By Sam Boughedda
An Oppenheimer analyst said in a note to clients Wednesday that the Ethereum Merge will "propel" Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) diversification efforts. The analyst has a $107 price target and an Outperform rating on Coinbase.
The Merge is getting closer to the final stage, expected on September 13 to 15. It will transition Ethereum from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake, which the analyst said will "substantially reduce energy consumption by 99.95%."
"It sets the stage for further upgrades to increase network capacity and reduce fees, but there are some key misunderstandings in 1) gas fees; 2) efficiency; 3) withdrawals; 4) rewards; and 5) APR. While The Merge doesn’t achieve some benefits immediately, sharding will improve Ethereum’s scalability and capacity longer term," he added.
The analyst said Oppenheimer predicts The Merge will "increase the ETH staking TAM and propel COIN's diversification efforts."
They recommend investors "take all these into consideration and have a long-term view on COIN and digital assets."