How Coinbase and Stripe print
Trading fees when volume is hot. Subscription and services when it is not. Interest on the float.
A take-rate on payment volume. Billing, Treasury, and Issuing sit on the same pipe.
The mix
Hover a slice
- Transaction52%—
- Subscription & services30%—
- Interest / other18%—
- Payments take-rate—82%
- Billing / Treasury / Issuing—14%
- Other—4%
- CoinbaseStripe
Coinbase
A public exchange. The book breathes with the tape.
Pays: Retail and institutions who trade. USDC and Prime on the side.
Builds: Exchange, custody, and compliance. Crypto SWE is a real seat.
Stripe
Every charge is a small rent. The product is the API the merchant will not rip out.
Pays: Merchants. Platforms. Marketplaces.
Builds: Payments engineering, risk, and the people who sell the API.