As the global financial markets commence in 2026, cryptocurrency trading giant Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN.US) finds itself at the epicenter of strategic transformation. The company's CEO, Brian Armstrong, formally announced the "Everything Exchange" vision this month, signaling a deep expansion of the company's business beyond traditional boundaries. Due to optimism regarding its potential for horizontal expansion into traditional financial markets, several major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, have successively upgraded their stock ratings to "Buy." On January 6, Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani adjusted Coinbase's price target downward from $510 to $440, while maintaining an "Outperform" rating. Bernstein anticipates the emergence of a tokenization super-cycle in 2026, characterized by the migration of the US dollar, capital markets, and event-based assets onto blockchain technology. The firm remains optimistic about Bitcoin, believing the cryptocurrency, along with the broader digital asset market, has bottomed out and is rebounding. On the same day, Rosenblatt also revised Coinbase's price target downward from $470 to $325, maintaining a "Buy" rating. This adjustment was made in response to a significant slowdown in trading activity. Despite the near-term slowdown, Rosenblatt believes the market has already priced in these lower trading volumes. The firm remains bullish on Coinbase's long-term transformation, viewing it as having substantial upside potential as it reduces its reliance on the volatile cryptocurrency trading cycle by expanding into equities, prediction markets, and stablecoin payments. However, on January 5, Goldman Sachs upgraded Coinbase's rating from "Neutral" to "Buy" and raised its price target from $294 to $303. The institution highlighted that the company's recent product launches have enhanced the competitiveness of its core business. Goldman Sachs considers Coinbase a premier investment choice for those seeking exposure to the expansion of crypto infrastructure. It is understood that Coinbase plans to directly challenge traditional financial service platforms like Robinhood by introducing zero-commission stock trading, ETF management, and commodity prediction markets, leveraging the payment convenience of the US dollar and stablecoins (USDC). Concurrently, the company has clearly identified its 2026 growth engines as the expansion of the stablecoin payment ecosystem and increasing developer penetration on its Base blockchain, striving to build a more robust, multi-dimensional revenue structure beyond the highly volatile crypto industry. Notably, regarding upcoming critical crypto legislation like the CLARITY Act, Coinbase is actively lobbying to preserve its right to offer stablecoin rewards to customers, a business segment involving up to $1.3 billion in annual non-interest revenue for the company. The company has even issued a strong signal that it would consider withdrawing support for the relevant bill if the final version includes clauses restricting stablecoin rewards or excessively interfering with decentralized finance (DeFi). In terms of global布局 (bùjú, layout), Coinbase is undergoing complex strategic adjustments and regional contraction. Constrained by local currency environments and compliance costs, Coinbase announced it will officially cease the Argentine Peso (ARS) to USDC fiat trading pair on January 31, 2026, retaining only pure cryptocurrency conversion functions. Meanwhile, despite facing licensing and regulatory blockades in Southeast Asian markets like the Philippines, capital markets remain optimistic about its underlying strength.