Coinbase shares jump after Goldman Sachs upgrades stock

Coinbase shares rose eight percent after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock from neutral to buy and raised its 12-month price target.

Goldman Sachs analyst James Yaro said the bank has selective optimism around US brokers and structurally growing crypto infrastructure firms such as Coinbase.

The bank lifted its price target on COIN to 303 dollars from 294 dollars, implying an 18 percent upside from current levels.

Yaro said Goldman Sachs prefers crypto firms focused on infrastructure, tokenisation, and prediction markets rather than pure trading activity.

Coinbase is expanding beyond trading as part of its diversification strategy, which Goldman Sachs sees as a key growth driver.

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong said the company is pursuing an “everything exchange” model with greater focus on stablecoins, broader services, and its Base layer-two network in 2026.

Coinbase has integrated prediction markets through a partnership with Kalshi to capitalise on one of the fastest-growing crypto sectors.

Yaro said Goldman Sachs expects wider crypto adoption in 2026 driven by regulatory progress and increased institutional participation.

Our base case includes further crypto regulatory reform, catalysing broader crypto adoption and use cases beyond trading, particularly among institutions.

James Yaro said.

He warned that failure to pass US crypto market structure legislation could pose a significant risk to industry growth.

At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $3,224.14.