Had You Invested $1,000 in Coinbase or Robinhood IPOs, Here’s What You’d Have Today

By Trey Thoelcke Published Mar 27, 10:50AM EDT

Quick Read

Coinbase (COIN) has declined 47.2% since its April 2021 IPO opening and fell another 28.6% year-to-date as Q4 2025 saw $718 million in crypto asset markdowns and operating expenses surge 35% year-over-year to $5.7 billion, while Robinhood Markets (HOOD) has more than doubled since its July 2021 IPO with full-year 2025 net income of $1.883 billion and has surged 57.3% over the past year, driven by diversification into prediction markets ($147 million Q4 revenue), options revenue growth of 41% year-over-year, and a doubled margin book to $16.8 billion.
Coinbase remains a leveraged bet on crypto sentiment with Bitcoin down 24.7% in 2026, while Robinhood has insulated itself from pure crypto exposure through a financial super-app strategy that spans trading, banking, retirement accounts, and prediction markets.
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Had You Invested $1,000 in Coinbase or Robinhood IPOs, Here’s What You’d Have Today — © Have a nice day Photo / Shutterstock.com

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN | COIN Price Prediction) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) both went public in 2021 riding retail trading enthusiasm and crypto euphoria. Both have delivered volatile rides since.

Two Platforms, Two Very Different Outcomes

Coinbase launched via direct listing in April 2021, opening at roughly $381 before the crypto market turned. The stock spent much of the next four years whipsawing with Bitcoin prices. The business matured considerably: FY2025 total trading volume grew 156% year-over-year to $5.2 trillion, and Coinbase closed its $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange, in August 2025. But a $718 million largely unrealized crypto asset markdown in Q4 2025 dragged the headline to a net loss, and operating expenses rose 35% year-over-year to $5.7 billion.

Robinhood’s story is a genuine turnaround. The stock cratered after its July 2021 IPO at $38 per share and traded well below that price for years. Then it rebuilt. Full-year 2025 revenue hit a record $4.473 billion, with net income of $1.883 billion. Prediction markets, banking, retirement accounts, and the TradePMR acquisition broadened the revenue base well beyond its meme-stock origins.

Coinbase Down, Robinhood Up: The Numbers

Coinbase Since IPO (April 14, 2021)

Initial Investment: $1,000
Current Value: $527.81
Total Return: −47.2%
S&P 500 (same period): $1,629.10 (+62.9%)

Coinbase 1-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000
Current Value: $893.90
Total Return: −10.6%
S&P 500 (same period): $1,134.50 (+13.5%)

Robinhood Since IPO (July 29, 2021)

Initial Investment: $1,000
Current Value: $2,020.40
Total Return: +102.0%
S&P 500 (same period): $1,629.10 (+62.9%)

Robinhood 1-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000
Current Value: $1,572.80
Total Return: +57.3%
S&P 500 (same period): $1,134.50 (+13.5%)

Coinbase is down nearly half from its IPO open, while Robinhood has more than doubled IPO investors’ money and crushed the S&P 500 over the past year. Both stocks are well off their 2025 highs: Coinbase is down 28.6% year-to-date, and Robinhhood has dropped 41.3% year-to-date. Crypto headwinds explain much of the pain: Bitcoin is off 24.7% in 2026.

Weighing the Cases

Robinhood’s Financial SuperApp thesis continues to gain traction. The diversification is real: prediction markets generated $147 million in Q4 2025 alone, options revenue grew 41% year-over-year, and the margin book doubled year-over-year to $16.8 billion. The pullback from Robinhood’s 2025 highs has narrowed the valuation gap. Key risks include a return of crypto revenue volatility, a regulatory ban on PFOF, or the 89% year-over-year rise in credit loss provisions signaling deteriorating loan quality.

Coinbase’s bull case rests on regulatory clarity and crypto cycle recovery, and CEO Brian Armstrong’s view that “crypto will update all financial services” may prove correct over a decade. The bear case is that Coinbase remains a leveraged bet on crypto sentiment, with rising costs and a stock that has lost nearly half its value since listing. Robinhood has earned its premium through genuine diversification. Coinbase still has to prove it.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.