By Sam Boughedda 

Piper Sandler analysts maintained an Obese ranking and $65 per share value goal on Coinbase (NASDAQ:) Monday however mentioned the agency is cautious on regulatory threat because the SEC eyes staking.

Final week, the SEC introduced expenses in opposition to cryptocurrency trade Kraken, alleging its crypto staking-as-a-service program amounted to providing unregistered securities merchandise within the US.

To settle the costs, Kraken agreed to pay $30 million and shut all of its US staking companies, sparking considerations a few broader crackdown on cryptocurrency staking.

The analysts mentioned of their be aware that the next day, SEC Chair Gary Gensler appeared on each CNBC & Bloomberg TV and was crucial of middleman crypto storefronts providing staking merchandise just like Kraken’s, urging them to “are available to compliance.”

Nevertheless, on Friday, Coinbase Chief Authorized Officer Paul Grewal argued that the corporate’s staking providing differs from Kraken’s and isn’t a safety below the US Securities Act or the “Howey take a look at.”

Because of this, the analysts informed buyers that the agency is cautiously optimistic as Coinbase may bear a key take a look at of regulatory compliance.

“COIN has lengthy touted the regulatory compliance of its crypto merchandise & companies, platform, and normal operations,” they wrote. “Because the SEC strikes towards what seems to be a extra aggressive stance on crypto regulation, we’re cautiously optimistic that COIN will not be weighed down by lately elevated scrutiny round staking.”

They acknowledged that whereas the current pullback within the inventory clearly displays the potential of elevated regulatory threat, Piper Sandler nonetheless believes long run regulatory readability is “doubtless optimistic each for the crypto trade and COIN itself.”