The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has filed a valuation of $68 billion this Wednesday. Coinbase plans to IPO shortly under the $COIN ticker. Roughly 115 million shares of Class A common stock priced at $343.58 will be available.
Why it matters: Mainstream investment in Coinbase will reflect the finance sector’s sentiment toward cryptocurrency. With such a large valuation, the future for cryptocurrency looks bright.
Making history: Coinbase will be the Nasdaq’s first major direct listing. Since the initial FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) IPOs, major tech companies, like Spotify and Slack, went public through the New York Stock Exchange.
By the numbers: “Coinbase generated $141 million of net income on $691 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2020,” Axios reported. However, this revenue does not reflect the 2021 cryptocurrency bull run which has brought BTC and ETH to all time highs of $60,000 and $2,000, respectively.
Between the lines: Coinbase will be the first major exchange to IPO on the stock market. It is receiving a large amount of press coverage from mainstream media and will likely be many investors first dip into the cryptocurrency space.
A warning: Media outlets and wall street investors alike may begin to use Coinbase’s stock price as a valuation of the entire cryptocurrency market. If Coinbase opens to volatile reception, be prepared for even greater volatility in the crypto space.
