Coinbase stock is traded under the stock symbol (COIN: NASDAQ). Get real-time stock quotes, prices, news, and financial information. Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, with over 43 million investors scattered across more than 100 countries worldwide. In case you haven’t heard, cryptocurrencies are one of the hottest investments.
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Enter Coinbase, a San Francisco-based company founded by a former Airbnb engineer and a former trader who worked for Goldman Sachs. The two set out to create an easier way for investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on an open exchange. They came up with Coinbase back in June of 2012.
Today, Coinbase is one of the main crypto exchanges in the world and reported annual revenue around $1.3 billion. Yeah, that’s some major cash. The exchange also announced that it saw $193 billion worth of transactions, representing a 141% year-over-year increase.
What Are Cryptocurrencies?
Hey, we get it; not everyone is into cryptocurrencies. They’re often seen as volatile and trivial, and maybe they are. But the true value behind cryptocurrencies is in their technology: the Blockchain.
We’re sure you have heard of the Blockchain before, but for most people, it’s such a vague concept that they’ve never really put the effort into learning what it is.
Knowing and understanding the Blockchain lets you quickly realize why cryptocurrencies are so sought after. Blockchain is a digital ledger or record that uses cryptography to keep track of and legitimize transactions.
Once a transaction has taken place on the Blockchain, it cannot be altered. And it’s stored in that particular block or hash forever. If one block is altered, the rest of the chain is, too. It makes it easy to see if there was an error or suspicious activity.
Originally, the Blockchain was created as a ledger for Bitcoin. Its true creator or creators used the name Satoshi Nakamoto as a pseudonym. The true inventors and identity of Satoshi Nakamoto have yet to be confirmed.
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that use Blockchain technology to keep track of transactions and are known as fungible assets. Blockchain is also used for NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens, which are unique, unlike cryptocurrencies, which can be traded back and forth but are not identical despite holding the same value. Popular examples of NFTs now are NBA Top Shots, digital art, and even virtual real estate.
Currently, the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap are:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Cardano
- Tether
- Binance Coin
- Polkadot
- XRP
- Litecoin
- Chainlink
- Stellar
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Coinbase Stock Competition
With the prominence of cryptocurrencies in the investing world, it should be no surprise that the Coinbase IPO will have much competition. While Coinbase is the largest and most well-known crypto exchange in the United States, it’s far from the largest exchange in the world. Let’s take a look at a few crypto exchanges that are competing with Coinbase.
Binance: The largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume was founded in 2017 by Fusion Systems founder Changpeng Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian software developer. In terms of operations, Binance is a highly unregulated exchange that operates out of Malta. Previous headquarters were in China, Japan, and Taiwan. Binance has over 100 million users worldwide and has been making headlines as CEO Changpeng Zhao has been mired in allegations of fraud.
Huobi: Huobi is a crypto exchange based out of China and has been a publicly traded company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2018. They’re the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume and were founded by Leon Li, a former Oracle computer engineer. Huobi suffered a major blow when China banned cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges in 2017. But it does still operate in many countries around the world.
Kraken: Kraken is another popular American crypto exchange based in San Francisco. It’s the fourth largest crypto exchange after Binance, Huobi, and Coinbase. It offers 60 different cryptocurrencies to invest in, more than the 46 offered by Coinbase Pro. Kraken was founded in 2011 as a replacement for an older exchange called Mt. Gox, which closed after a security breach.
Coinbase Stock vs Square
Square (NYSE: SQ): Yes, that Square. The fintech disruptor run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently made a highly publicized leap into cryptocurrency by allowing users of its Cash App to buy, sell, and use Bitcoin as a currency.
Square also bought several hundred million dollars worth of Bitcoin as a business investment over the past few months. And Dorsey is a known fan of cryptocurrencies and believes in their long-term viability as a legitimate currency.
So, seeing how a Coinbase IPO helps or hinders Square in the coming months will be interesting. You can trade on the Square app and run a business from it. So, it’s multidimensional.
Is It Too Late to Buy Coinbase Stock?
Determining whether it is too late to buy Coinbase stock requires considering various factors and opinions. Some sources suggest different perspectives on buying Coinbase stock.
Firstly, let’s take a look at The Motley Fool’s opinion. The Motley Fool wasn’t wrong in their statement that Coinbase had crushed the 2023 market. However, as far as what 2024 will bring, unless one has a crystal ball, it’s a complete toss-up. Frankly, it’s hard to make an informed decision with the unpredictability of the crypto prices.
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Is It Worth the Valuation?
That remains to be seen. As long as cryptocurrencies remain popular, exchanges such as Coinbase will continue to thrive. Coinbase isn’t exactly tied to the value of cryptos because it makes most of its revenues on transaction charges. However, it also “makes money” on holding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in its accounts.
For as many crypto enthusiasts as there are in the investing world, there are just as many, if not more, skeptics. Could crypto be a fad? Maybe, but it has attracted enough retail and institutional investors to ensure that companies like Coinbase will be relevant for the long term.
If you believe in financials, then Coinbase is an intriguing investment. For such a young company in the fintech space, Coinbase is already profitable, turning in a profit of $322 million during the crypto boom in 2020. Profit margins are already estimated to be around 20%.
Year-over-year revenue growth is surging at an impressive 140% rate. With a $100 billion valuation, Coinbase would debut on Wall Street, trading between 50 and 100 times the previous year’s sales. But such is the environment where high-growth, unprofitable tech stocks are trading at sky-high multiples.
Remember, though, Coinbase is already profitable. Unless you can see the crypto craze fading away shortly, its profitability should continue to increase yearly. Nonetheless, $COIN is being heavily shorted by traders using intraday short-selling strategies.
Is Coinbase Stock a Buy or Sell?
A year ago, (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler was seemingly on the warpath against Coinbase. That was the right time to buy COIN stock. Now that the sentiment is overwhelmingly bullish, I don’t recommend investing in Coinbase.
Emotionally and psychologically, buying Coinbase stock is easy when everybody and his uncle predict higher prices. Yet, the crux of contrarianism is to do what’s not easy. Always remember that every publicly available piece of news is already baked into asset prices. Consequently, overeager Coinbase investors must reconsider their positions before it’s too late.
Zacks, a financial research firm, provides a stock rating 1 for Coinbase. According to their proprietary data, a Rank of 1 suggests an above-average return expectation for COIN shares. However, it is important to note that Zacks’ rating is based on their analysis and may not reflect future performance.
In addition, Coinbase Global, Inc. has a VGM Score of F. If you didn’t know, F is a weighted average of the individual Style Scores. This score matters because it lets you focus on the stocks that best fit your trading style.
On the other hand, Coinbase has a Value Score of F, indicating it would be a bad pick for value investors. COIN’s financial health and growth prospects demonstrate its potential to underperform the market.
Finally, recent price changes and earnings estimate revisions indicate this would be a good stock for momentum investors with a Momentum Score of A.
Considering these sources, it is clear that opinions on buying Coinbase stock may differ.
Final Thoughts
Cryptocurrencies represent the perfect confluence of high-pace, tech-driven investing that the internet generation has become so fond of. Bitcoin has already provided exponential, life-changing growth over the past few years.
They recently became the first cryptocurrency to hit a market cap of $1 trillion. Considering only companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) have a valuation of $1 trillion, it’s impressive.
The supporters are rapidly starting to overtake the skeptics as massive corporations like Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Square (NYSE: SQ), PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Mastercard (NYSE: MA), and even Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) have all bought stakes in Bitcoin during the recent bull run. You can be sure more companies will join this list sooner rather than later as firms look for diversified investment vehicles.
This all spells good news for a Coinbase IPO moving forward. This will be expensive for retail investors, a little akin to the IPOs of tech giants Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) and Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW). But in the long term, Coinbase stock could be one of the largest recipients of the continued popularity of cryptocurrencies. The bottom line is always following the charts. Is it bullish vs bearish? That is the number one thing a trader needs to know before they enter the trade!
Frequently Asked Questions
Coinbase Jumped 418% in 2023 and Could Have a Huge 2024. According to Coincodex, Coinbase stock could surge over 410% to $747 per share. This jump is because they complied with regulatory requirements, positioning them to inherit Binance's customers.
he stock ticker symbol for Coinbase Global, Inc. is "COIN".
Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) is a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The stock ticker symbol for Coinbase Global, Inc. is "COIN".
What is Coinbase's valuation? In 2021, when Coinbase went public through a direct listing, it was valued at nearly $100 billion.
Just like you buy shares in other stocks:
- Open a brokerage account: You'll need to open a brokerage account with a reputable brokerage firm that offers access to the stock market.
- Fund your account: After opening the brokerage account, you must deposit funds to buy Coinbase shares. Most brokers offer multiple funding options, such as bank transfers or credit/debit card payments.
- Log into your brokerage account, search for Coinbase's stock symbol (COIN), and place your buy order.
Market Realist published an article on Coinbase's stock forecast for 2025. The article mentions that five analysts covering Coinbase stock have a buy or equivalent rating, with a median target price of $500.1
Invezz provides a stock forecast for Coinbase, suggesting that the company's long-term destiny will become more apparent by 2025, and new areas of its business model may diversify its operations.
