Crypto Currents: Coinbase, Shopify partner for USDC payments

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As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly.
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COINBASE, SHOPIFY PARTNER FOR USDC PAYMENTS: On Thursday, Coinbase (COIN) announced a partnership with Shopify (SHOP). The company said, 'We are working together to bring commerce onchain by making it easy for all merchants on Shopify Payments to accept USDC payments on Base. We're rolling this out with early access merchants today, and will expand to all stores around the globe running Shopify Payments later this year. The future of payments is here. Shopify chose Base to bring crypto payments mainstream because it offers fast, cheap, and secure onchain transactions everywhere around the world. This partnership represents a significant step toward Base's mission to bring a billion people onchain.'
Additionally at its State of Crypto Conference, Coinbase announced that it(AXP) Network. The Coinbase One Card will offer up to 4% bitcoin back on every purchase, offered by Coinbase and Cardless, and issued by First Electronic Bank. Will Stredwick, SVP, global network services at American Express, said, 'In today's world, we see real potential in the combination of Coinbase and crypto with the Powerful Backing of American Express, and what the card offers is an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now…The Coinbase One Card will offer crypto rewards alongside unique benefits, offers, experiences, and protections through the American Express Network.'
The company also announced Thursday that it will be launching a Coinbase Business financial platform later this year. The company said, 'At Coinbase, we've spent over a decade building the trusted foundation for the cryptoeconomy to increase economic freedom around the world. Now, we're bringing that same security, scale, and compliance to everyday businesses with Coinbase Business, a modern financial stack built with the speed and scale of crypto. Coinbase Business is purpose-built for modern operations and designed to streamline financial workflows for small-to-medium-sized businesses and startups. Whether you're looking to send and receive payments, manage crypto assets, or automate payouts, Coinbase Business allows you to do it all in one secure account.'
On Friday, BofA raised the firm's price target on Coinbase to $259 from $216 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. With the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts through committee, the firm thinks that regulatory clarity will be achieved over the near-term, which would broaden crypto participation, and it is raising its multiple and revising up volume estimates for Coinbase's institutional business in order to embed the benefit of greater regulatory clarity. However, while positive on the regulatory front, the firm also views the retail trading backdrop as 'peakish' and views Coinbase's valuation as 'full' relative to its long-term growth prospects, the analyst said.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, William Blair initiated coverage of Coinbase with an Outperform rating. The firm views the crypto industry as 'nascent, rapidly evolving, and poised for durable above-average growth,' measured by token market capitalization and transaction volume. Crypto's 'time on the fringe is ending,' replaced by an era of consistent regulation and expanding use-cases with the ultimate potential to supplant the traditional global financial system, the analyst said. Blair believes Coinbase's leadership creates an inherent advantage, and views the stock as the best way for growth investors to participate in a 'crypto renaissance.' It believes the company's solutions constitute the most comprehensive crypto services portfolio, underpinned by security and trust.
BITCOIN DEPOT ACQUIRES ASSETS OF PELICOIN: Bitcoin Depot (BTM) announced Wednesday it has acquired the assets of Pelicoin, a crypto ATM operator based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The deal will add kiosk locations across Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas, strengthening Bitcoin Depot's presence in the Gulf South. Pelicoin's ATM network will be fully integrated into Bitcoin Depot's platform in the coming weeks, with all locations transitioning to Bitcoin Depot branding. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
'Pelicoin is a strategic addition to our footprint in a region where we see real opportunity,' said Brandon Mintz, CEO. 'Pelicoin's locations give us a stronger presence in the Gulf South, and we can immediately apply our scale and experience to operate their machines more efficiently. This acquisition is part of our broader effort to consolidate a fragmented market and extend our leadership in cash-to-crypto access nationwide. As the industry matures, we believe our ability to integrate and optimize smaller networks is a key advantage.'
Following the news, Northland raised the firm's price target on Bitcoin Depot to $8.50 from $7 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. While this 'appears to be a relatively small acquisition,' the firm views it as 'a testament' to management executing on its kiosk acquisition roll-up strategy, the analyst said.
STRATEGY BUYS MORE BITCOIN: Strategy (MSTR) announced Monday updates with respect to its at-the-market offering programs and bitcoin holdings. The company raised $112.2M and purchased 1,045 bitcoin for an aggregate purchase price of $110.2M during the period of June 2 to June 8. As of June 8, the company's aggregate bitcoin holdings were 582,000.
JPMORGAN UPDATES BITCOIN MINER PRICE TARGETS: On Friday, JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $14 from $13 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm updated bitcoin miner price targets and models to reflect the Q1 results and changes in bitcoin price and the network hashrate. JPMorgan applied a sum-of-the-parts valuation framework, which values miners based on their mining operation, land and power portfolio, and bitcoin holdings.
The analyst also raised the firm's price target on Mara Holdings (MARA) to $19 from $18 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares as well as on CleanSpark (CLSK) to $14 from $12 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares.
WALMART, AMAZON MULL ISSUING STABLECOINS: Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN), and other multinational companies as well as Expedia Group (EXPE) and airline companies have explored whether to issue their own stablecoins in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal's Gina Heeb, AnnaMaria Andriotis, and Josh Dawsey reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Stablecoins could allow merchants to get around traditional payment restrictions and offer the possibility for a quicker process.
OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:
Riot Platforms reports beneficial ownership of 14.3% in Bitfarms (BITF)
Stablecoin 'quietly become' second largest miner, says BTIG
PayPal (PYPL) plans to make its stablecoin available on the Stellar network
TeraWulf (WULF) price target raised to $6 from $4.50 at Rosenblatt
CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings, Strategy, Riot Platforms and TeraWulf.
PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin was roughly flat this week at $104,990 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.
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