Coinbase

Revolut

Coinbase

Coinbase makes money from transaction fees. Every time someone buys or sells crypto on the platform, Coinbase takes a cut — typically around 1.5% for regular users, lower for high-volume traders on Coinbase Pro.

For a company that processes billions in daily volume, that adds up fast. In the 2021 bull run, Coinbase generated $7.8 billion in revenue.

Beyond trading fees, Coinbase earns revenue from staking (users earn yield on their crypto, Coinbase takes a commission), USDC interest (Coinbase co-created the USDC stablecoin with Circle and earns interest on the reserves), custodial services for institutions, and its cloud platform for developers building on-chain apps.

Revolut

Revolut uses a freemium model with subscription tiers. The free Standard account covers basic spending, transfers, and currency exchange up to $1,000/month at interbank rates.

Plus is $3.99/month, Premium is $9.99/month, Metal is $16.99/month, and Ultra is $45/month — each tier adds perks like higher exchange limits, travel insurance, airport lounge access, cashback, and crypto trading. Revolut also earns revenue from interchange fees on card transactions, crypto trading spreads, and premium business accounts.

Coinbase

Brian Armstrong was working as a software engineer at Airbnb in 2010 when he read Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin white paper. He became obsessed.

At the time, buying Bitcoin meant navigating sketchy exchanges, wiring money to anonymous accounts, and hoping your coins didn't get stolen. Armstrong thought: this is never going mainstream unless someone makes it dead simple.

In 2012, Armstrong got into Y Combinator and co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, a former Goldman Sachs trader. Their pitch was straightforward — be the easiest, safest, most regulated way to buy and sell Bitcoin.

While other crypto exchanges were operating in legal gray areas, Coinbase went out of its way to get money transmitter licenses in every US state. It was slow and expensive, but it meant Coinbase was the one exchange your bank wouldn't block.

The first version was bare-bones. You linked your bank account, bought Bitcoin, and Coinbase held it for you.

That custody model — Coinbase holding your crypto — was controversial with crypto purists who preached "not your keys, not your coins." But for normal people who didn't want to manage private keys, it was exactly what they needed.

Revolut

Nikolay Storonsky was a trader at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank in London. Every time he traveled for work, he noticed the same rip-off: banks were charging 3-5% hidden fees on foreign exchange transactions.

You'd pay in euros and your bank would convert at a terrible rate and pocket the difference. Storonsky calculated he was losing hundreds of pounds a year on currency conversion alone.

In 2015, he teamed up with Vlad Yatsenko, a developer, and built Revolut. The first version was simple — a prepaid card linked to an app that offered interbank exchange rates with no markup.

You could hold multiple currencies, switch between them instantly, and spend abroad without getting robbed by your bank. The product launched through a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube that raised over $1 million.

The early adopters were frequent travelers, expats, and digital nomads — people who felt the foreign exchange pain most acutely. Word spread fast through London's tech and finance circles.

Within a year, Revolut had 100,000 users.

Coinbase

Coinbase grew with the Bitcoin price cycle. Every bull run brought a wave of new users who heard about crypto from the news or their friends and Googled "how to buy Bitcoin." Coinbase was almost always the first result.

The company spent heavily on brand advertising including a legendary Super Bowl ad in 2022 that was just a bouncing QR code — it crashed the app from the traffic surge.

The regulatory strategy was the long game. While Binance and FTX grew faster by ignoring regulations, Coinbase spent years and millions getting licensed.

When the regulatory crackdown came, Coinbase was the last exchange standing. Being "the regulated one" went from a competitive disadvantage to the only thing that mattered.

The direct listing in April 2021 was a landmark moment. Coinbase went public via direct listing at a $85 billion valuation — the largest direct listing in history at the time.

It legitimized crypto as an asset class in a way that no Bitcoin price chart ever could.

Revolut

Revolut grew through aggressive multi-market expansion and viral product features. The fee-free foreign spending was the initial hook — travelers told other travelers.

The app added features at a relentless pace: crypto trading, stock investing, budgeting tools, salary advance, and insurance. Every feature gave users another reason to move more of their financial life into Revolut.

The referral program was engineered for virality. Users got cash bonuses for inviting friends.

Temporary metal cards, limited-time perks, and gamified challenges kept users engaged and sharing. Revolut also offered higher savings rates than traditional banks, pulling in deposits from customers who had only used it for travel spending.

Geographic expansion was systematic. Starting in the UK, Revolut rolled out across Europe country by country, then into the US, Australia, Japan, and Singapore.

Each market launch followed the same playbook — launch with the multi-currency card, build the user base, then layer on banking features once they had a critical mass.

Coinbase

The crypto winter of 2022 nearly broke the company. After the collapse of FTX, Luna, and Three Arrows Capital, crypto trading volume fell off a cliff.

Coinbase's revenue dropped from $7.8 billion in 2021 to $3.1 billion in 2022. The stock went from $342 to $35 — an 90% decline.

Armstrong laid off 18% of the company in June 2022 and another 20% in January 2023.

The SEC lawsuit was existential. In June 2023, the SEC sued Coinbase alleging that it operated as an unregistered securities exchange.

The lawsuit claimed that at least 13 crypto assets traded on Coinbase were securities. If the SEC won, it could have fundamentally broken Coinbase's business model.

The case was eventually settled in 2025 with Coinbase paying a $50 million fine but crucially not admitting that any tokens were securities.

Revenue concentration is a structural risk. Coinbase's revenue swings wildly with crypto prices and trading volume.

In bull markets, the company prints money. In bear markets, revenue evaporates.

This makes it nearly impossible to plan long-term or maintain consistent growth — Wall Street hates unpredictability.

Revolut

The work culture has been toxic by multiple accounts. Reports from former employees describe 80-hour weeks, unpaid trial shifts for job candidates, extreme pressure, and a fear-based management style.

Storonsky has been accused of creating a "cult of overwork." High employee turnover and Glassdoor reviews paint a picture of a company that moves fast partly because it burns through people. Revolut has made public efforts to improve culture, but the reputation lingers.

Getting a UK banking license took three years. Revolut applied for a UK banking license in 2021 and didn't receive it until July 2024.

The delay was partly due to concerns about the company's financial crime controls and compliance processes. Without a banking license, Revolut couldn't offer full banking services or FSCS-protected deposits in its home market — a significant competitive disadvantage against licensed neobanks like Monzo and Starling.

Profitability came late. Despite having 45 million customers, Revolut didn't post its first annual profit until 2023 — eight years after founding.

The company had been investing heavily in expansion, new products, and compliance. While the 2023 profit ($545 million pre-tax) was impressive, proving sustained profitability remains the challenge for a company valued at $45 billion.

Coinbase

Coinbase is the consumer trading platform — buy, sell, and hold 250+ cryptocurrencies. Coinbase Advanced Trade (formerly Coinbase Pro) is the lower-fee, more sophisticated trading interface.

Coinbase Wallet is a self-custody wallet where users control their own keys. Coinbase Prime is the institutional platform for hedge funds, family offices, and corporations.

Base is Coinbase's own Layer 2 blockchain built on Ethereum, designed for cheap, fast transactions. USDC is the stablecoin Coinbase co-created with Circle — pegged 1:1 to the US dollar with over $30 billion in circulation.

Coinbase Commerce lets businesses accept crypto payments.

Revolut

Revolut is a financial super-app. Everyday banking covers current accounts, multi-currency wallets, and instant transfers.

Crypto trading lets users buy and sell 200+ cryptocurrencies. Stock trading offers commission-free investing in US and European stocks.

Savings Vaults are auto-saving features that round up purchases. Revolut Business is the commercial banking arm for companies.

Revolut Pay is their checkout solution for merchants. Travel insurance, device insurance, and medical insurance are bundled into premium tiers.

RevPoints is a loyalty program that earns points on every card transaction.

Coinbase

Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, IVP

Revolut

Index Ventures, Balderton Capital, DST Global, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Coatue Management, D1 Capital