Coinbase Global (COIN) shares fell 13% to $139.64 after the cryptocurrency exchange reported weaker third-quarter results for the period ended September 30, and the drop came just as a Friday SEC filing revealed that CEO Brian Armstrong and two other senior executives have adopted plans to sell up to 13.6 million shares worth roughly $2.2 billion.

The stock had closed at $160.59 on October 29, the price used to value the planned insider sales disclosed in the filing.

Softer Third-Quarter Results

Revenue dropped 35% from a year earlier to about $1.22 billion. Bank of America had cut its earnings forecast ahead of the release, pointing to softer crypto trading activity in the quarter.

Transaction revenue, the exchange's core trading business, came in at $590 million, down from roughly $1.05 billion in the year-earlier quarter — a line item that rises and falls with how actively customers trade. Subscription and services revenue was $570 million, nearly matching the trading business in size.

Net income rose to $719 million from $433 million. Most of the jump came from about $715 million in unrealized gains on crypto investments, which reflect changes in the value of assets Coinbase already holds rather than revenue earned from customers. Adjusted net income was $78 million.

Coinbase also said its prediction markets business passed $200 million in annualized revenue during the quarter.

Insiders File Plans to Sell

A Friday SEC filing showed that three insiders adopted trading plans covering 13.59 million identified Class A shares, valued at about $2.2 billion at the October 29 close.

CEO Brian Armstrong holds the largest of the three plans. It covers up to 8.17 million shares from vested stock options, about 60% of the total. Armstrong adopted his plan on August 12. Sales can begin on November 16, 2026, and run until October 22, 2027, if price conditions are met. The filing does not reveal those price levels.

Director and co-founder Fred Ehrsam adopted his plan on September 4. It covers up to 3.87 million shares that would come from converting Class B stock held in his living trust. His trading window runs from December 7, 2026, to June 7, 2027.

President Emilie Choi adopted her plan four days later. It covers 1.56 million identified shares, along with additional shares tied to future equity awards. Her window runs from January 4, 2027, to December 31, 2027.

All three plans fall under Rule 10b5-1, the Securities and Exchange Commission rule that allows corporate insiders to schedule trades in advance. Such plans are meant to fix a selling schedule ahead of time so that individual trades are not timed at an executive's discretion, and Coinbase said the plans were adopted during an open trading window.

Armstrong has used such arrangements before. He sold $101 million in stock in January, and a plan adopted in November 2024 covered about 5 million shares across several executives.

Buybacks and Bitcoin Purchases

Coinbase bought back 37,995 shares in August at an average price of $139.91 per share — almost exactly the $139.64 level the stock fell to after the report. It made no repurchases in July or September. About $1.96 billion remains under the company's $4 billion share repurchase authorization, which the board raised in January 2026.

The company also purchased 643 Bitcoin for approximately $1.5 billion during the quarter, bringing its total holdings to 17,954 BTC. It additionally held 152,649 ETH at quarter end.

On the earnings call, Armstrong said the company had probably passed 18,000 BTC. "We're super bullish on Bitcoin," he said. He added that more customers are taking loans against their Bitcoin instead of selling it.

Armstrong's first sales under his newly adopted plan could begin as early as November 16, 2026, with any executed trades reported in subsequent SEC filings.