In brief
- Coinbase stock is down 34% so far in 2026 as Bitcoin and other assets lose value.
- The firm will report earnings Thursday, and has asked analysts for questions in advance.
- Analysts have recently slashed their COIN price targets, but remain optimistic.
Recent crypto market volatility hasn't been kind to crypto exchange Coinbase.
At the time of writing, COIN has lost 8% since the opening bell on Wednesday and was changing hands for about $149 per share. The stock has now dropped 34% since the start of the year, according to Yahoo Finance.
"Obviously been a bit of a bloodbath," Argus Research analyst Kevin Heale told Decrypt.
Heale added that he's been watching to see if retail and leveraged investors come back into the market. In the meantime, he said that for Thursday's Coinbase earnings call, the company has asked that analysts submit their questions ahead of time.
"First time I have seen that with companies that I cover," Heale added.
Coinbase did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt about the switch. It's not unheard of that a company would ask for questions to be submitted before an earnings call.
Publicly traded companies sometimes ask analysts to submit questions in advance of an earnings call to help management prepare more detailed responses, manage time constraints, or ensure compliance with disclosure rules. In some cases, advance submission can also reduce the likelihood of off-the-cuff remarks that might move markets or create legal risk.
In October, Coinbase beat its Q3 estimates and reported more than $1 billion in transaction revenue. But the recent crypto market drawdown has analysts feeling pessimistic.
On Tuesday, analysts at JPMorgan downgraded their price estimates for crypto exchange Coinbase, citing lower crypto trading volumes, a significant drop in the total crypto market capitalization in Q4, and falling USDC circulation.
"We reiterate our overweight rating, and our Dec. 2026 price target falls to $290 after marking our model to current crypto prices," the Wall Street analysts wrote in a note shared with Decrypt. The bank's analysts were previously calling for a $399 price target by the end of 2026.
Coinbase reports its Q4 2025 after the market closes on Thursday.
While justifying their reduced price target, JPMorgan analysts flagged growing competition as a source of concern.
"We view global crypto spot trading as highly fragmented, with dozens of smaller players threatening Coinbase’s market share," they wrote. "We think this risk is especially relevant and pertinent now as we see more crypto exchanges threatening the regulated monopoly that Coinbase has enjoyed as the only publicly-traded crypto exchange over the last roughly four years as more exchanges come public. If Coinbase were to lose market share, the stock would underperform."
Cantor Fitzgerald analysts also cut their COIN price target this week—from $277 to $221—while maintaining an overweight rating. And last week, Citi trimmed its own COIN price target from $505 to $400, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
In the past year, crypto exchange OKX and Kraken have signaled that they're pursuing a public listing in the U.S. And competitor Gemini made its $4.4 billion debut on the Nasdaq in September.
Bitcoin has fallen 27% over the last month to a recent price of $66,853, with major altcoins like Ethereum and XRP showing larger losses during the same span. The price of Bitcoin has dropped by 47% since peaking above $126,000 last October.