Coinbase (COIN) shares rose as much as 4.6% after the company outlined a roadmap that included stock trading, AI-powered tools, tokenization, and stablecoin infrastructure in its year-end system update.
The stock rose as high as $255.41 in early trading Thursday and was recently priced at $249.48 after Wednesday’s announcement.
JP Morgan’s Kenneth Worthington said the event showed Coinbase expanding its reach by introducing more asset classes and tools to keep users engaged. He highlighted the introduction of US stock trading, perpetual stock futures for non-US users and the Coinbase Advisor product as signs the company is reshaping its core business.
“Coinbase’s announcements last night highlighted that it is offering its customers many more products to transact with,” he wrote Thursday, adding that the expansion “significantly increases” Coinbase’s total addressable market. While details on revenue were scarce, Worthington said he sees opportunities in both subscription-based and transaction-based models. He also highlighted the launch of branded stablecoins and the expansion of the base app as important steps towards long-term commitment.
JP Morgan rates Coinbase as Overweight with a price target of $244.19.
Read more: Coinbase launches stock trading, prediction markets and more in bid to become the ‘Everything Exchange’
Clear Street analyst Owen Lau had a similar view, calling the update a coordinated product expansion that marks Coinbase’s transition from a cryptocurrency-only exchange to a broader financial platform. He noted the addition of stock trading as a notable change, especially since the company had previously downplayed the idea. The move may indicate future plans to offer tokenized shares, Lau said.
He also highlighted the introduction of an AI-powered advisor. Lau said it could become a valuable tool to simplify investment decisions and increase customer retention, especially for less experienced users. He noted that direct deposit features and crypto loans could help Coinbase gain traction as a primary financial account, although competing with traditional banks for paycheck deposits will be a challenge.
Derivatives remain a critical part of the growth strategy, Lau wrote, citing the introduction of equity futures with up to 20x leverage and 24-hour market access. Because derivatives tend to generate greater volume and stability of revenue, Lau said they could help reduce the volatility of Coinbase’s earnings over time. Coinbase announced the $2.9 billion acquisition of crypto options exchange Deribit in May.
Clear Street has a Buy rating on Coinbase with a price target of $415.
Citi analysts, led by Peter Christiansen, said the upgrade is a milestone that expands access to new and traditional assets while developing payments, development tools and tokenization pathways that could deepen liquidity over time.
The event underscored Coinbase’s effort to expand access to a broader range of assets, which “deepens the platform’s competitive moat,” analysts led by Peter Christiansen wrote.
Analysts also pointed to payments and money transfers utility tied to the USDC stablecoin and newer x402 payments as steps to diversify revenue and enable new use cases such as agent commerce.
Updates to Coinbase’s development tools through CDP, along with efforts to connect on-chain functionality with traditional finance through tokenization and on- and off-ramps, reinforce the company’s ambition to be an “operating system” for on-chain activity, analysts said.
Citi called Coinbase’s “Everything Exchange” plan ambitious and said investors will need strong execution, including clearer disclosure about how it is executed, along with greater regulatory certainty to look beyond short-term volatility and focus on longer-term catalysts.
The bank said it remains convinced the upside is too significant to ignore and continues to see Coinbase’s category lead strengthen, maintaining its Buy rating and $505 price target.
Barclays, on the other hand, has the same weight rating on Coinbase with a price target of $291.
