Coinbase shares jumped on Wednesday after brokerage Bernstein raised its price target on the stock to $510, the highest among Wall Street analysts, pointing to the company’s unmatched breadth across trading, custody, stablecoins, and blockchain infrastructure. The shares were up by 5.8% at $365, the highest since 2021, after rising 12% in the previous session . However, it later gave up some of the gains and was up by 2% by 11 am New York time. In a note led by analyst Gautam Chhugani, Bernstein reiterated its Outperform rating and said Coinbase is “the most misunderstood company in our crypto coverage universe.” The new target represents a potential upside of nearly 48% from current levels. “It is the only crypto company in the S&P 500, dominates US crypto trading market, runs the largest stablecoin business among exchanges, dominates institutional crypto, acquired the largest global crypto options exchange, and runs the largest and fastest chain Base on Ethereum,” Bernstein said. ‘Amazon of crypto’: growth levers span far beyond trading Bernstein’s note detailed how Coinbase’s evolution from a retail exchange to what it called a “crypto universal bank” is being underestimated by investors. “Despite multiple growth levers, consensus remains bearish on the largest Crypto universal bank,” analysts wrote. While trading remains a core revenue driver, Coinbase’s non-trading income — including stablecoin interest, institutional custody, and staking — made up 42% of total revenue in 2024, up sharply from 14% in 2020. “COIN has also added several fast-growing businesses such as institutional custody, Base blockchain services, and Prime lending desk, thus, emerging as the ‘Amazon of crypto financial services’, offering crypto financial services beyond simple trading,” the analysts added. Bernstein now forecasts Coinbase will generate $9.5 billion in revenue in 2025, climbing to $12.7 billion in 2026 and reaching $14.1 billion by 2027. The projected growth is fuelled by rising activity in both trading—especially in perpetual futures—and expanding non-trading segments such as staking and stablecoin-related services. Bernstein also noted the company’s expansion into crypto derivatives, particularly with its $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange. That deal, the largest in the sector’s history, positions Coinbase to compete head-on with Binance in global derivatives trading. Legislative tailwinds and strong fundamentals add to the bull case Last week, Coinbase’s shares rallied , fuelled by the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, a bill that establishes federal oversight for US dollar-pegged stablecoins. Analysts expect the legislation, along with the upcoming CLARITY Act, to benefit Coinbase significantly as a regulatory-compliant market leader. Stablecoins have become Coinbase’s biggest revenue driver after trading, with stablecoin-related income surging 50% year-over-year in the first quarter. CEO Brian Armstrong has emphasized the importance of stablecoins as a pillar of long-term growth, even saying he hopes to see USDC surpass Tether as the leading global stablecoin. Bernstein raised its 2027 earnings estimate for Coinbase by 28% to $20.38 per share, attributing the revision to stronger operating leverage and expanding product lines. It now values the stock at 25 times projected 2027 earnings, up from its prior 21x multiple. Despite some analyst concerns around competitive pressures, Coinbase’s spot trading share rose to 7.8% in Q1, up from 7.2%, and its retail take rate remained steady at 140 basis points, suggesting customer trust outweighs lower pricing from rivals. The post Bernstein calls Coinbase 'the most misunderstood crypto stock', raises PT to $510 appeared first on Invezz
