Czech Bank Adds Coinbase as Stock Gains Momentum

The Bank’s strategic shift also included increased holdings in AI-focused Palantir. Despite a decline in revenue and trading volume, Coinbase saw a 55% YTD stock price gain, driven by strong EPS and expansion into tokenization and derivatives through acquisitions like Deribit and Liquifi. CEO Brian Armstrong also announced a major partnership with Perplexity AI to integrate Coinbase market data into AI tools. Meanwhile, controversy erupted after allegations that Coinbase targeted Binance and Trump’s crypto project. However, the company very strongly denies the claims. Czech Central Bank Bets on Coinbase The Czech National Bank adjusted its US investment portfolio in the second quarter by increasing its exposure to technology and crypto-related stocks. This is according to its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing reveals that the bank added 51,732 shares of Coinbase Global, valued at over $18 million. It also boosted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by purchasing an additional 49,135 shares, bringing its total stake in the data analytics company to 519,950 shares as of the end of June. Czech National Bank Palantir experienced a strong performance in 2025, with its stock surging 80% in the first half of the year. This means that it even outpaces the S&P 500’s 5.5% gain. The company’s rally has been fueled by solid earnings and growing investor interest in artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Coinbase made headlines in May by becoming the first crypto-native company to be included in the S&P 500 index, which tracks the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. Despite a 10% drop in quarterly revenue to $2 billion and a steep 95% decline in net income to $66 million, Coinbase has seen its share price rise sharply. It gained 55% in the first half of the year, with an overall monthly increase of around 60%, according to Google Finance. Coinbase YTD share price (Source: Google Finance ) The drop in Coinbase’s transaction revenue by 18.9% to $1.26 billion and a 10.5% dip in trading volume to $393 billion reflect some of the broader market pressures, including reduced investor activity and the impact of tariffs under the Trump administration. Still, the company managed to outperform analyst expectations with earnings per share of $1.94. As part of its growth strategy, Coinbase has been expanding into the derivatives and tokenization space. In May, it agreed to acquire crypto options trading platform Deribit for $2.9 billion. More recently, it purchased Liquifi , a token management platform that is geared toward early-stage tokenization projects. This acquisition enhances Coinbase’s capabilities in managing token cap tables, vesting schedules, and regulatory compliance, which positions it well to support token creators from the earliest stages of development. Coinbase Teams Up with Perplexity AI Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also recently announced a new partnership with AI-powered search engine Perplexity. The goal of the partnership is to merge real-time crypto market data with artificial intelligence tools. The collaboration will see Perplexity integrate Coinbase’s market data, including the COIN50 index, into its platform to power market analysis in its newly launched Comet browser. In the next phase, user queries on Perplexity will be directly linked to Coinbase’s market data, which will create a more seamless bridge between AI-driven search and digital asset platforms. Armstrong explained that this partnership is a step toward deeper integration between AI and crypto, and could even potentially lead to a future where AI bots can execute trades, manage portfolios, and handle staking operations. This vision aligns with Armstrong’s previous comments from August of 2024 when he advocated for LLMs to have crypto wallets. Shortly after that, he oversaw the first crypto transaction that was executed entirely by AI. Perplexity was founded in August of 2022 by former OpenAI researcher Aravind Srinivas. It attracted more than $900 million in funding and was valued at $9 billion by the end of 2024. While the platform’s current user base is unknown, it surpassed 10 million users by early 2024. Coinbase Denies Targeting Binance and Trump Although there are many positive developments surrounding Coinbase, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao recently reignited controversy after reposting a claim that Coinbase was the anonymous source behind a Bloomberg article targeting Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, and Binance. The allegation was made by crypto commentator Matt Wallace on X , and suggested that Coinbase executives feared a potential pardon for Zhao and Binance’s re-entry into the US market, which could threaten their dominance. Wallace accused Coinbase of orchestrating a smear campaign to damage competitors and even indirectly targeting President Trump, calling the move “anti-American.” Zhao shared Wallace’s post without providing any direct comment. Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, publicly denied the claims by labeling them as misinformation. Grewal insisted that Coinbase had no involvement in the story. The Bloomberg article in question alleged that Binance was behind the creation of the USD1 stablecoin, linked to Trump’s World Liberty Financial. It also claimed that Zhao wanted a presidential pardon shortly after a $2 billion investment deal involving a UAE fund and the USD1 token, of which over 90% remains in Binance wallets, reportedly generating millions in annual interest. Zhao criticized the article as a competitor-sponsored “hit piece” that is riddled with inaccuracies. He also hinted at legal action for defamation. Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony in 2023 and served four months in prison. Since then, he expressed interest in receiving a pardon from Trump, which could open the door for his return to the US crypto scene. After his release, Zhao took on advisory roles with crypto regulators in Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.

Source: Coinpaper