COIN vs MARA Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Coinbase and Marathon Digital are both cryptocurrency-sector companies but with very different business models. Coinbase is an exchange platform earning fees on trading volume — providing a service to crypto users. Marathon is a Bitcoin miner earning newly created Bitcoin — consuming electricity to produce the asset. Coinbase's revenue scales with trading activity; Marathon's revenue scales directly with Bitcoin price. Both are highly volatile assets tied to crypto market sentiment.
COIN vs MARA is the leading regulated US crypto exchange with subscription services and Base blockchain infrastructure (Coinbase) versus a leveraged Bitcoin mining play with direct balance sheet Bitcoin accumulation and mining reward income highly sensitive to Bitcoin price and halving cycles (Marathon) — crypto infrastructure vs leveraged Bitcoin mining commodity.
MARA holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. MARA leads on both 1-year return (-1.86%) and forward P/E (-16.44x vs 34.75x for COIN), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for COIN (+40.72%) than for MARA (+23.57%).
- →prefer regulated crypto exchange infrastructure with growing subscription services providing more stable recurring revenue alongside volatile trading fee income
- →value Coinbase's regulatory compliance and institutional custody as the trusted gateway for institutional and corporate crypto adoption
- →want crypto sector exposure with some business diversification through staking, custody, and Base blockchain across multiple revenue streams
- →are comfortable with trading revenue Bitcoin price correlation, US crypto regulatory uncertainty, and competition from decentralized exchanges
- →prefer highly leveraged Bitcoin price exposure through mining operations plus a large Bitcoin balance sheet — Marathon moves significantly more than Bitcoin itself in bull markets
- →value Marathon as a speculative vehicle for Bitcoin upside without directly holding Bitcoin in accounts that may have limitations
- →want maximum cryptocurrency sector beta in a public equity structure for investors who believe Bitcoin is entering a sustained bull market
- →are comfortable with extreme volatility, Bitcoin halving profitability pressure, electricity cost risk, and full commodity mining economics with no sustainable competitive advantage
| Metric | COIN | MARA |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 24.3 | 25.7 |
| AI rank | #3184 | #2703 |
| Latest close | $163.26 | $14.22 |
| 1M return | -15.61% | +14.31% |
| 6M return | -33.14% | +43.20% |
| 1Y return | -44.71% | -1.86% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | COIN | MARA |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $5.53K (-44.7%) started 2025-06-18 | $9.81K (-1.9%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $7.12K (-28.8%) started 2021-06-18 | $4.92K (-50.8%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $4.97K (-50.3%) started 2021-04-14 | $3.67K (-63.3%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | COIN | MARA |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $43.01B | $5.42B |
| Trailing P/E | 59.80 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 34.75 | -16.44 |
| Price/Sales | 6.84 | 6.25 |
| EV/Revenue | 6.70 | 8.70 |
| Analyst target | $229.74 | $17.57 |
| Target upside | +40.72% | +23.57% |
| Metric | COIN | MARA |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | -30.80% | -18.40% |
| Earnings growth | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growth | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margin | +38.30% | -61.20% |
| Operating margin | N/A | N/A |
| Profit margin | 12.74% | -234.83% |
| ROIC proxy | 6.69% | -67.33% |
| Return on equity | 6.69% | -67.33% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Beta | 3.32 | 5.38 |
| Debt/equity | 59.08 | 105.60 |
| Current ratio | 2.14 | 1.84 |
| Quick ratio | 1.18 | 1.63 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | COIN | MARA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -44.71% | -1.86% |
| CAGR | -44.73% | -1.86% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.59 | 0.31 | |
| Max drawdown | 66.39% | 70.53% | |
| Max daily drop | 16.70% | 18.72% | |
| Max wkly drop | 26.64% | 31.74% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -28.80% | -50.83% |
| CAGR | -6.57% | -13.24% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.29 | 0.34 | |
| Max drawdown | 90.90% | 95.86% | |
| Max daily drop | 26.40% | 27.03% | |
| Max wkly drop | 58.72% | 43.81% | |
| 10Y | Growth | -50.27% | -63.27% |
| CAGR | -12.62% | -9.54% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.21 | 0.52 | |
| Max drawdown | 90.90% | 99.19% | |
| Max daily drop | 26.40% | 40.86% | |
| Max wkly drop | 58.72% | 52.63% |
| Category | COIN | MARA |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Coinbase Global, Inc. | Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. |
| Sector | Financials | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Coinbase is the largest US regulated cryptocurrency exchange, providing retail and institutional trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and hundreds of other digital assets. Coinbase also provides staking, custody, subscription analytics services, and the Base blockchain (Ethereum L2). Coinbase benefits from cryptocurrency trading volume — high crypto prices and volatility drive retail trading activity and fee revenue. Coinbase's regulatory compliance and US listing make it the primary institutional-grade crypto exchange in the US market. | Marathon Digital Holdings is one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies, operating large-scale mining facilities using specialized ASIC hardware to earn newly minted Bitcoin. Marathon earns Bitcoin by running mining rigs competing to solve cryptographic puzzles — successfully solving a block earns the miner a Bitcoin reward (plus transaction fees). Marathon has expanded internationally to access cheaper electricity. Marathon's balance sheet holds large amounts of Bitcoin, creating direct Bitcoin price exposure beyond the mining operation. |
| Investor focus | Investors track monthly transacting users, trading volume, transaction revenue, subscription and services revenue (the more stable non-trading income), and Base blockchain adoption. | Investors track Bitcoin production per day, hash rate (mining computing power deployed), electricity cost per Bitcoin mined, and Bitcoin price as the primary revenue determinant. |
- →Most trusted regulated US cryptocurrency exchange — institutional investors and corporate treasurers require Coinbase's regulatory compliance and insurance for crypto custody
- →Subscription and services revenue (staking, custody, Coinbase One) is growing as a percentage of total revenue, providing income beyond volatile trading fee cycles
- →Base blockchain (Coinbase's Ethereum L2) is gaining developer adoption — if successful, Base creates a new on-chain ecosystem that strengthens Coinbase's long-term crypto infrastructure position
- →Among the largest US Bitcoin mining operations by hash rate — scale provides some advantages in energy purchasing and hardware acquisition for the newest ASIC mining equipment
- →Direct Bitcoin accumulation on balance sheet creates leveraged Bitcoin exposure — Marathon holds substantial Bitcoin in addition to mining income
- →Post-halving efficiency focus: Marathon has been optimizing for energy efficiency and international expansion to maintain profitability as Bitcoin block rewards halve over time
- →Trading fee revenue is highly correlated with crypto market volatility — bear markets dramatically reduce retail trading activity and transaction revenue
- →Regulatory uncertainty in the US (SEC and CFTC jurisdiction disputes over crypto assets) creates ongoing compliance risk for Coinbase's business model
- →Decentralized exchanges (Uniswap, dYdX) and international exchanges reduce Coinbase's competitive moat — crypto users can trade elsewhere
- →Bitcoin halving events reduce mining reward per block — profitability depends on Bitcoin price rising faster than halving-induced revenue reduction
- →Electricity costs are the critical variable in Bitcoin mining economics — rising energy costs can make entire mining operations unprofitable regardless of Bitcoin price
- →Bitcoin mining is fully commoditized — Marathon competes against global miners on electricity cost and hardware efficiency with no sustainable competitive advantage beyond operational scale
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