Can Stablecoins Power Coinbase's Growth and Global Expansion?

Stablecoins—particularly USD Coin (USDC)—have become a vital growth engine for Coinbase Global COIN, enabling the company to diversify its revenue mix beyond traditional trading fees. USDC is a major driver of Coinbase’s expanding subscription and services revenues, helping mitigate the volatility tied to transaction-based income.

Coinbase benefits significantly from the rising adoption and use of stablecoins. One key advantage is the interest income generated from holding USDC reserves, which have become increasingly lucrative in a high-rate environment. Yet, stablecoins contribute far more than just yield. USDC is deeply integrated into Coinbase’s ecosystem, powering a range of applications. 

Through services like Coinbase Payments and the use of USDC on Base—its Layer-2 blockchain—the company facilitates faster, cheaper, and borderless financial transactions for individuals and businesses. Among institutional clients, USDC is gaining adoption as a trusted collateral and settlement asset, embedding it further into mainstream financial operations.

By promoting USDC across its offerings, Coinbase is establishing itself as a leading player in the regulated stablecoin market. As regulatory clarity improves and demand for dollar-backed digital assets grows globally, Coinbase is well-positioned to capitalize on its early, strategic alignment with USDC. Additionally, stablecoins expand the company’s global reach, especially in emerging markets with unstable currencies. In essence, stablecoins are fueling both Coinbase’s revenue streams and its vision of a more open, on-chain financial future.

What About Others?

Stablecoins, especially USDC, are also fundamental to Circle Internet Group’s CRCL business strategy. As USDC’s issuer, Circle earns revenues through interest on reserves and transaction flows. Stablecoins also support Circle’s expansion into payments, DeFi, and global finance, reinforcing its role as a core infrastructure provider in the digital asset ecosystem.

Stablecoins play a growing role in BlackRock Inc.’s BLK digital strategy. Through its partnership with Circle, it manages USDC reserves, gaining direct exposure to stablecoin infrastructure. This supports BlackRock’s broader push to modernize finance by leveraging blockchain technology for tokenized assets, real-time settlements and more efficient capital markets.

COIN’s Price Performance

Shares of COIN have gained 50.8% year to date, outperforming the industry.

COIN’s Expensive Valuation

COIN trades at a price-to-earnings value ratio of 67.49, above the industry average of 22.12. But it carries a Value Score of F.

Estimates for COIN Witness Southward Movement

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COIN’s second-quarter and third-quarter 2025 EPS has moved down 3.5% and 12.3%, respectively, over the past 30 days. The same for full-year 2025 and 2026 EPS has decreased by 18.3% and 6.3%, respectively.

The consensus estimate for COIN’s 2025 and 2026 revenues indicates year-over-year increases. While the consensus estimate for COIN’s 2025 EPS indicates a decline, the same for 2026 EPS suggests an increase.  

COIN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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