1.96 billion buyback is the only backstop for 13.6 million new shares Each plan sells only above undisclosed price thresholds, and Coinbase permits insider trading only through these schedules [2]. Armstrong himself says the market is turning, pointing to prediction markets that have passed $200 million in annualized revenue [1]. Fair enough. The proof is dated. Coinbase's $1.96 billion of buyback authorization is the only standing buyer of the supply, and the Form 4 filings, the SEC documents that reveal each insider sale after it happens, will show from November 16 whether the sellers clear their undisclosed price thresholds before the mark erodes [2]. *Chart: **Armstrong's new sale plan is 2.2 times the one he filed a year ago** Bars comparing the three Coinbase insider 10b5-1 sale plans in millions of shares: Brian Armstrong up to 8.17 million, Fred Ehrsam up to 3.87 million, Emilie Choi up to 1.56 million, versus Armstrong's year-ago plan of 3.75 million shares.* *Upper limits of the three Rule 10b5-1 plans in millions of shares, against Armstrong's year-ago plan; sources 2 and 3 [2][3]* ## Takeaway Coinbase's $719 million profit is almost entirely an unrealized crypto mark, and its three top insiders have filed plans to sell 13.6 million shares, about $2.2 billion, starting November 16, leaving a $1.96 billion buyback as the only standing buyer. ## Sources 1. [Decrypt, Coinbase Swings to $719 Million Q3 Profit on Crypto Gains, October 2026](https://decrypt.co/382188/coinbase-beats-719-million-q3-profit-crypto-gains) 2. [BeInCrypto, Coinbase Posts Surprise Profit as Insiders Plan $2 Billion Share Sales: Why Now?, 29 October 2026](https://beincrypto.com/coinbase-q3-profit-insider-share-sales/) 3. [The Defiant, Coinbase CEO Armstrong Adopts Plan to Sell Up to $1.31 Billion in Shares, 29 October 2026](https://thedefiant.io/news/cefi/coinbase-ceo-armstrong-adopts-plan-to-sell-up-to-1-31-billion-in-shares) 5. [Yahoo Finance, Why Is Coinbase Stock Falling 4.6% Today?, 30 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/why-coinbase-stock-falling-4-104024090.html) 6. [Unchained via Yahoo Finance, Bitcoin Shrugs Off a Hawkish Fed as Volatility Bets Barely Budge, 28 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/bitcoin-shrugs-off-hawkish-fed-220347204.html) 7. [CNBC, Coinbase net income surges 66% in third quarter, benefiting from bitcoin investment gains, 29 October 2026](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/29/coinbase-coin-earnings-q3-2026-.html) --- Armstrong Files to Sell $1.31 Billion of Coinbase After a $719 Million Profit That Is Mostly a Crypto Mark — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/armstrong-files-to-sell-1-31-billion-of-coinbase-after-a-719-million-profit-that-is-mostly-a-crypto-mark