William Blair: Coinbase's risk release after the pullback boosts the outlook for USDC growth

Investment bank William Blair stated that after a decline of about 26% from its peak in the first quarter, Coinbase has basically completed its de-risking, and the market's expectations for its weak trading volume and revenue have been fully reflected in its stock price.

Analysts pointed out that although the trading data in the first quarter was weak, it had limited impact on market sentiment, and the company is enhancing its competitiveness through a "full-service trading platform" that includes derivatives, staking, stock trading, and prediction markets. The report emphasized that the continued growth of the stablecoin USDC is a core positive, with its market share rising to about 27%, a significant increase from around 21% in 2024, and it continues to capture market share from USDT.

William Blair believes that the expansion of USDC brings synergistic benefits to Coinbase and its issuer Circle, and is optimistic about the latter's long-term value in stablecoin payment and trading scenarios. At the same time, institutions believe that the probability of a long-term downturn in the cryptocurrency market is low, and Coinbase has "asymmetric upside potential" in the market recovery.