Coinbase Donates $3.6M to Bitcoin Developers via Brink

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has made a generous donation of $3.6 million to Brink, a nonprofit organization that supports developers working on the Bitcoin blockchain. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the exchange’s team were acknowledged by Brink in a post on Reddit for their contribution to Bitcoin development funding. The donation comes with no conditions and will be used to support engineers working on open-source development for the Bitcoin blockchain. Armstrong initially launched Coinbase’s GiveCrypto initiative in 2018, aimed at facilitating charitable donations like the one made to Brink. Coinbase previously announced in December 2023 that it would be winding down the initiative after realizing that unconditional cash transfers were not creating sustainable changes.

Brink, founded in 2020, offers fellowship and grant programs to assist Bitcoin developers and engineers. The organization has received support from high-profile individuals, including Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Block, who pledged $5 million in July 2023. In a move to support Bitcoin core developers, VanEck, an asset manager, committed to providing 5% of profits from their spot BTC exchange-traded product, which was approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10. They made a similar commitment to Ethereum core developers in September 2023.

Coinbase recently reported a net revenue of $905 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a significant increase of 45% compared to the previous quarter. This positive financial performance may have influenced JPMorgan analysts’ decision to change their rating on Coinbase’s stock from underweight to neutral on February 15. It’s worth mentioning that JPMorgan initially downgraded the shares in January before revising their stance.