Reports of Hamas using crypto to fund recent attacks in Israel could make Coinbase’s lobbying efforts more difficult, says Berenberg lead analyst Mark Palmer.The use of cryptocurrency by Hamas militants to fund recent attacks on Israel may have set back Coinbase’s crypto lobbying efforts in the United States, says a new investment report from Berenberg Capital Markets.
“While Hamas announced last April that it would no longer use crypto for fundraising due to the ability of authorities to track its movement on blockchain ledgers, we believe the recent headlines are likely to make clarity around the question of crypto’s legal status even more elusive,” wrote Palmer.Berenberg analysts reiterated their “hold” recommendation on Coinbase stock and maintained a price target of $39.
This adjustment was made to reflect his expectation that Coinbase’s consumer take rate “will contract at a slower pace than we had been anticipating."