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Coinbase went public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange today.  This is a giant leap for the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange platform.  They did this via a direct listing.  A direct listing is where no new shares are issued or sold, but rather individuals just start trading the stock.  Coinbase is the largest company to launch on the stock market using this tactic.  This also allows investors to trade the stock freely and they do not need to wait a certain amount of time after the initial listing.  

This allows individuals who are not fond of the volatility of the crypto market to essentially "buy into" the crypto market, without purchasing any actual crypto.  But what does this mean for the people who are involved in the crypto market already?  What does this mean for people using Coinbase as their exchange of choice?  Let's take a dive into some research I've found and see what this all means.  

I am not sponsored by either Coinbase or Nasdaq Stock Exchange.  
This is not financial advice.
I am not a financial advisor.
Please do your own research before making any decisions. 
This article is meant for educational purposes only. 

For anyone who doesn't already know, Coinbase is the world's leading crypto exchange with approx. 56,000,000 verified users, 7,000 institutions, and 115,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries.  This information was found here.  It's probably safe to assume that anyone reading this article has used the platform before at least once or twice.  While using the platform is pretty straightforward, it does have fees that tend to be on the higher side when linked to competitors.  These fees can be a little bit confusing too, as they can vary anywhere between 0.5% - 4.5%, and additional fees may occur depending on the crypto and where it's going.  You can start your Coinbase account with next to nothing ($2), and you can begin trading once your account is cleared for trade (verification).  At the time of this article, Coinbase hosts over 30 coins for buying and selling on their exchange.  This number continues to grow as more coins are added to the platform.  Coinbase also gives you the opportunity to earn free crypto through various cryptos on the platform by completing tutorials and completing tasks (usually a quiz). 

Coinbase's initial listing on the Nasdaq with a market value of $99.6 billion.  This is an extremely high amount when you take a look at both the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchanges as a whole.  It nearly has a market value worth more than both exchanges, with Nasdaq valued at around $26 billion and the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) valued around $67 billion.  

Coinbase warned the public in their filing with the United States SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), noting that the success of their business is "substantially dependent on the prices of crypto assets and volume of transactions conducted on the platform".  The prospectus can be found here.  This poses a huge red flag for investors, as some skeptics say that the volatility of the crypto market will pose a threat to the value of the stock exchange listing.  Individuals are worried that the stock value will follow similar trends to the crypto market, leaving Coinbase "not any different than investing in crypto itself". 


At this time, Coinbase has not stated any increases in fees or any changes to the platform.  It appears that the only thing that's different with Coinbase is the new logo that came with today's app update.  This means that individuals can continue to use the platform as normal for now.  Personally, with Coinbase being public, I fear that majority shareholders would have the ability to increase fees that are already higher than other exchanges in order to boost company value.  I feel like they would lose a lot of accounts if this were to happen, but that discussion is extraordinarily above my pay-grade and is only speculation. 

It's hard to tell what (or if) any changes to the platform or exchange experience will be at this time, since this is such a new listing.  Only time will tell!   

Nasdaq - $COIN stock data as of the making of this article (04/14/2021 @ 3:30pm EST)

Trading began at 01:35pm EST at $424.16 (YTD High at this time)

$COIN sits at $334.20 at the time of screenshot, date and time listed above.

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