Coinbase becomes the first crypto company to enter the Fortune 500

Exchange operator Coinbase has become the first crypto company to make the Fortune 500 cut — an annual list of America's largest corporations by revenue — ranking at 437.

The move comes despite Coinbase's current struggles induced by bearish market conditions. This is because Fortune has ranked companies for its 2022 list based on their 2021 revenues.

The revenue threshold for the 2022 Fortune 500 list was $6.4 billion, up 19% from last year's limit, Fortune Media announced on Monday. Coinbase's 2021 revenue was $7.8 billion, according to Fortune.

But this year so far hasn't been as rosy for Coinbase, with the company posting net revenue of $1.16 billion and a net loss of $430 million for the first quarter. For comparison, Coinbase's net revenue for the fourth quarter of last year was $2.49 billion.

As crypto prices have plunged in the past six months, trading volumes have dropped across exchanges. Mizuho Securities recently lowered its estimates for Coinbase's full-year 2022 revenue to $5.6 billion from $6.7 billion due to a "crypto winter," according to a Barron's report.

Amid the market slump, Coinbase's shares are trading near all-time lows at $66. They fell as low as $40 earlier this month, down 88% from their debut at over $328. 

Coinbase's president and chief operating officer, Emilie Choi, recently said the company will slow hiring in response to turbulent market conditions.

"Heading into this year, we planned to triple the size of the company. Given current market conditions, we feel it's prudent to slow hiring and reassess our headcount needs against our highest-priority business goals," she said. 

Choi reassured that Coinbase is "in a strong position" and has a "solid balance sheet." She further said that Coinbase has been through several market downturns and has emerged stronger every time.  

It will be interesting to watch whether Coinbase makes the cut to Fortune's 2023 list. Fortune magazine has been putting out a list of top revenue-generating companies since 1955. US retailer Walmart has been in the number one spot for the last ten consecutive years.