Coinbase introduces crypto to Fortune 500 while FTX CEO featured in TIME 100

U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase ranked 437th on the elusive Fortune leaderboard, while Sam Bankman-Fried was highlighted by TIME magazine in the innovation category.

In an industry milestone, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has become the first corporation within the crypto and blockchain space to be featured on the prominent Fortune 500 list.

A 68-year-old annual tradition, the Fortune 500 list is synonymous with ranking the leading corporations in the United States by total revenue, as well as other quantifiable metrics such as percentage profit margins, assets and the number of employees, among others.

Retail giant Walmart captured the top spot for the tenth consecutive year with $572,754 million in revenue and a growth of 2.4%. Amazon registered second place with $469,822 and 21.7%, while Apple took third with $365,817 and 33.3%.

Coinbase Global’s inclusion at 437th was supported by revenues recorded of $7,839.4 million, a 513.7% annual gain, and 3,730 employees globally.

The 68th edition of the @Fortune500 is out. Check out the full list here: https://t.co/VeQjz1IfHA

— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) May 23, 2022

In the other news, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was featured in The Most Influential People of 2022 by TIME Magazine.

Nominated by TIME correspondent Andrew R. Chow — the author of the recent Vitalik Buterin feature piece — maverick leader Bankman-Fried was noted as an „effective altruist“ and recognized for his instrumental role in advancing a positive narrative for the crypto space, „using every tool imaginable to convince the public of its strengths,“ according to the 99-year-old magazine.

A recently published report documenting Coinbase’s financial performance across Q1 of 2022 revealed $430 million in losses, the first incident of the company’s public history following four prior quarters of substantial profit.

CEO Brian Armstrong was not fazed by the fortunes though, declaring that these cyclical periods of low market volume provide the opportunity for the company to “focus more intently on product development”.

This optimistic sentiment also applies to Coinbase’s publicly-traded Nasdaq stock COIN, which has plummeted 82% from all-time highs of $368.90 following the initial coin offering bump in April 2021 to $66.10, at the time of writing.