Goldman Sachs Flips Bullish: COIN Upgrade Sparks 8% Coinbase Stock Surge

Wall Street's mood just shifted. A major upgrade from Goldman Sachs sent Coinbase shares rocketing—proof that even traditional finance giants are finally warming up to crypto's infrastructure play.

The Catalyst: From Neutral to Buy

Forget subtle adjustments. Goldman Sachs didn't just nudge its rating—it executed a full pivot, upgrading COIN from Neutral to a straight Buy. That kind of move from a tier-one bank isn't a whisper; it's a shout heard across trading floors. It signals a fundamental reassessment of the exchange's trajectory and its role as a regulated gateway to digital assets.

Market Reaction: Instant Validation

The market's response was immediate and decisive. An 8% jump in share price isn't just a polite nod; it's a surge of capital voting with its wallet. It reflects a growing consensus that crypto-native companies with scale and compliance chops are becoming indispensable, not just speculative bets. The move likely triggered a cascade of algorithmic trading and forced other institutional desks to reconsider their own positions.

The Bigger Picture: Legitimacy Through a Wall Street Lens

This isn't really about a single stock pop. It's about validation through the most traditional filter possible: sell-side analyst research. When a firm like Goldman puts a Buy rating on a crypto cornerstone, it sends a message to a whole class of investors who've been waiting for permission to engage. It frames crypto accessibility as a viable, analyzable equity story—not just a token price chart.

Of course, the cynical take is that Wall Street only embraces an asset class once it's built the doors, windows, and toll booths to profit from everyone walking in. But for now, the momentum is undeniable. The upgrade underscores a simple truth: in the digitization of finance, the toll-bridge operators might just be the safest bet on the river.

Coinbase Shares End Day Up 8%, Goldman Sees 18% Upside

Coinbase closed the session up 8%, trading at $254.92 at the time of writing, with little movement during after-hours trading. At current levels, Goldman’s revised target implies upside of roughly 18%.

Yaro highlighted Coinbase’s efforts to expand beyond spot crypto trading, pointing to initiatives in infrastructure, tokenization, and prediction markets as potential growth drivers.

The analyst noted that companies able to generate revenue across multiple segments of the crypto economy may be better positioned as the market matures.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has recently reinforced that strategy, describing the firm’s ambition to become an “everything exchange.”

According to Armstrong, Coinbase plans to prioritize stablecoins, broaden its exchange offerings, and continue scaling its ethereum layer-2 network, Base, heading into 2026.

GS upgrade $COIN from neutral to BUY.
"Selectively more optimistic on crypto."
"Shift to structural growth through growing derivatives business, best-in-class crypto infrastructure businesses, and new, secularly growing products, particularly tokenization/prediction markets" pic.twitter.com/9vuBZR1ICX

The company has already taken steps in that direction. Earlier this year, Coinbase integrated prediction markets into its platform through a partnership with Kalshi, aiming to tap into one of the fastest-growing crypto sectors in 2024.

Goldman’s outlook extends beyond Coinbase. In his report, Yaro said the bank expects broader crypto adoption in 2026, driven by increased participation from both retail and institutional investors.

He pointed to regulatory developments in the U.S. as a potential catalyst, particularly ongoing efforts to establish clearer market structure rules.

“Our base case includes further crypto regulatory reform, catalyzing broader adoption and use cases beyond trading, especially among institutions,” Yaro wrote.

He added, however, that failure to pass key legislation, including a draft crypto market structure bill in Congress, could pose a significant headwind for the sector.

According to TipRanks data, Yaro has a 62% success rate on stock ratings, with an average annual return of nearly 16%, lending additional weight to the upgrade.

Coinbase Launches Singapore Business Platform

As reported, Coinbase has launched Coinbase Business in Singapore, marking the crypto exchange’s first international rollout of its business-focused operating platform.

The MOVE gives local startups and small businesses access to instant USDC payments, global transfers, automated accounting integrations, and a suite of tools designed for companies that manage digital assets day to day.

The debut builds on Coinbase’s collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore through the BLOOM Initiative, which focuses on improving compliant cross-border digital payments.

The platform offers USDC-based global payouts, lower-cost international transactions, and an API for automated payroll and vendor management, all backed by real-time SGD banking rails via Standard Chartered.

Coinbase said the launch supports Singapore’s fast-growing innovation economy by offering a full financial stack that blends fiat and crypto under clear regulatory standards.