© Reuters
Investing.com — A recent surge in digital asset prices to all-time highs has supported increased trading volumes and retail investor participation at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:), according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.
In a note to clients on Thursday upgrading their rating of the stock to “Neutral” from “Sell,” the analysts noted that daily volumes at Coinbase have “reached levels not seen since 2021.” The analysts were now estimating that the trend will push up Coinbase’s annual revenues by 48% and increase core earnings by 114%.
“[O]ur analysis suggests much of the recent price action has been driven by elevated retail participation (we estimate roughly 20% of volumes), which fundamentally come in at much more attractive take rates for [Coinbase] (though we expect some downward pressure on retail take rates due to higher Advanced trade participation),” the Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
Earlier this week, touched a fresh record high thanks in large part to steady capital flows into recently-approved U.S. spot exchange-traded funds and anticipation of an upcoming “halving” event.
The token has risen more than four-fold from a low of about $15,000 hit in November 2022, in the aftermath of the high-profile collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Bitcoin also surged about 150% in 2023.