The DPO gave Coinbase employees and stakeholders immediate access to sell shares at a market-based price.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) shares closed at $328.28 following its direct public offering (DPO) on the 14th of April. After a successful market debut on Nasdaq, the crypto exchange stood at an $85.8 billion market capitalization on a fully diluted basis. On the other hand, the exchange closed the day at $62 billion, ruling out options and restricted stock units. Now, Coinbase is listed on Nasdaq and is available for trading under the ticker “COIN.” The crypto exchange is also the first to go public. According to MarketWatch, COIN is currently at after-hours trading of $338.25. The trading price is a 3.04% increase over its previous close.
Ahead of Coinbase’s listing, Nasdaq had announced the exchange’s reference price of $250 per share on the 13th of April. CNBC reported that Coinbase would be valued at about $65.3 billion on a fully diluted basis with the Nasdaq-given reference price. However, Coinbase saw over $20 billion more to $85.8 billion.
Coinbase Shares above Nasdaq’s Reference Price
On the day of its public debut, the shares of the Coinbase exchange opened at $381 and surged as high as $429.54. Shortly after, the trading price fell to around $310. Eventually, Coinbase did not trade at the reference price given by Nasdaq.
In a blog post published on the 14th of April, Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong commented on the company’s public listing:
“Today’s listing is a milestone, but it’s not as important as every new day in front of us. Coinbase has an ambitious mission: to increase economic freedom in the world. Everyone deserves access to financial services that can help them build a better life for themselves and their families. We have a lot of hard work to do to make this a reality.”
Coinbase went public through a direct listing rather than the traditional initial public offering process (IPO). The DPO gave the company’s employees and stakeholders immediate access to sell shares at a market-based price.
First Crypto Exchange to Go Public via Direct Listing on Nasdaq
Notably, Coinbase is the first company to debut through a direct listing on Nasdaq.
Apart from Coinbase, other tech companies have also gone public through a direct listing. Such companies include audio streaming and media services provider Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) and Slack Technologies (NYSE: WORK). Others are Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR) and online game platform Roblox Corp (NYSE: RBLX).
Over time, Coinbase has grown to become the most popular crypto platform in the US, with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading volume as the leading factors for its growth. Coinbase users have constantly been expanding over the years. In 2019, Coinbase recorded 32 million users across the globe. At the end of the following year, the company saw a surge from 32 million users to 43 million. Now, the crypto platform boasts of 56 million users globally. Armstrong acknowledged the 56 million users of Coinbase and its employees in the blog post.
“A decade of work and so many people brought us here. This includes every Coinbase employee…the 56 million people who use Coinbase,” said he.
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