Coinbase (COIN) jumped almost 8% and continued climbing, trading near $188.50 on Monday morning, completely ignoring a bearish analyst's warning. According to reports from BeInCrypto, the surge came just days after Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist Mike Wilson issued a warning that the stock market could crack within 30 days. The fund tracking the 500 biggest US companies fell 0.8% in the same hours, highlighting the divergent performance between cryptocurrency and traditional markets.
The rally was driven by Compass Point analyst Ed Engel, who moved Coinbase from sell to neutral rating. As reported by BeInCrypto, Engel's new target is $177, which Coinbase cleared on the open. However, it's important to note that Engel did not issue a buy recommendation, maintaining a neutral bias. The upgrade came despite Morgan Stanley's bearish outlook, which cited oil prices as the primary concern rather than artificial intelligence.
Engel's bullish case centers on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which the Senate is set to vote on this week. According to BeInCrypto, the bill would determine which regulator polices cryptocurrency, and for Coinbase, this represents the entire game. A clear rulebook would allow the company to list tokens without waiting for legal challenges. The bill has already slipped to September once and represents the final vote before November, with Engel expecting it to fail.
While Coinbase surged, MARA Holdings moved in the opposite direction, falling 2% after JPMorgan cut it to underweight over concerns about a data center venture with Starwood. As reported by BeInCrypto, this follows similar patterns from May when Morgan Stanley issued similar warnings about MARA. Morgan Stanley opened coverage on Coinbase at $250 on September 10, significantly above the $201 average across 28 analysts covering the company, with target prices ranging from $95 to $330.
