On January 5, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs stated that it holds a "selective bullish" stance on brokerage and crypto companies in 2026, believing that a resilient retail trading environment and ongoing regulatory progress will support industry growth.
"We expect the convergence of traditional retail brokerage with crypto trading to continue into 2026, which will further intensify competition and potentially impact market share and product pricing," a team of analysts led by James Yaro wrote in a report released Monday.
The bank upgraded its rating on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase from "neutral" to "buy" and raised its price target from $294 to $303, implying an upside of over 30%. Coinbase shares rose 4.3% in early trading on Monday, driven by gains in cryptocurrency prices over Sunday night.
Yaro and his team maintain their "buy" rating on Robinhood, Interactive Brokers, and Figure Technology.
Yaro points out that Coinbase's scale and brand advantage are seen as key drivers for its revenue growth and market share gains that surpass its peers. He predicts that Coinbase's revenue will grow at a CAGR of 12% by 2027, higher than the industry average of 8%, thanks to its industry-leading customer acquisition costs.
The Yaro team also highlighted Coinbase's recent launches of a series of new products in brokerage, banking, wealth management, and tokenization, believing these initiatives enhance the company's competitiveness and give it the potential for scalability in structurally growing areas such as prediction markets. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is optimistic about Coinbase's expanding subscription and services business, which currently accounts for approximately 40% of its total revenue. As cryptocurrency applications extend beyond trading to broader areas, this business is expected to grow steadily and reduce earnings volatility.
