Benchmark lowers Coinbase's performance expectations, the "CLARITY Act" may be an important catalyst for stock prices

Benchmark has lowered its second-quarter performance expectations for Coinbase ahead of the earnings report next week, citing weak trading activity in the cryptocurrency market, but still maintains a "Buy" rating and a target price of $270. Based on Coinbase's stock price of about $172 on Wednesday, this target price corresponds to an upside potential of approximately 57%.

Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer has revised Coinbase's second-quarter revenue expectation from $1.51 billion to $1.38 billion and has lowered the full-year revenue expectation for 2026 from $6.33 billion to $6 billion. The trading volume on centralized exchanges in the second quarter has decreased by about 28%, and the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has dropped by about 13%. The firm expects Coinbase's trading revenue to decline by more than 5%.

However, the market showed initial signs of stabilization in June, with spot trading volume exceeding $1 trillion for the first time since March, which may somewhat alleviate the weak performance in the second quarter.

Benchmark believes that if the CLARITY Act is ultimately passed, it could become a more significant catalyst for the stock price than quarterly performance, with Coinbase potentially being one of the main beneficiaries of the act. Trump has previously agreed to the relevant ethical provisions, removing a key obstacle to the advancement of the bill.