What happened 

Shares of cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global (COIN 0.34%) jumped as much as 8.7% in early trading on Wednesday only to fall by 7.6% midday. Shares are down 3.5% at 3:15 p.m. ET. 

So what 

The market is reacting to Coinbase's earnings release last night, which was good or bad depending on how you look at it. Revenue dropped to $629 million from $2.5 billion a year ago and the net loss was $557 million compared to an $840 million profit last year.

But investors are looking more at trends in spending and more sustainable businesses than trading and there's progress on both fronts. Subscription and service revenue was $282.8 million, up from $213.4 million, and operating expenses were down from $1.58 billion a year ago to $1.18 billion. There will be further reductions after a 20% headcount reduction in January

Revenue came in well ahead of the $590 million that analysts expected and the reduction in expenses was a pleasant sight. But investors seemed to sour on lower user activity on the Coinbase exchange and sold off the stock late in the day. 

Now what 

Coinbase is a company that divides a lot of investors and that was evident in trading today. But this is a company that investors need to take a very long-term view on. And if you do that, the results were very good. 

Cash burn was just $148 million in the quarter and Coinbase ended with $5.5 billion of cash and equivalents on the balance sheet. That's more than enough to survive for a few years of a down market and even acquire businesses if the price is right. I think five to 10 years from now Coinbase will be a much more valuable company, but the ride will be rocky and today's volatility was a reminder of that.