According to Citi Group analysts, Coinbase shares are expected to be positively impacted by a prospective “crypto-friendly” administration.
Citi, an investment bank, has raised its share price target for Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange. The bank attributes this increase to a “shifting” political landscape and a recent Supreme Court decision in the United States, which it claims are favorable catalysts for the stock.
Citi analysts Peter Christiansen, David Wieloszynski, and Nicolette Radomski revised their guidance on Coinbase (COIN) from “neutral” at $260 to “buy” with a target of $345 in the upcoming months in a July 23 investor note that Cointelegraph viewed.
The investment bank expressed optimism regarding the recent surge of developments in the United States election contest, asserting that it resulted in an “improving regulatory landscape” for crypto assets.
Donald Trump On Crypto
Donald Trump, the former president and Republican nominee, has emphasized the importance of Bitcoin and crypto in his election campaign. He has pledged to end the “war on crypto” under the Biden administration, prohibit CBDC, and enhance protections for Bitcoin miners in the United States.
The “balance of power” has now skewed in favor of Coinbase and digital asset firms despite the increasing number of SEC enforcement actions against crypto firms, including Coinbase, according to Citi analysts.
Citi analysts also observed that the “risk/reward setup” for owning Coinbase shares was elevated by the repeal of the Chevron Defense Doctrine, in addition to the potential for a crypto-friendly administration in the United States.
Joshua Simmons, a partner at Wiley Rein, described the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Chevron Defence Doctrine, which had been in effect for 40 years, as a “game changer” for regulating cryptocurrency in the United States. The decision was made on June 28.
Courts can no longer defer to an agency’s interpretation of statutes due to ambiguous laws, as Chevron has been overruled. Consequently, they are obligated to apply their judgment when interpreting statutes. According to Citi analysts, Coinbase’s ongoing litigation with the regulator could prove advantageous.
The analysts wrote, “We are not legal experts, but the decision does raise questions about the SEC’s interpretation of the Howey test, which is a critical criterion for determining whether an asset is an investment contract. Some argue that the test is no longer an infallible construct in their prosecution.”
Furthermore, the investment bank observed the augmented user base of Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base and anticipated the introduction of spot Ether ETFs as an additional revenue stream for the crypto exchange in the future.
“We believe that COIN could also benefit from a potential US crypto catchup against relatively higher on-chain activity/liquidity that has developed abroad, in addition to industry/crypto market exposure,” the analysts stated.