What happened
Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN -5.10%) were up on Thursday, in spite of somewhat negative news. It seems investors are more encouraged that the cryptocurrency market is showing some stability today after steep recent losses. And that's likely why Coinbase stock was up almost 5% as of 1:30 p.m. ET.
So what
According to The Fly, Redburn analyst Nicholas Watts had previously recommended buying shares of Coinbase. However, today the analyst lowered the stock's outlook to neutral. For perspective, Watts had initiated Coinbase coverage with a buy rating back in August when the stock was trading at around $250 per share. The cryptocurrency stock has plunged roughly 75% since.
Coinbase announced that it's getting rid of Coinbase Pro later this year. Coinbase Pro offered more technical features than the regular Coinbase platform, but the company noted that having two platforms isn't user-friendly -- users have to transfer funds from Coinbase to Coinbase Pro to use it. But Coinbase has features that Coinbase Pro doesn't.
Because of this, Coinbase is getting rid of Coinbase Pro and increasing what it offers through the main Coinbase platform.
Now what
The decision to offer better functionality on Coinbase comes after rival exchange Binance.us announced it was getting rid of some trading fees on its platform -- Coinbase's bread and butter. While Coinbase is trying to diversify its revenue away from transaction fees, the company isn't there yet. In the meantime, offering better functionality may be its only path to retaining users. Time will tell if users believe the simplicity and breadth of Coinbase's features make it worth it.
