Goldman Sachs maintained buy ratings on Coinbase Global and Robinhood Markets on August 25, raising its Coinbase price target to $196 from $173 and setting a new $124 target on Robinhood, according to a report by analyst James Yaro. The two companies are among the most direct ways public-market investors can express a view on crypto demand: Coinbase is the largest US-based crypto exchange, and Robinhood is the commission-free brokerage that pulled millions of first-time traders into markets during the 2021 meme-stock boom.

The call landed as Bitcoin climbed roughly 26% higher over the week, touching an intraday high near $81,000 before easing back toward $79,000 on profit-taking.

#BREAKING BOOOOM GOLDMAN SACHS JUST GAVE A HUGE BOOST TO CRYPTO! They've named Coinbase and Robinhood as BUYS, with Coinbase's price target now up to $196 and Robinhood at $124. This is massive news, especially as Bitcoin and Ethereum are on a tear! The timing is… pic.twitter.com/NvuOxuOyi4 — Bitcoin Hopium (@BitcoinHopium) August 25, 2026

Yet there is a tension beneath Goldman's bullishness: crypto trading volume fell by 30% in July and another 21% in August, leaving activity roughly 75% below its recent peak, per the same report. Goldman is effectively betting that rising prices and new revenue lines can carry crypto stocks even while the trading engine underneath them idles. That engine matters more here than almost anywhere else in financial services: transaction fees have historically been Coinbase's largest revenue source, and Robinhood's crypto income comes largely from spreads and transaction rebates on customer orders — so each month of depressed volume strips out fee income that prediction markets and derivatives are still too young to fully replace.

Goldman Sachs Crypto Calls: A Secondhand Signal, Not a Verified Report

The Goldman figures were summarized in an August 25 post on X by the account CryptoRednirav, which described the bank as cautiously bullish on crypto for the second half of 2026. That post is a commentator's recap rather than Goldman's own verified release, and it should be read as a secondary signal pointing to the underlying research, not as a primary document in its own right.

Goldman's optimism is not purely a spot-market bet. Coinbase and Robinhood have both pushed into prediction markets, tokenized stocks, and perpetual futures — products that can generate fees regardless of whether people are actively buying and selling Bitcoin or Ethereum.

Coinbase's prediction-market business reportedly reached $100M in annualized revenue less than two months after launch, according to a July examination cited by crypto.news, with sports contracts driving much of the early volume. That fast start reflects how quickly the category itself has scaled since 2025, after Kalshi's court battles cleared the way for sports event contracts, Polymarket expanded from elections into sports, and Crypto.com rolled out its own US prediction-markets venue — turning a niche corner of crypto into a competitive land grab among exchanges and brokerages.

Robinhood, meanwhile, launched Robinhood Chain in July, an Ethereum layer-2 network built for tokenized stocks. The chain extends a tokenization push the brokerage began in mid-2025, when it introduced stock tokens for European customers and rivals such as Kraken launched similar products for non-US users — a category that has spread across venues even as US rules around tokenized equities remain unsettled. Bernstein separately projected that Robinhood's prediction-market revenue could climb from $150M in 2025 to $586M in 2026.

Neither business is risk-free. Several state regulators have challenged whether certain Coinbase sports contracts amount to unlicensed gambling, and tokenized shares do not carry the voting or ownership rights of ordinary stock. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

The Numbers Behind the Goldman Sachs Crypto Call

Goldman's report indicates that the current volume slowdown in crypto is longer than in previous contractions, although total market capitalization has rebounded 21% to $2.8 trillion — a move that could spur increased trading activity if sustained.

Regulatory uncertainty is the main concern for institutional investors, with 35% citing it as a barrier to entry. The SEC has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, including a fundraising exemption for startups and specific disclosure requirements, but it does not exempt all token transactions from federal securities law.

Goldman also reported about $86.5M in exposure through five spot XRP exchange-traded funds, after previously holding no positions — a small position in dollar terms, but a marker of how thoroughly spot-crypto ETFs have become a standard institutional wrapper since US spot Bitcoin funds launched in January 2024. The bank is set to acquire Neos Investments for up to $2.25Bn to enhance its asset-management offerings, pending regulatory approval.

What Does the Bitcoin Chart Say?

We're approaching the monthly close, a key date for $BTC . There's no denying how impressive this monthly candle is. Bitcoin has printed a huge move to the upside, something we haven't seen in a while. Now, the focus shifts toward the monthly open, which I believe will be a… pic.twitter.com/B1jwvjG9ul — Killa (@KillaXBT) August 28, 2026

Bitcoin's breakout above $80,000 came with almost 75% higher 24-hour trading volume, even as the broader monthly trend in crypto activity points downward. In the bull case, holding the $80,000 zone after this pullback reinforces the recovery narrative Goldman is pricing into Coinbase and Robinhood shares. In the base case, Bitcoin churns between roughly $79,000 and the $81,000 high, with Goldman's thesis resting on volume recovery rather than price alone. In the bear case, a failed hold below $80,000 alongside continued volume declines would undercut the near-term case for both stocks.

Coinbase shares gained more than 21% over the week, and Robinhood about 12%, according to the market data cited in Goldman's report — a reminder that both remain highly geared to Bitcoin's price action, Bitcoin ETF flows, and whatever Washington decides on market-structure rules next.

Investors were also watching Wednesday's US personal consumption expenditures inflation report, which can move Treasury yields and, by extension, risk appetite for Bitcoin and crypto equities alike. The other near-term checkpoints for the thesis sit with regulators: the SEC's Regulation Crypto Assets proposal and the state-level challenges to Coinbase's sports contracts bear directly on the new revenue lines Goldman's buy ratings lean on.