Forget Tech Stocks: The Crypto Infrastructure Play Wall Street Is Overlooking

According to galore Wall Street analysts, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) is thing much than a cryptocurrency exchange. When markets are up, Coinbase performs well. When markets are down, Coinbase performs poorly.

But possibly it's not that simple. From my perspective, Coinbase is the crypto infrastructure play Wall Street is overlooking. If that's the case, past it could beryllium importantly undervalued.

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The word "crypto infrastructure" tin mean a batch of antithetic things to a batch of antithetic people. For me, it refers to each the foundational technologies that powerfulness the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. And it's present that Coinbase continues to play an important role, processing the technologies, tools, and platforms for some retail and organization investors.

A bully illustration present is Coinbase's motorboat of the Base blockchain successful August 2023. Many radical whitethorn not recognize it, but Coinbase was the archetypal publically traded institution to physique its ain blockchain.

Since that time, Base -- a Layer-2 scaling web for Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) -- has truly taken off. Over the past 2 years, Base has go a mode to experimentation with decentralized concern (DeFi), real-world plus (RWA) tokenization, and payments for artificial quality (AI) agents.

In addition, Coinbase launched a caller "Everything Exchange" strategy successful December that volition importantly grow the fig of assets that tin beryllium traded 24/7. That volition pb to tens of thousands of assets trading connected Coinbase, alternatively than conscionable hundreds. And that could supply a immense boost for gross and profitability for years to come.

Case successful point: Coinbase precocious launched banal and ETF trading for U.S. customers. And the institution precocious partnered with Kalshi to connection prediction markets for customers.

As further impervious of Coinbase's crypto infrastructure ambitions, it has moved into offering Crypto-as-a-Service (CAAS) to fiscal institutions, enabling them to physique retired their integer plus offerings. The institution has besides leaned hard into the crypto ETF inclination by becoming the "digital vault" for Wall Street's crypto exchange-traded funds.

Admittedly, Coinbase banal has been underperforming. It's down 20% successful 2026. Investors, spooked by the abrupt driblet successful the terms of cryptocurrencies specified arsenic Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), person seemingly moved connected to amended opportunities elsewhere.