Today, Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, opened on a tear, with its COIN stock surging to its first all-time high in five years, surpassing its April 2021 high.
COIN quickly rose to $444 this morning, surpassing its previous all-time high near $429 by 3.5%. However, the euphoria was short-lived, and COIN has since corrected down to $418 by press time. Despite the volatility, COIN is still up 1.6% on the day, with indices such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down slightly today.
Coinbase stock experienced a massive run over the last two years. The price bottomed out at roughly $33 in January 2023, making for a 1,245% increase from trough to peak.
At current prices, COIN outperformed some of the top altcoins over the same timeframe, such as ETH, which is up over 180%, and XRP, which is up about 900%.
Factors Driving the Surge
Multiple catalysts likely contributed to COIN’s move today. These include the passing of the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts in the House yesterday, as well as reports that the U.S. administration will open the multi-trillion dollar retirement market to crypto investments.
This week, Coinbase also launched a rebrand and upgrade of its Ethereum Layer 2 Base. The activation marks Coinbase Wallet’s pivot to the Base app — with added features pushing it toward “super app” status — and also includes Flashblocks preconfirmation blocks for Base Chain.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shared the announcement on X, where he stated, “After the @base event today, I’m more bullish on creators and the creator economy than ever. I will use the app to post content often, and I will support creators with part of the earnings from my posts.”
Armstrong also shared on X that he will be present at The White House today, July 18, to see the GENIUS Act signed into law, as it marks “the official start of the financial revolution in the US.”
In May, Coinbase entered the S&P 500, becoming the first pure-play crypto company in the index.
