Crypto Currents: Strategy posts $12.54B quarterly loss

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The gap between corporate bitcoin strategy and accounting reality snaps into focus as Strategy posts the largest quarterly loss in its history, even as its bitcoin hoard quietly sits in the black. Coinbase rewires itself for an AI-native future one day before facing Wall Street, while miners split into two camps of infrastructure builders with billions in locked revenue, and balance-sheet holders still searching for a narrative. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio.

STRATEGY’S RECORD QUARTERLY LOSS: Strategy driven almost entirely by a $14.46B unrealized loss on its bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) slid from roughly $88,000 at year-open, and after briefly touching near $97,000 in mid-January, to about $68,000 by March 31, the period-end level that set the mark-to-market. The software segment itself posted $124.3M in revenue, up 11.9% year-over-year with a 67.1% gross margin, underscoring that the operating loss of ($14.47B) is entirely a function of bitcoin pricing, not the core business.

Strategy acquired approximately 89,600 bitcoin for $5.5B during Q1, its second-largest quarterly purchase on record, bringing total holdings to 818,334 bitcoin, roughly 3.9% of total bitcoin supply, at an average cost of $75,537 per coin. As of May 3, the portfolio carried a market value of $64.14B against that cost basis, representing a modest unrealized gain at current prices. CFO Andrew Kang cited strong demand for the company’s STRC preferred instrument, claiming a bitcoin yield of 9.4% and an estimated $5B bitcoin dollar gain through the first four months of 2026. For holders, the key watch item remains whether the capital-raising machine, which has driven STRC-financed purchases of roughly 77,000 bitcoin year-to-date, can continue to outpace bitcoin’s own volatility-driven mark-to-market swings.

COINBASE RESTRUCTURES FOR AI: Coinbase (COIN) announced it is eliminating approximately 700 positions, or 14% of its global workforce, and expects to incur $50M=$60M in severance and termination charges, the bulk of which will be recognized in Q2. CEO Brian Armstrong framed the reorganization not as a defensive cost cut but as a structural rebuild toward what he called an “AI-native” operating model, flattening the organization to no more than five layers below the CEO and COO and experimenting with one-person teams combining engineering, design, and product management. U.S. employees being separated will receive a minimum of 16 weeks’ base pay plus two additional weeks per year of service. The cut lands one day before Coinbase reports Q1 earnings. Wall Street’s consensus heading into the print sits at EPS of 36c, an 81.4% year-over-year decline, on $1.5B in revenue, representing a 26.1% year-over-year drop.

HUT 8 AND CORE SCIENTIFIC: Hut 8 filing. A $295.7M unrealized loss on digital assets pushed the net loss attributable to Hut 8 to $219.8M, or ($1.98) per share, with an operating loss of ($370.4M). The company reported $16.8B in contracted lease revenue across two hyperscale AI campuses under triple-net, take-or-pay structures, with a development pipeline totaling 8,375 MW as of May 6. Separately, Hut 8’s press release confirmed its River Bend campus in Louisiana, anchored by a partnership with Fluidstack for at least 245 MW, remains the core growth driver as the company transitions away from pure-play bitcoin mining.

Core Scientific a company press release. Core Scientific’s pivot from self-mining to high-density colocation, anchored by its long-term contract with CoreWeave CURRENC AND ANIMOCA EXTEND DEADLINE: Currenc Group it has executed an Amendment Deed with Animoca Brands extending the exclusivity period for their proposed reverse merger to June 30. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Animoca shareholders would own approximately 95% of the merged entity, with existing Currenc holders retaining 5%; the resulting company would operate under the Animoca Brands name with closing targeted for Q3 2026. The extension is non-binding and subject to definitive documentation; material closing conditions include regulatory approvals from Bank Negara Malaysia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a separate $400M Tranglo asset sale, according to the filing.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $81,671.40, while ether was trading at $2,356.80, according to price data from TipRanks.