Bitcoin pushing further into the mainstream could be laying the groundwork for crypto stock Coinbase to join the S & P 500 , according to Oppenheimer. “We are getting closer to a monumental turning point for blockchain development in the US,” analyst Owen Lau said in a note to clients late Sunday. “For investors who are looking to get exposure in blockchain for their portfolio, we believe COIN is an attractive option for long-term investment.” “We believe 1) increasing regulatory clarity, and 2) digital asset becoming mainstream can increase the chance that COIN will be included in S & P 500,” he added. “We are incrementally positive on our long term thesis of COIN.” Lau has an outperform rating on Coinbase and a price target of $282, which implies a roughly 12% increase from current levels. The use of crypto — for trading or otherwise — may not be widespread yet, but the bitcoin fever in the U.S. is high, as evidenced by former President Donald Trump giving remarks at the biggest industry conference of the year in Nashville over the weekend. Lau’s comments were part of a debrief of that event. Policy and regulation were priorities at the conference. Trump’s appearance put him in the company of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate; Cynthia Lummis, the pro-bitcoin Republican senator from Wyoming; and Ro Khanna, the Democratic representative from California. Coinbase went public in 2021. It has gained about 160% over the past year, outperforming the S & P 500 in that time. Over the past three years, however, shares are up just 3%, while the S & P 500 has gained 23%. The share price is correlated with the notoriously volatile bitcoin, but as the industry matures with regulated investing products such as exchange-traded funds and the development of other crypto-based use cases separate from trading, analysts and investors expect the cryptocurrency’s swings will ease.
