According to Goldman Sachs analyst James Yaro, the key driver behind the upgrade is Coinbase’s revised strategic focus. He noted that the company’s shift away from reliance on trading fees toward building crypto infrastructure — including custody services, staking, and stablecoins — points to more stable and predictable revenue growth.
Over the past year, Coinbase has actively diversified its revenue streams. In May 2025, Brian Armstrong’s company acquired derivatives exchange Deribit for a record $2.9 billion. This was followed in October by the purchase of token sales platform ECHO for $375 million, and shortly before Christmas, Coinbase announced the acquisition of prediction markets startup The Clearing Company.
The new strategy is already reflected in the company’s financial results. Revenue from the “Subscriptions and Services” segment reached $747 million in the third quarter of 2025, compared with just $145 million in the same quarter of 2021.
Overall, Yaro points to the “maturation of the crypto ecosystem,” with Coinbase, in his view, positioned at its forefront. Against this backdrop, Goldman Sachs raised its price target for COIN shares from $294 to $303. At the time of publication, the stock is trading around $254, implying potential upside of roughly 20%. Since the start of the year, Coinbase shares have already gained about 11%.
