While JPMorgan has raised its price target for Coinbase stock, the bank also estimates that a BASE token could reach a market cap of $34 billion. A look at these forecasts.
JPMorgan expresses optimism for Coinbase’s crypto ecosystem
In a note published last week, JPMorgan expressed enthusiasm for Coinbase, as well as for its potential future BASE token for the Ethereum (ETH) Layer 2 of the same name.
As a reminder, the well-known cryptocurrency platform confirmed in mid-September that it was indeed exploring the possibility of a native token on Base. While this has yet to materialize, the U.S. bank sees an opportunity for a market capitalization of $12 to $34 billion in the long term:
Given the total value locked (TVL) and revenue, we estimate that a market capitalization of $12 to $34 billion is reasonable in the long term. We believe that the majority of Base tokens would be distributed to developers, validators, and the Base community, but that Coinbase would retain a portion. We estimate that the Base token could generate $4 to $12 billion for Coinbase over time.
At the time of writing, Base is indeed the largest Ethereum Layer 2 by TVL, according to DefiLlama data, with $5.39 billion and 752 listed applications.
If we consider the upper limit of this estimate, $34 billion currently represents 37.33% of Coinbase’s $91.07 billion market capitalization. This comparison is limited, however, since the company would not hold the entire supply of a potential BASE token.
Regarding Coinbase’s stock market performance, JPMorgan also upgraded its recommendation on COIN stock to “Overweight”:
We are upgrading Coinbase to Overweight as we anticipate new monetization opportunities and reduced risks, at a valuation we consider attractive relative to its cryptocurrency peers.
This optimistic outlook is justified by two factors: “ongoing experimentation with USDC payments,” which is likely to boost profits, and work on a BASE token that we have recently developed.
Consequently, the bank’s analysts are forecasting a price of $404 per share by December 2026, while the stock is currently trading at $354.46. Moreover, JPMorgan’s forecasts helped COIN shares rise by 9.82% during Friday’s trading session.
After reaching an all-time high (ATH) of $444.65 on July 18, the stock is now trading down by just over 20%:
Coinbase COIN stock price (daily data)
While analysts are generally optimistic, it should nevertheless be noted that the price target set by JPMorgan seems relatively reasonable, given that it remains below the latest ATH. However, it is likely that we will be in the midst of a bear market in December 2026, and this scenario could therefore tip the scales.
