Bank of America upgrades Coinbase to ‘buy’ on broader growth beyond crypto markets

Bank of America has upgraded Coinbase to a “buy,” citing the company’s expanding product lineup and its push to evolve beyond a crypto-only trading platform.

In a research note released Thursday, BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler said Coinbase (COIN) is positioning itself as a broad-based financial marketplace, or an “everything exchange,” where users could eventually trade stocks, transact in crypto, send payments, and participate in prediction markets through a single interface.

The bank pointed to initiatives unveiled at Coinbase’s December product event, including plans to offer 24/5 trading in U.S. equities and ETFs linked to S&P 500 companies, the launch of equity perpetuals internationally in 2026, and the rollout of prediction markets via a partnership with Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated exchange.

Coinbase is also expanding its derivatives offerings. Earlier Thursday, the company announced it will introduce futures contracts tied to copper and platinum on January 26.

BofA said the expanding suite of products should deepen customer engagement and help diversify revenue away from crypto trading, which remains sensitive to price movements in assets such as bitcoin BTC $90,630.47.

Beyond its centralized exchange business, Coinbase is investing heavily in Base, its Ethereum layer-2 network. Although Base launched without a native token, management is now considering issuing one to encourage decentralization and drive activity. BofA estimates such a move could raise billions of dollars while strengthening Coinbase’s presence in decentralized finance.

Another growth pillar highlighted by the bank is Coinbase Tokenize, a platform designed to bring real-world assets like private equity and real estate onto the blockchain. The initiative targets asset managers looking to reach younger, digitally native investors while benefiting from faster settlement and lower transaction costs.

Despite a roughly 40% decline in COIN shares from their July peak 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 broader ecosystem and stands out as the most regulated and trusted crypto-native company in the U.S.

While Coinbase’s near-term performance remains exposed to crypto market volatility, BofA said the longer-term outlook centers on the company’s evolution into a full-scale financial services platform.