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Goldman Sachs upgrades Coinbase to buy, cuts eToro to neutral
The bank said it is 'selectively constructive' on brokers and crypto companies heading into 2026.
Jan 5, 2026, 2:09 p.m.
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What to know:
- Goldman Sachs said it is "selectively constructive" on brokers and crypto for 2026, citing resilient retail trading and regulatory progress.
- James Yaro and team upgraded Coinbase (COIN) to buy while downgrading eToro (ETOR) to neutral.
- COIN shares were ahead more than 4% premarket, while ETOR stock dipped modestly.
Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs said it is “selectively constructive” on brokers and crypto companies heading into 2026, arguing that a resilient retail trading environment and continued regulatory progress should underpin growth.
"We expect the meeting of traditional retail brokerage and crypto trading to continue in 2026, driving increasing competition, potentially impacting market share and product pricing," analysts led by James Yaro wrote in the Monday report.
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The bank upgraded crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $303 from $294, implying more than 30% upside. Shares were 4.3% higher in early Monday trading alongside a Sunday night rally in crypto prices.
The bank downgraded eToro (ETOR) to neutral from buy and cut its price objective to $39 from $48. The stock was 1.2% lower at $35.27 in premarket trading.
Yaro and team continued with buy ratings on Robinhood (HOOD), Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and Figure Technology (FIGR).
Coinbase’s scale and brand strength are seen as key drivers of above-peer revenue growth and market share gains, said Yaro. He forecasted a 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue for COIN through 2027, compared to 8% for peers, supported by best-in-class customer acquisition costs.
Yaro and team also highlighted recent product launches across brokerage, banking, wealth and tokenization, saying they improve the firm’s competitiveness and position it to scale structurally growing areas such as prediction markets.
At the same time, the bank is constructive on Coinbase’s expanding subscription and services business, which now accounts for about 40% of revenue, expecting it to grow steadily and reduce earnings volatility as crypto use cases broaden beyond trading.
"While it continues to offer healthy growth, competition is intensifying across its core market and products, potentially driving higher customer acquisition costs and pricing, and impacting planned US expansion," the analysts said of eToro in their downgrade.
Read more: Citi is still a believer in crypto stocks despite bitcoin being rocked to end the year
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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