Coinbase Will Benefit From Stablecoin Boom, Stock Is a ‘Buy’: Benchmark

Investment banking firm Benchmark rated Coinbase a buy, penciling in a price target of $252 while initiating coverage of the crypto exchange in a Wednesday note that highlighted how “game-changing” legislation has buoyed the crypto industry.Coinbase was trading at $198, up more than 4%, early afternoon Wednesday, according to Benchmark analysts believe that Coinbase is well positioned to benefit from a “We believe most investors have yet to recognize or focus on the extent to which stablecoin and market structure legislation could cause significant expansions in COIN’s valuations,” they wrote, noting that the bills could broadly “reignite crypto market activity.”If stablecoin legislation is enacted within the next 90 days, as some members of Congress Coinbase Wall Street titans like Bank of America have Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald Benchmark’s note echoes Cantor’s analysts, who said that Coinbase is “one of the best ways to play stablecoin adoption” and that “the market is under-appreciating the opportunity that stablecoins have to meaningfully displace traditional cross-border payment rails.”Based on estimates that the market value of all stablecoins could reach $2 trillion by 2035, Cantor wrote that Coinbase’s stablecoin revenue could see a “12x increase” from $910 million.Although USDC has been lucrative for Coinbase, CEO Brian Armstrong isn’t satisfied. In February, he declared his company’s latest “Fostering “more partnerships” will be key to accelerating USDC’s market cap, Armstrong said, adding that the firm is adding “payments support” for the stablecoin across its product suite.Edited by James Rubin