Coinbase Is Quietly Buying Ethereum While Scaling Base

TLDR:

• Coinbase increased its ETH holdings by $100M, adding 148,000 ETH to its growing crypto treasury.
• The exchange now holds 73% BTC and 27% ETH, focusing on both as store-of-value assets.
• Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum L2, aims to reach 10,000 TPS by 2026 through upgrades and zk-proof tech.
• Coinbase is investing in Ethereum scaling tools like Fusaka and TrieDB to support faster transactions.
  

Coinbase is ramping up its Ethereum strategy. The exchange isn’t just holding ETH, it’s building on it. 

Data shared by Ryan Sean Adams, known as @RyanSAdams on X, revealed that Coinbase boosted its Ethereum treasury by $100 million last quarter. The move adds around 148,000 ETH, now worth over $617 million, to its reserves. 

At the same time, Coinbase continues to grow its Layer 2 network, Base, strengthening its onchain position.

Adams said Coinbase has been steadily accumulating both Bitcoin and Ethereum, marking them as the two long-term pillars of its treasury. The firm reportedly purchased $300 million worth of Bitcoin and $100 million in ETH during the last quarter. 

Together, these assets now make up Coinbase’s $ portfolio with a 73-to-27 Bitcoin-to-Ethereum split.

Ethereum Treasury Growth Tied to Base Expansion

Coinbase’s growing Ethereum exposure aligns closely with Base’s rapid progress. 

According to Adams, Base now generates around $100 million in yearly revenue, despite being in early stages. The company plans to migrate more of its onchain operations to the Ethereum-secured network, deepening integration between the exchange and the protocol.

The exchange is advancing Base’s performance targets too. The team aims to reach 10,000 transactions per second by early 2026. That effort includes work on Fusaka, TrieDB, zk-proofs, and state expiry solutions, all designed to make Ethereum scaling faster and more efficient.

Adams described the relationship between Ethereum and Base as “symbiotic.” He dismissed claims that Base operates as a competitor, suggesting instead that it strengthens Ethereum’s network through scaling innovation and infrastructure improvements.

Coinbase executives Brian Armstrong and Jesse Pollak have also reiterated their intention to anchor Coinbase’s future within the Ethereum ecosystem. From treasury holdings to onchain scaling, the company’s strategy signals a shift toward deeper Ethereum alignment across both financial and technical layers.

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