According to many Wall Street analysts, Coinbase Global (COIN +1.32%) is nothing more than a cryptocurrency exchange. When markets are up, Coinbase performs well. When markets are down, Coinbase performs poorly.
But maybe it's not that simple. From my perspective, Coinbase is the crypto infrastructure play Wall Street is overlooking. If that's the case, then it could be significantly undervalued.
Coinbase's crypto infrastructure
The term "crypto infrastructure" can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For me, it refers to all the foundational technologies that power the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. And it's here that Coinbase continues to play an important role, developing the technologies, tools, and platforms for both retail and institutional investors.
A good example here is Coinbase's launch of the Base blockchain in August 2023. Many people may not realize it, but Coinbase was the first publicly traded company to build its own blockchain.
Since that time, Base -- a Layer-2 scaling network for Ethereum (ETH +3.72%) -- has really taken off. Over the past two years, Base has become a way to experiment with decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and payments for artificial intelligence (AI) agents.
Image source: Getty Images.
In addition, Coinbase launched a new "Everything Exchange" strategy in December that will significantly expand the number of assets that can be traded 24/7. That will lead to tens of thousands of assets trading on Coinbase, rather than just hundreds. And that could provide a huge boost for revenue and profitability for years to come.
Case in point: Coinbase recently launched stock and ETF trading for U.S. customers. And the company recently partnered with Kalshi to offer prediction markets for customers.
As further proof of Coinbase's crypto infrastructure ambitions, it has moved into offering Crypto-as-a-Service (CAAS) to financial institutions, enabling them to build out their digital asset offerings. The company has also leaned hard into the crypto ETF trend by becoming the "digital vault" for Wall Street's crypto exchange-traded funds.
But what about Coinbase's stock price?
Admittedly, Coinbase stock has been underperforming. It's down 20% in 2026. Investors, spooked by the sudden drop in the price of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC +4.57%), have apparently moved on to better opportunities elsewhere.
NASDAQ: COIN
Key Data Points
With crypto prices down, other crypto infrastructure companies -- including two prominent Bitcoin mining companies -- have rebranded for the new age of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC). In some cases, they are curtailing their crypto operations completely, selling off their Bitcoin, and using that money to finance an expansion into AI.
Obviously, investors are willing to pay a premium for AI stocks, and that has increasingly impacted how they view Coinbase. But I think Coinbase is built for the long haul. It's now more than just a cryptocurrency exchange -- it's a core crypto infrastructure provider that's worth a closer look by investors.
