Coinbase upgraded to Neutral while bitcoin rises above $52K
Coinbase (COIN) shares are jumping Thursday as JPMorgan analysts upgrade the crypto exchange's stock to Neutral as bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbs back above $52,000. Yahoo Finance Live examines patterns in cryptocurrency trading as a result of January's spot bitcoin ETF listings.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: Coinbase shares pop as JPMorgan upgrades the stock to neutral. The move comes as a reflection of the surge in Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency prices. Bitcoin prices hitting $52,000 as it regains its $1 trillion market cap here.
It should be $2 trillion market cap there for the overall cryptocurrency market here. I'll check back in on that in just a hot second, but that's at least where I saw it this morning. But as we're thinking about what the catalysts are for not just Coinbase but also for Bitcoin at whole, we continue to talk at length about what's the event of the Bitcoin halving could mean more largely.
But also, for the crypto market cap as a whole, what the filing of Ethereum ETFs could also mean for so much more attention and investability. We saw how that played out in Robinhood's earnings as well this week, too. So, that perhaps one of the other major catalysts here to watch.
RACHELLE AKUFFO: I did think it was interesting that SEC Gary Gensler chair saying, really trying to temper expectations about ETF spot futures coming into play in the same way that they saw with spot Bitcoin ETFs. Saying really making it a one-case situation when it comes to Bitcoin. Didn't seem that convinced about spot Ethereum ETFs.
It is a very different beast. As we mentioned, it's both the coin, the token, and the blockchain that it runs on. So it is a lot more nuanced than focusing on it as a token. And we continue to see Gensler focus on it as the exception and not necessarily the rule. So something to keep in mind when we're sort of comparing Bitcoin and the potential for Ethereum as well.
BRAD SMITH: And just the context within the Coinbase call as well that JPMorgan made here, just to conclude with that, they said, in their opinion, they think this Bitcoin appreciation is contributing to better spot Bitcoin ETF flows, which is, in turn, driving Bitcoin prices higher and pulling other tokens higher as well. That related to the crypto landscape here. And again, they also did cite some of the meaningful Bitcoin price appreciation really pointing back to the US Bitcoin spot ETFs.
It was initially a sell at the news event though, they did note, within this as well and within this call. So, ultimately, we'll see exactly how the Street continues to react to this JPMorgan upgrade to neutral from underweight. New price target, $80 here for Coinbase.
