Blockchain technology is a megatrend drawing more interest from Wall Street. The growing demand for stablecoins and the trend toward real-world asset tokenization are pushing more banks to explore digital asset custody, according to a 2025 Ripple report.
This is a tailwind for Coinbase Global (COIN 5.57%), the leading cryptocurrency exchange. Here's why this stock could be a long-term winner.
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Why invest in Coinbase?
Coinbase is already gaining the trust of individuals and institutions. Its trailing-12-month revenue has grown at a 37% compound annual rate since 2022. Notably, transaction revenue from institutional customers grew 144% year over year in the third quarter, compared with 73% growth from consumers.
While exchanges will experience ups and downs in trading revenue across market cycles, what matters is the long-term trend of customers who bring more assets onto the platform. Coinbase's customer crypto assets have grown from $75 billion in Q4 2022 to more than $500 billion as of Q3 2025.
NASDAQ: COIN
Key Data Points
With higher assets, it becomes easier to generate higher revenue, and Coinbase is certainly positioned to do just that. It now offers stock trading, and management has expressed the long-term goal of offering more services to become a leading financial services company.
An investment in Coinbase is a bet on the future of global finance. While the stock is not a bargain, its $65 billion market cap still seems low compared with more established financial-services companies with much higher market caps.
