NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 5:04 PM ET — After-hours
- Coinbase shares fell about 2.4% in after-hours trading.
- Bitcoin was on track for its first yearly decline since 2022, weighing on crypto-linked stocks.
- Needham cut its Coinbase price target to $290 while keeping a Buy rating.
Coinbase Global shares slid 2.4% to $226.14 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The move matters because Coinbase’s results are closely tied to crypto trading activity. When investors trade less, exchanges collect fewer transaction fees.
Crypto sentiment turned cautious into year-end as bitcoin headed for its first annual loss since 2022, down more than 6% for 2025, Reuters reported. Bitcoin hit a record above $126,000 in October but lost momentum after U.S. tariff and export-control headlines sparked a sharp selloff and more than $19 billion of forced liquidations across leveraged positions, the report said.
U.S. stocks also finished 2025’s final regular session lower, closing out a volatile year that was repeatedly jolted by tariff swings and concentrated gains in AI-linked names, according to Reuters.
Needham analyst John Todaro lowered his price target on Coinbase to $290 from $400 and kept a Buy rating, citing weaker crypto volumes over the next couple of quarters. “Even if crypto prices are near a bottom, retail volumes typically remain muted until momentum returns,” Todaro wrote. TipRanks
A price target is an analyst’s estimate of where a stock may trade over the next 12 months. “Volumes” refer to trading activity — a key driver for exchanges like Coinbase.
Other crypto-exposed stocks were also lower in late trading. Robinhood Markets fell about 2.1% and Strategy dropped about 2.3%.
Bitcoin was down about 0.7% to around $87,665.
Coinbase has worked to diversify beyond spot crypto trading, but its shares still tend to swing with risk appetite and digital-asset prices. That linkage has tightened as crypto has traded more like a mainstream risk asset during macro shocks.
Investors are watching whether crypto prices can stabilize early in 2026 and whether that translates into better trading activity — the metric that tends to drive exchange revenues. Analyst commentary this week has pointed to a soft patch in retail engagement even if prices find a floor.
The calendar adds another wrinkle: U.S. equity markets are closed on New Year’s Day and reopen on Jan. 2, while crypto trades continuously. That leaves bitcoin’s holiday move as the first data point for sentiment when stocks return.
For Coinbase, traders will also be tracking whether the stock holds recent lows into the Jan. 2 reopening and whether any rebound in crypto prices brings buyers back to trading desks.
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