Coinbase Global (COIN) shares rallied as much as 4.5% in premarket trading on Monday, January 5, 2026, after Goldman Sachs upgraded the cryptocurrency exchange to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and raised its price target to $303 from $294. The upgrade comes after a challenging 12-month period that saw COIN shares decline 13% while the S&P 500 gained 15%.
The bullish call follows CEO Brian Armstrong’s New Year’s announcement outlining an ambitious 2026 roadmap to transform Coinbase into an “everything exchange” spanning crypto, equities, prediction markets, and commodities.
Goldman Sachs Upgrades Coinbase, Citing Structural Growth
Goldman Sachs analyst James Yaro described Coinbase as a “best-in-class play” on the growth of crypto infrastructure, highlighting the company’s scale and brand recognition as key drivers of above-average revenue growth and market share gains.
The analyst noted that Coinbase’s underperformance over the past year has created an attractive entry point for investors, with higher valuations expected as the company transitions from cyclical to structural growth patterns.
Yaro emphasized that recent product launches have enhanced the competitiveness of Coinbase’s core business while positioning the company for expansion into new structural growth products. The firm’s subscription and services businesses have grown from less than 5% of revenue in 2020 to approximately 40% in 2025, with further robust growth of 13% annually expected through 2027. These offerings, including custody, stablecoins, staking, and prime brokerage, are less sensitive to crypto trading volumes and should help reduce earnings volatility over time.
Bitcoin traded around $91,440 on Sunday, keeping crypto-linked equities in focus heading into Monday’s market open. Retail sentiment around Coinbase improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, with the stock trending among the top tickers on Stocktwits as traders digested the Goldman upgrade and Armstrong’s strategic vision.
Coinbase Outlines 2026 Push Into Multi-Asset Trading
CEO Brian Armstrong outlined three key priorities for 2026 in a New Year’s post, with the first being to “grow the everything exchange globally” across crypto, equities, prediction markets, and commodities. At Coinbase’s December ‘System Update’ keynote event, the company announced plans to introduce stock trading that allows users to transact directly using their platform balance, including USD Coin. Coinbase also revealed a partnership with Kalshi to support prediction markets, following similar moves by competitors Robinhood and Gemini.
Armstrong’s second priority focuses on scaling stablecoins and payments, which could provide additional fee revenue streams beyond traditional trading. His third priority emphasizes bringing more activity “onchain” through Coinbase’s developer tools and Base, its Ethereum-based network designed for faster and cheaper transactions. This strategy aims to deepen Coinbase’s role beyond brokerage-style trading into broader crypto infrastructure.
However, the expansion plan carries execution and regulatory risks. Rolling out equities and commodity products at scale would likely require additional licenses and could invite heavier regulatory scrutiny. The company’s transaction fee model remains heavily dependent on crypto price volatility, making the diversification strategy critical for long-term revenue stability.
Traders are also watching Coinbase’s international strategy, including India’s Competition Commission recently approving the company’s acquisition of a minority stake in CoinDCX, signaling engagement with one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets.
Wall Street Sees Upside as Coinbase Enters 2026
Goldman Sachs’ $303 price target implies approximately 28% upside from Friday’s close of $236.53. However, not all analysts share the same optimism – Needham lowered its price target on Coinbase to $290 from $400 last week, citing anticipated weakness in crypto volumes over the next couple of quarters. Despite the divergence, Koyfin data shows the average analyst price target stands at $365.17, suggesting potential upside of about 54% from COIN’s Friday close.
The next major test for Coinbase will be its fourth-quarter earnings report, with Wall Street Horizon listing an unconfirmed date of February 19 after market close. Investors will focus on transaction activity levels, subscription-and-services revenue growth, and management’s commentary on how quickly new products can contribute meaningfully to the top line. With Bitcoin’s direction remaining a key driver of customer activity and quarterly revenue, the trajectory of crypto prices in early 2026 will be closely watched.
The stock’s premarket rally on Monday put shares back within reach of the $240 level, an area where COIN struggled to maintain support in late December. As Coinbase pushes into the crowded retail brokerage space alongside established players like Robinhood, execution on Armstrong’s multi-asset vision will be critical to justifying Goldman’s bullish stance and sustaining the stock’s momentum through what promises to be a pivotal year for the company.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
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