Why Coinbase (COIN) Stock Is Down Today

By Anthony Lee | January 20, 2026, 12:55 PM

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What Happened?

Shares of blockchain infrastructure company Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) fell 4.4% in the afternoon session after the U.S. announced potential tariffs on several European countries. 

The sell-off was a reaction to news that the White House planned to impose a 10% tariff on imports from eight European nations, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, starting February 1. Reports indicated the tariffs were intended to pressure Denmark over the potential sale of Greenland to the U.S. and could rise to 25% if a deal was not reached. 

The announcement caused a significant downturn in U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones falling more than 1.4% as investors returned from a holiday weekend and reacted to the heightened trade uncertainty. The downturn was further exacerbated by a spike in Treasury yields. Higher rates particularly hurt growth stocks such as tech names since investors must discount financials further out in the future back to the present.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Coinbase’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 49 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 15 days ago when the stock gained 7.3% on the news that Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock from "Neutral" to "Buy," citing the company's successful diversification into stable crypto infrastructure services. 

Analysts raised their price target to $303, arguing that Coinbase was becoming less dependent on volatile trading fees by expanding reliable revenue streams such as custodial services, staking, and stablecoin rewards. This strategic shift likely convinced institutional observers that the company deserves a premium valuation, as these newer segments offer predictable growth that insulates the firm from the cyclical swings often seen in retail crypto trading. The rally was further fueled by a broader upswing in the digital asset market, with Bitcoin prices climbing back above $92,000 following recent geopolitical developments involving the U.S. and Venezuela.

Coinbase is down 3.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $228.60 per share, it is trading 45.5% below its 52-week high of $419.78 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Coinbase’s shares at the IPO in April 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $696.36.

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