Bank of America has upgraded Coinbase to a “buy,” citing the exchange’s efforts to broaden its business beyond cryptocurrency trading and build a more diversified financial platform.
In a research note released Thursday, BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler said Coinbase (COIN) is moving toward an “everything exchange” model, where users could eventually trade stocks, transact in digital assets, send payments, and participate in prediction markets within a single application.
The bank pointed to several initiatives unveiled at Coinbase’s December product event, including plans for 24/5 trading in U.S. equities and ETFs tied to S&P 500 companies, the launch of equity perpetuals internationally in 2026, and the addition of prediction markets through a partnership with Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated exchange.
Coinbase is also expanding its derivatives offering. Earlier Thursday, the company said futures contracts linked to copper and platinum will begin trading on January 26.
BofA said the broader product mix should deepen customer engagement while reducing Coinbase’s reliance on crypto trading volumes, which remain closely linked to price movements in assets such as bitcoin BTC $90,630.47.
Beyond centralized trading, the bank highlighted Coinbase’s growing investment in Base, its Ethereum layer-2 network. Although Base launched without a native token, management is now considering issuing one to promote decentralization and incentivize activity. BofA estimates a token launch could generate billions of dollars in proceeds while strengthening Coinbase’s push into decentralized finance.
Another growth initiative cited by the bank is Coinbase Tokenize, a platform designed to bring real-world assets such as private equity and real estate onto the blockchain. The offering aims to serve asset managers looking to reach younger, on-chain investors while benefiting from faster settlement and lower transaction costs.
Despite a roughly 40% decline in COIN shares from their July highs and an increase in short interest, Bank of America reiterated a $340 price target, implying close to 40% upside. The firm said Coinbase remains in the early stages of monetizing its expanded ecosystem and continues to stand out as the most regulated and trusted crypto-native company in the U.S.
While near-term earnings remain exposed to crypto market volatility, BofA said the longer-term investment case rests on Coinbase’s evolution into a comprehensive financial services platform.
