For cryptocurrency, 2021 was a very exciting year. For Coinbase, the best known cryptocurrency company that's publicly traded, it was so-so. Strangely, Coinbase seemed unable to capitalize on frothiness in the very financial market it was built to serve. Why it matters: There's an old investor adage: in a gold rush, the guy selling shovels gets rich even if there's no gold. Coinbase should be a shovel company, but somehow it hasn't been. • Driving the news: On Thursday afternoon, Coinbase (COIN) was trading at $58.50, that's down 83% from its first day of trading in April 2021. ♦ Of note: COIN price did rally with ... (full story)