Bank of America upgrades Coinbase as exchange expands beyond crypto

Bank of America upgraded Coinbase shares to a buy rating, citing its expansion into equities trading, prediction markets and broader financial services.

The bank said Coinbase is evolving into an “everything exchange” that could allow users to trade stocks, crypto, make payments and access prediction markets in one app.

Coinbase has announced plans for 24/5 equities and ETF trading, international equity perpetuals in 2026 and a prediction markets tab through its partnership with Kalshi.

The company also confirmed that futures trading for copper and platinum will launch on the platform later this month.

Bank of America said the strategy should reduce Coinbase’s reliance on crypto trading revenues tied to bitcoin price volatility.

Coinbase is considering launching a native token for its Ethereum layer-2 network Base to support decentralisation and user incentives.

The bank estimates a Base token could raise billions of dollars while strengthening Coinbase’s push into decentralised finance.

Coinbase is also rolling out Coinbase Tokenise to bring real-world assets such as private equity and property onto the blockchain.

Despite a sharp pullback in its share price, Bank of America maintained a $340 target, pointing to long-term growth potential.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $90,998.07.