Crypto stocks fell on Friday as Coinbase dropped 11% to $142.73, after touching a 52-week low of $138.71, when CEO Brian Armstrong had to defend a new plan to sell up to 8.17 million COIN shares alongside a 35% drop in quarterly revenue.
The plan, disclosed with Coinbase’s third-quarter results on Thursday, is worth about $1.31 billion at Thursday’s $160.59 close. Co-founder Fred Ehrsam and President Emilie Choi filed plans of their own, bringing the total to about 13.6 million shares, roughly $2.2 billion.
Armstrong replied on X that the plans only sell above price targets, “most of these are set for very high prices, a signal of how bullish I am.” The market didn’t take much comfort: every major crypto stock was down at least 6.8% in early trading.
Discover: Bitcoin Swings Less Than Coinbase and Oracle, Yet Crypto Stocks Move Up to 2.4 Times as Hard: Why?
What Armstrong’s 10b5-1 Plan Actually Allows
A Rule 10b5-1 plan lets executives set up share sales in advance, with fixed rules on price and timing, so they can’t be accused of trading on inside information later. Coinbase’s quarterly filing and TipRanks’ breakdown show three new plans:
Insider Adopted Up to Value at $160.59 Brian Armstrong, CEO August 12, 2026 8.17 million shares About $1.31 billion Fred Ehrsam, co-founder September 4, 2026 3.87 million shares About $621 million Emilie Choi, President September 8, 2026 1.56 million shares About $251 million
Armstrong’s plan can sell from November 16, 2026 through October 2027. It’s more than double his previous plan from the third quarter of 2025, which covered 3.75 million shares. Together, the three plans cover about 6% of Coinbase’s 223.7 million Class A shares.
Armstrong’s defense rests on the price targets, which Coinbase hasn’t disclosed. In the same thread, he wrote:
“Very few of the sales in my 2025 plan ever sold. I have the vast majority of my net worth in one stock: COIN. Even if this entire plan executed that would still be true.”
If the targets really sit far above today’s price, the plans won’t sell anything at $142. Traders will only know for sure from Form 4 filings, which start showing any sales after November 16.
The plans landed on a weak quarter. Total revenue fell 35% from a year earlier to $1.22 billion, transaction revenue dropped 44% to $590 million, and consumer spot trading volume fell 59%. Net income of $718.7 million came almost entirely from a $715 million paper gain on the crypto Coinbase holds. October looks no better: CNBC put fourth-quarter transaction revenue at just $165 million through October 25.
There was a bright spot: prediction markets passed $200 million in annualized revenue, and Armstrong said he’s “seeing signs that the market is turning.”
How Crypto Stocks Are Trading After Coinbase’s Results
Coinbase led a broad selloff in crypto stocks on Friday morning. The rest of the group fell between 6.8% and 9.1%, more than twice as hard as Bitcoin, which was down 3.5% over 24 hours after Thursday’s $6.36 billion Binance hack.
Crypto stocks on October 30, 2026, about 10:05 a.m. ET, versus Thursday’s close. Sources: Yahoo Finance, Binance.
Two things stand out. Coinbase fell 3.2 times as hard as Bitcoin, well above the up-to-2.4-times range crypto stocks have shown against BTC this year. And the Nasdaq 100 fell only 2.5%, so the drop is specific to crypto rather than a broad tech selloff.
The Binance hack cuts both ways for Coinbase. Binance has paused withdrawals and is repaying users from its own reserves, which could push some traders toward a US-listed, regulated exchange. But a $6 billion theft also hits confidence in crypto trading generally, and Friday’s selling suggests investors are weighing that more heavily.
Wall Street hasn’t given up on the stock. TipRanks counts 19 Buy ratings, nine Holds and two Sells, with an average price target of $206.61, about 45% above Friday’s price. COIN is now 60.5% below its 52-week high of $361.40.
COIN Price Analysis: A Third Test of $139
The daily chart since mid-May shows why $139 matters. Coinbase bottomed at $139.18 on June 26 and $139.11 on July 31, and both times it rallied. Friday’s low of $138.71 is the third test of the same floor, and the first to break it, even if only by 40 cents so far.
May 12 to October 30, 2026: COIN 1D chart. Source: Yahoo Finance (Nasdaq).
The stock is below both its 50-day EMA ($173.51) and its 200-day EMA ($189.59), and the 50-day has stayed under the 200-day throughout the five months on the chart. Friday’s drop also left a gap between Thursday’s $157.61 low and Friday’s $148.50 high.
Resistance: $148.50, Friday’s high, then the gap up to $157.61–$160.59, Thursday’s range and close.
Support: the $139 zone from June, July and Friday. Below $138.71, COIN would be at fresh 52-week lows.
Scenario Condition Where it could lead Advance A daily close back above $148.50 The gap fill at $157.61 to $160.59 Pause COIN holds the $139 zone into the November 16 start of Armstrong’s plan Range trading between $139 and $148.50 Retreat A daily close below $138.71 Fresh 52-week lows, with $130 the next round number
For crypto stocks, Coinbase’s $139 floor is the line to watch next week. Armstrong says his plan only sells far above it, and the Form 4 filings from November 16 will show whether he’s right.
The post Coinbase Sinks 11% to a 52-Week Low as Brian Armstrong Defends a Plan to Sell Up to 8.17 Million Shares: Are Crypto Stocks Near a Floor? appeared first on Tokenist.