Of all the things I never thought I would say, “Coinbase is the new DOGE” is pretty high on the list. Cryptocurrency exchange superstar Coinbase (COIN) recently did just that, somehow, joining a coalition of operations going to California to help “…streamline state operations.” The move was bold enough for shareholders, as shares gained over 2.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Coinbase, along with elements from Ripple (XRP-USD) and MoonPay, will be part of the California Breakthrough Project, a move designed to help improve California by making it cost less to run. The coalition of tech giants will be working to “…pinpoint bottlenecks in procurement, hiring, and service delivery, propose challenge-based pilots, and maintain transparency and labor consultation throughout each project phase.”
Governor Gavin Newsom, noting that 32 of the 50 biggest AI companies on the planet currently operate out of California, connected the California Breakthrough Project to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and platforms. The coalition also has a limited time to deliver its recommendations, as each cabinet agency is required to submit “…one no- or low-cost efficiency proposal within 90 days.”
All This Lobbying and No Laws to Follow…Yet
The Trump administration is currently working on cryptocurrency regulation proposals, but this cannot come soon enough for Coinbase. Coinbase is eager to have regulation on its side so that it can better operate, and to that end, it recently put another $25 million into the Fairshake political action committee (PAC).
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal noted that “sensible rules” are “critically important,” and thus urged passage of not only the Genius Act—which relates to stablecoins—but also the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act and the Clarity Market Structure Act, reports noted. Grewal also noted, “It’s critically important that we make progress on these bills to preserve America’s competitiveness.”
Is Coinbase a Buy, Sell or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on COIN stock based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 55.77% rally in its share price over the past year, the average COIN price target of $313.14 per share implies 21.12% downside risk.
