Coinbase (COIN) stock experienced a notable premarket rally on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, driven by a surge in Bitcoin's price and the international expansion of its crypto-backed lending product. Bitcoin climbed to $93,259, marking an 11-week high, which lifted crypto-linked equities. COIN stock rose 1.8% premarket, while Robinhood (HOOD) gained 1.6% and MicroStrategy (MSTR) was up 2.2%. Analysts attributed the broader market optimism to easing geopolitical tensions, specifically President Trump's decision to extend the U.S.-Iran cease-fire, which boosted risk appetite.
Simultaneously, Coinbase launched its crypto-backed lending service for customers in the United Kingdom. The product, which uses the DeFi protocol Morpho on the Base network as its backend infrastructure, allows UK users to borrow USDC against Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Coinbase Wrapped Staked ETH (cbETH). This model transfers the balance sheet risk to the Morpho protocol, with Coinbase acting as the front-end interface. Since its U.S. launch in January 2025, loan originations via the Coinbase-Morpho integration have surpassed $2.17 billion, establishing it as a significant revenue stream.
In a separate but concurrent development, Coinbase stock saw further gains as the company moved a major lawsuit filed by New York State to federal court. The stock surged nearly 5% in premarket trading to $205.24 following this legal maneuver. The lawsuit, filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that Coinbase's prediction market products violate state gambling laws. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal argued the case raises "disputed and substantial questions of federal law" and should be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), not state authorities.
Analyst sentiment towards Coinbase remains mixed but evolving. On April 15, Piper Sandler raised its price target on COIN to $180 from $150, maintaining a Neutral rating, citing expected upbeat trading volumes. Earlier in the month, Citizens cut its target to $355 from $400 but kept an Outperform rating, highlighting institutional trading as a bright spot.
