Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., has seen its stock price re-evaluated by Wall Street. After Goldman Sachs upgraded Coinbase from "Neutral" to "Buy" and raised its target price to $303, its stock price surged by approximately 8% in a single day.
Goldman Sachs cited Coinbase's rapid transformation from a simple exchange to a "cryptocurrency infrastructure company" as the backdrop for this upward revision. They assessed that Coinbase is moving away from its traditional business structure, which relies heavily on transaction fees, and expanding recurring revenue streams such as custody, staking, and subscription services. This shift is interpreted as a structural shift that mitigates performance fluctuations caused by market volatility.
Particularly noteworthy are tokenization and prediction markets. Goldman Sachs highlighted the potential for Coinbase to establish itself as a key infrastructure provider in the on-chain movement of real-world assets (RWAs) and financial products. As blockchain-based payments and settlements, tokenized securities and funds, and institutional infrastructure services become more widespread, Coinbase's role could expand beyond transaction intermediation to become a key component of the financial pipeline.
Prediction markets have also been cited as a new growth engine. Coinbase's user base and regulatory-friendly operational experience could be leveraged to its advantage if they expand beyond simple speculation to encompass data-driven decision-making and hedging tools.
This upgrade signals that the global virtual asset industry is shifting from a "price-rising" cycle to an "infrastructure-building" phase. This is significant because Wall Street is beginning to see Coinbase's value in its infrastructure and platform capabilities, rather than just trading volume. As tokenization and on-chain finance accelerate their penetration into the institutional landscape, Coinbase's mid- to long-term position is likely to become even more robust.
