According to many Wall Street analysts, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN ) Nothing more than a cryptocurrency exchange. When markets are up, Coinbase performs well. When markets are down, Coinbase performs poorly.
But maybe it’s not that simple. In my view, Coinbase is the crypto infrastructure play Wall Street sees. If this is the case, it may be significantly undervalued.
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The term “crypto infrastructure” can mean many different things to many different people. To me, it refers to all the underlying technologies that power the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. And it is here that Coinbase plays an important role, developing technologies, tools and platforms for both retail and institutional investors.
A good example here is Coinbase’s launch of the Base Blockchain in August 2023. Many people may not know this, but Coinbase was the first publicly traded company to create its own blockchain.
Since then, the base — layer-2 measurement network Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) — is really out. Over the past two years, Base has become a way to experiment with decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world asset tokenization (RWA), and payments for artificial intelligence (AI) agents.
In addition, Coinbase launched a new “everything exchange” strategy in December that will significantly expand the number of assets that can be traded 24/7. This will result in tens of thousands of assets being traded on Coinbase, rather than hundreds of thousands. And it can provide a huge boost to revenue and profits for years to come.
Case in point: Coinbase recently launched stock and ETF trading for US customers. And the company recently partnered with Kalshi to offer customers prediction markets.
As further proof of Coinbase’s crypto infrastructure ambitions, it has moved to offer crypto-as-a-service (CAAS) to financial institutions, enabling them to create their own digital asset offerings. The company has also leaned heavily on the crypto ETF trend by becoming the “digital wallet” for Wall Street’s crypto exchange-traded funds.
Admittedly, Coinbase stock has weakened. It is reduced by 20% in 2026. Investors are scared by the sudden drop in the price of cryptocurrencies viz Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)have apparently moved on to better opportunities elsewhere.
