Coinbase Global COIN has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank. The company had been exploring a banking charter for some time and formally applied for a national trust company license in October 2025.
The journey faced resistance along the way. In November 2025, the Independent Community Bankers of America opposed the move, citing concerns over regulatory balance and potential risks associated with granting such status to a crypto-focused firm.
The conditional approval marks a pivotal moment for both Coinbase and the wider digital asset ecosystem. It strengthens the company’s competitive positioning and reflects the increasing alignment between cryptocurrency markets and traditional finance.
With this authorization, Coinbase can provide custody and related financial services across the United States. It also creates avenues to expand into payments and other financial offerings, helping accelerate institutional participation in digital assets.
Coinbase Co-CEO Greg Tusar stated, “Coinbase is not becoming a commercial bank. We will not be taking retail deposits. We will not be engaging in fractional reserve banking. This charter is about bringing federal regulatory uniformity to the custody and market infrastructure business we have been building for years."
This approval supports diversification into new revenue streams, including payments, settlement services and tokenized financial products.
This step aligns with CEO Brian Armstrong’s broader ambition of transforming Coinbase into an “everything exchange,” offering a full spectrum of digital financial services.
What About COIN’s Peers?
Robinhood Market HOOD continues to diversify its product base to acquire new clients and gain market share. Last August, Robinhood announced the launch of pro and college football prediction markets. In June 2025, the company launched tokenized stocks in the EU to cater to rising demand for cryptocurrency.
Circle Internet Group CRCL launched Arc, a Layer-1 blockchain designed for capital markets, payments and FX using USDC by year-end. This initiative seeks to broaden USDC’s applications, enhance mainstream adoption and drive sustainable long-term revenue growth.
COIN’s Price Performance
Shares of COIN have lost 21.7% year to date, underperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
COIN’s Expensive Valuation
COIN trades at a price-to-earnings value ratio of 53.66, significantly above the industry average of 8.99. It carries a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for COIN
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COIN’s first-quarter 2026 and second-quarter 2026 EPS has witnessed no movement in the last seven days. The same for full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved down 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively, in the past seven days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimate for COIN’s 2026 revenues and earnings indicates year-over-year decreases. Nonetheless, the consensus estimate for 2027 revenues and earnings indicates an increase.
COIN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
