Benchmark Reiterates Coinbase as 'Buy' with $270 Price Target, Says It Is Successfully Outpacing Cyclical Crypto Broker Positioning

June 17: Benchmark has reaffirmed its Buy rating on Coinbase (COIN) following the firm’s Tuesday system update, keeping a $270 price target. At Tuesday’s close, Coinbase shares traded at $169.27, meaning Benchmark’s target implies roughly 59.5% upside. The update turbocharged Coinbase’s “everything exchange” strategy, rolling out tokenized U.S. stocks, stock and crypto options, pre-IPO perpetual futures, prediction markets, AI investment tools, custody and payment infrastructure, consumer financial products, and more. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer noted: “Yesterday’s update is the clearest sign yet that Coinbase is fast evolving from a cyclical crypto broker to an infrastructure platform bridging the gap between the fast-growing on-chain economy and the traditional financial system.” The Tuesday release also carries major regulatory weight, Benchmark highlighted. Last month, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) greenlit Coinbase as a regulated futures commission merchant (FCM), paving the way for the firm to offer U.S. customers global crypto perpetual futures and options via Dubai-based exchange Deribit—acquired by Coinbase for $2.9 billion last year. This CFTC nod backs Coinbase’s plan to unify liquidity across regions, letting U.S. and international customers access a broader suite of products through one platform. The firm’s push beyond spot crypto trading toward broader financial and on-chain infrastructure got a boost from Tuesday’s moves: new crypto binary contracts for prediction markets, the launch of Coinbase Advisor for U.S. Coinbase One subscribers, and infrastructure tools supporting AI agents and digital payments built on Base.