Clear Street has placed Coinbase among its top three fintech stock picks for 2026, alongside Nasdaq and S&P Global, positioning the exchange as a key beneficiary of structural shifts in digital finance. Clear Street maintains a Buy rating and a $415 price target for Coinbase, tying the call to tokenization, a recovery in IPO activity, and easing interest rates.
The thesis is anchored in Coinbase’s positioning at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain-based services. Clear Street analyst Owen Lau argues Coinbase is diversifying beyond spot trading through recurring revenue streams, including subscriptions, expanded on-chain services, and its role in the USDC ecosystem where it shares revenue with Circle. The note also points to Coinbase’s tokenization platform and planned product extensions, including payments, derivatives, prediction markets, an integrated “superapp,” and AI-driven tools.
Coinbase’s growth levers beyond spot trading
Lau frames 2026 as a “transition year” for crypto equities, with investor focus shifting away from pure spot-volume sensitivity. He describes 2026 as the point where measurable real-world adoption and utility become the core performance markers for crypto-linked equities. Clear Street also cites Coinbase’s strong balance sheet and international footprint as factors that can help cushion ongoing volatility.
Nasdaq is included with a $108 target on the view that a rebound in IPO issuance would directly benefit exchange operators. Clear Street highlights Nasdaq’s application to trade tokenized stocks as a strategic alignment with future digital securities markets. S&P Global is selected for its foundational role in data, analytics, indices, and credit ratings, which are expected to see stronger demand if IPO activity recovers and capital markets normalize.
Macro catalysts behind the top-three pick list
The three-stock selection is tied to three drivers: accelerating tokenization, an anticipated rebound in IPOs, and an environment of easing interest rates. Clear Street also flags prospective U.S. legislation on crypto market structure and stablecoins as a potential catalyst that could shift sentiment and valuation multiples across the sector. “This is a transition year,” Owen Lau wrote, emphasizing the move from volume-centric metrics toward tangible adoption signals.
Clear Street’s top-three fintech framing highlights incumbents with infrastructure roles and product roadmaps that extend into tokenized and on-chain markets. Coinbase is singled out for a broadening revenue mix and platform ambitions that are positioned to carry performance beyond cyclical trading volumes.
