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Goldman Sachs Calls Coinbase a 'Tactical Trade,' Predicts Q2 Earnings Beat

The investment bank said in a client note that crypto price volatility could pay off for the exchange.

Updated May 9, 2023, 3:21 a.m. Published Jul 12, 2021, 9:22 p.m.
Coinbase, Nasdaq, direct listing

Coinbase is in position to beat Wall Street's estimates for its second-quarter financial results, according to a new Goldman Sachs memo that labels the crypto exchange a "top 25 tactical trade."

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Citing Goldman's "buy" rating for COIN, researchers on the investment bank’s derivatives team said in the note to clients that the recent parade of negative crypto headlines could paradoxically help lead to an earnings beat.

That’s because “significantly elevated crypto asset volatility” led to a boom in trading volume that Coinbase can profit from through fees, the note said. The new report pointed to a July 8 note by Goldman's Will Nance, which said that even if bitcoin's price stays low, skittish users paying high fees to trade is a lucrative position for the exchange.

In his note, Nance said that investors turned off by COIN’s post-listing slump – shares are down more than 25% from their peak – could start “reengaging in the coming quarters.” Coinbase listed its shares on Nasdaq in April.

Goldman acknowledged its earnings-per-share estimate for Coinbase is “11% above consensus” for the year ahead. The firm was a financial adviser to Coinbase's public listing in April.

Coinbase was trading down 2.5% Monday afternoon at $248 per share.

Correction (July 16, 14:21 UTC): Coinbase's second-quarter earnings call was not on July 15; the date has not been announced yet.

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote

Screenshot of Tom Lee on CoinDesk TV (CoinDesk)

The chairman of the former bitcoin miner-turned-ether treasury firm reiterated his view that Ethereum is the future of finance.

What to know:

  • Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), urged shareholders to approve an increase in the company's authorized share count from 500 million to 50 billion.
  • Lee assured shareholders that the increase is not intended to dilute shares, but instead to enable capital raising, dealmaking, and future share splits.
  • Shareholders have until January 14 to vote on the proposal, with the annual meeting scheduled for January 15 in Las Vegas.