TLDR
- Bitcoin climbed to $93,259, an 11-week high, lifting crypto-linked stocks in premarket trading Wednesday.
- Coinbase (COIN) rose 1.8% premarket, Robinhood (HOOD) gained 1.6%, and Strategy (MSTR) was up 2.2%.
- Trump’s extended U.S.-Iran cease-fire boosted risk appetite, with analysts crediting Bitcoin as the key driver.
- Piper Sandler raised its price target on COIN to $180 from $150, maintaining a Neutral rating.
- Coinbase launched crypto-backed lending in the UK using DeFi protocol Morpho, following $2.17 billion in U.S. loan originations since January 2025.
Coinbase launched crypto-backed lending for UK customers Wednesday, using DeFi protocol Morpho as its backend infrastructure, while COIN stock climbed in premarket trading alongside a broader crypto rally tied to easing U.S.-Iran tensions.
📰 Coinbase Expands Morpho Powered USDC Loans to UK
TLDR Coinbase has launched crypto-backed USDC loans for users in the United Kingdom through Morpho on Base. UK customers can borrow USDC against Bitcoin, Ethereum, and cbETH withou…
Source: Blockonomihttps://t.co/oyGFrjYv9m
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Bitcoin hit $93,259 in the past 24 hours — an 11-week high — according to CoinDesk. That move pulled crypto-linked equities higher across the board before the opening bell.
COIN was up 1.8% premarket. Robinhood (HOOD) gained 1.6%, and Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, rose 2.2%.
Nexo analyst Iliya Kalchev told Barron’s the gains were “all down to Bitcoin.” He added that “savvy traders looking for alternatives to digital assets landed on crypto stocks.”
President Trump’s decision to extend the U.S.-Iran cease-fire was the macro trigger. The pause in hostilities eased risk-off sentiment and sent investors back into higher-beta assets.
Piper Sandler Lifts Price Target
On April 15, Piper Sandler raised its price target on COIN to $180 from $150, keeping a Neutral rating. The firm expects management to sound upbeat on trading volumes heading into Q1 earnings, particularly in futures markets.
Piper noted that ongoing geopolitical tensions could help offset tougher year-over-year comparisons expected in Q2.
Earlier this month, Citizens cut its target on COIN to $355 from $400 but kept an Outperform rating. It flagged a mixed capital markets backdrop while calling institutional trading the “clearest bright spot” of the quarter.
Citizens argued that investors may be underweighting medium-term policy and business catalysts in favour of near-term noise.
UK Lending Launch
On the product front, Coinbase went live with crypto-backed lending for UK customers. Users can borrow USDC against Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings directly through Coinbase’s interface.
The infrastructure runs through Morpho, a DeFi lending protocol on the Base network. Collateral moves into a Morpho smart contract; USDC is disbursed from the protocol. Coinbase is the front-end — Morpho carries the book.
This model means Coinbase doesn’t take on balance sheet risk. Rates are set algorithmically based on real-time supply and demand, with no fixed repayment schedule.
The UK rollout is the first international expansion of a product that launched in the U.S. in January 2025. U.S. loan originations through the Coinbase-Morpho integration have now crossed $2.17 billion.
The lending product is part of a broader push to build a consumer finance stack in the UK, following Coinbase’s FCA registration and recent launches of savings products and DEX trading access.
MarketVector Indexes also launched the Coinbase Store of Value Index earlier this month, in partnership with Coinbase Asset Management. The index combines Bitcoin and gold in a rules-based, volatility-adjusted framework.
Citizens noted that the firm’s $2.17 billion in U.S. loan originations establishes the product as a meaningful revenue line — not a pilot — now being carried into new markets.
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