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Coinbase stock more than doubled so far in 2023.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Coinbase Global
stock has rocketed in 2023, and a bearish analyst wondered if bitcoin prices and volumes on the cryptocurrency-exchange platform are “Getting a
Divorce?”
Coinbase stock (ticker: COIN) have rocketed about130% this year. Shares have been lifted by news of a legal win by a crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments that paved the way for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Another ruling In July that said a token called XRP created by Ripple Labs didn’t qualify as securities transactions has also boosted Coinbase stock. Mizuho’s Dan Dolev has kept his Underperform rating Coinbase stock through it all, having downgrading from Neutral in December last year. His price target of $27 is a far cry from the $80.62 Coinbase stock closed at on Monday.
Dolev wrote in a Tuesday research report, “Is the saying: ‘as goes bitcoin, so goes COIN’ no longer valid? In the past, rising
bitcoin prices drove up retail engagement.”
He added, “Unlike in prior cycles, [fear of missing out] no longer entices investors to trade bitcoin when prices rise the way it did in prior years.”
Dolev wrote, “With retail accounting for 95% of trading revenue, we worry that the YTD rise in COIN’s stock is unsustainable. We expect a reality check to follow.”
The reality check he sees isn’t here yet. Coinbase stock is up 3.3% to $83.30 in Tuesday morning trading.
Coinbase didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com.