Forget Tech Stocks: The Crypto Exchange That's More Profitable Than AI Startups

Tech investors have a big decision to make these days. Should they chase after high-growth artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups with little in the way of profitability, or should they focus on entrenched tech leaders with billions of dollars in profits flowing in each year?

If revenue and profitability matter to you as an investor, then it's impossible not to sit up and take notice of Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN). It's now on pace to post more than $2.5 billion in net income each year. And it has a brand-new "everything exchange" strategy that is positioning it for future growth ahead.

Coinbase financial results

In 3Q 2025, Coinbase posted $1.87 billion in revenue, topping Wall Street analyst expectations. And it did so via a resurgence in retail and institutional trading on its crypto platform. Total transaction revenue came in at $1 billion for the quarter. That's a robust 37% increase from the prior quarter. When the crypto market heats up, so does Coinbase.

Image source: Getty Images.

By way of comparison, most AI start-ups are still struggling to find their footing. They are spending tons of money on infrastructure, computing power, research, and talent -- but are not necessarily seeing any return on that investment. At least, not yet.

And that means many of these start-ups are operating at a huge loss, despite all the buzz and hype around them. Take OpenAI, for example. While revenue is reportedly buzzing along at an annual rate of $20 billion, the company is still operating at a massive loss. Based on numbers reported by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), it appears that OpenAI may be posting a loss of as much as $11.5 billion per quarter.

The "everything exchange"

That's why it's worth taking a closer look at Coinbase. The company has a proven ability to make money during crypto market upswings. That's obvious -- when Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) are booming, the entire market moves up, and crypto investors rush to deploy capital on the Coinbase trading platform.

And now Coinbase has found out a way to make money when the market turns sideways or down. It's called the "everything exchange" strategy, and it's designed to make many more digital assets tradable on the exchange. These include tokenized equities, which are simply stocks that can be managed and traded 24/7 on a blockchain. And it also includes a move into prediction markets, which have become one of the hottest areas of the crypto market.

But is Coinbase a good investment?

Unfortunately, Coinbase's stock market performance has been unspectacular, to say the least. COIN stock is down 27% in 2026, and a shocking 40% over the past 12 months. That's due, in no small part, to the fact that market bellwethers Bitcoin and Ethereum are also down big over the past few months. Bitcoin, for example, is now down 45% from its October all-time high of $126,000.

So if you're planning to invest in Coinbase, it's important to keep in mind the cyclical nature of the crypto market. There's no guarantee that Coinbase's "everything exchange" strategy will work during down markets. But if it does -- and it's a big "if" -- this highly profitable crypto exchange might just end up being one of the best investments you make in 2026.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.