Public Keys: Convertible by Coinbase, Core Combo Fight and Bitcoin Play by Block
Public Keys is a weekly review from Decrypt that tracks the major public cryptocurrency companies.
Coinbase Convertibility Increased
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is raising a small amount of money for its needs – just $2 billion – through the issue of convertible bonds.
Of course, we often see similar statements when it comes to Bitcoin and Ethereum Treasuries. However, the San Francisco-based company confirmed that the funds will be used for “general corporate purposes” and “the acquisition of other companies, products, or technologies.”
The announcement came just after some analysts (not all) expressed dissatisfaction with the 25% revenue drop in the second quarter.
Compass Point changed its rating on COIN from Neutral to Sell, noting that the revenue decline confirms that the company's retail business is being “eroded” by decentralized exchanges and ETFs.
This may help explain why Coinbase has just rolled out decentralized trading to its app for US users.
But even more worryingly, analysts say, subscriptions and services have not generated significant revenue. This expense includes premium memberships to Coinbase One, stablecoin revenue, staking, and custody services.
USDC issuer Circle has been operating as a public company for several months now since the President signed the GENIUS Act, which deals with stablecoins (remember, they have a revenue sharing agreement), and analysts expected this segment to perform well after issuing digital asset treasury bonds.
Basic Combo Fight
One of the largest investors in Bitcoin miner Core Scientific wants to end cooperation with Core Fusion.
Two Seas Capital, Core Scientific's largest shareholder with a 6.3% stake, plans to vote against the $9 billion sale of all CoreWeave shares, saying in a press release Thursday that the proposal is “not an adequate valuation.”
The company said it acquired such a significant stake in Core Scientific because it believes it is a strong contender to build the “mission-critical, high-performance computing infrastructure at scale” needed to support the growth of artificial intelligence.
Two Seas, which is also an investor in CoreWeave, stressed that the deal structure disadvantages CORZ shareholders and forces them to absorb CRWV volatility.
“We believe the transaction clearly and unfairly favors CoreWeave at the expense of Core Scientific shareholders,” the company added, blaming the board for failing to consider offers from other competitors.
The date of the vote has not yet been set, but it is expected to take place before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Core Scientific reported its second-quarter results after the close of trading on Friday. However, a large number of potential mergers prevented it from holding a live full-year conference call.
“In connection with the pending transaction with CoreWeave, Inc., previously announced on July 7, 2025, the Company will not host a conference call or webcast to discuss its second quarter fiscal 2025 results,” the company said.
Bitcoin Hearts Block
Block Inc. added 108 bitcoins to its corporate holdings in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 8,692 BTC, worth about $1 billion at current prices.
Remember, Block CEO Jack Dorsey has been a Bitcoin supporter since its inception. So it's no surprise that the company is beefing up its own Bitcoin hoard.
With an average price of $31,248 per BTC, the company is actually making a profit of 273.29%. But even more interesting data concerns the bitcoins the company has sold, not just its own.
Block Inc. allows people to buy bitcoin through its wildly popular Cash App. Of the company's $6 billion in revenue in the second quarter, $2.14 billion came solely from bitcoin sales in the app.
Bitcoin revenue was down only slightly from the first quarter, when the company reported revenue of $2.3 billion. If Block Inc. wants to achieve record bitcoin revenue in 2025, it will need to significantly increase volumes in the second half of the year.
In 2024, Block reported $10.2 billion in Bitcoin revenue for the full year, meaning it is currently falling short of that mark.
But on a conference call yesterday to discuss financial results, Dorsey promised more Bitcoin news: “We’ll have news very, very soon,” he said of Proto, the company’s Bitcoin mining initiative.
And as you might have guessed, Proto entered into a deal to sell its Bitcoin mining chips to Core Scientific, making it one of the largest ASIC deals in history.
Other keys
Bullish Officially Announces Its Initial Public Offering: Cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has officially registered its initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Source: cryptonews.net
