By
Steve Muchoki
April 25th, 2024
Many experts have come forward with definite opinions on the Coinbase listing, which is the first of its kind in the crypto industry.
Coinbase is set to go live with a public offering on Nasdaq on Wednesday. Coinbase IPO is already affecting the financial market, and several experts have come forward to predict further market volatility and other surprising reactions to the planned public listing.
The massive cryptocurrency exchange is one of the largest globally and the largest in the United States, with a value of over $90bn, about 50 traded currencies, and 56 million individual users. The crypto exchange giant first filed for SEC approval in February and was finally approved for an IPO listing on April 14, this coming Wednesday.
The crypto company IPO will offer only direct listing, not offering any new shares to the market. This development will allow Coinbase to forgo investment banks’ support in price determination and stop ambush investors from scalping shares on opening day.
Coinbase has done exceedingly well in its first quarter of this year, with a turnover of $1.8 billion, coupled with its impressive customer base. There is little doubt amongst investors and speculators that there will be high volatility, with significant demand and interest when it goes public. The consensus is that the volatility will change the market landscape.
Many experts have come forward with definite opinions on the listing, the first of its kind in the crypto industry. Some of their predictions are below.
Gil Luria, a well-known analyst, who adjusted his value prediction for the Coinbase stock from $195 to $440, Luria has given Coinbase’s COIN token a buy rating in the past. He still heartily endorses the stock, citing the exchange’s massive growth over the last two years, but especially in this first quarter of 2021, with $800 million in profits, as opposed to just $31.9 million throughout 2020.
However, Michael Hewson, a CMC markets analyst, disagrees, stating that “a bigger question is whether any valuation is sustainable. Given how many governments aren’t particularly enamored of cryptocurrencies, which means future regulation is likely to be a clear and present danger and a probable headwind.”
Alberto Jauregui, an analyst at Pocket Network, has repeatedly complained about the centralizing effect of Coinbase on crypto users, stating that despite the usefulness of Coinbase, decentralization is the point of Blockchain. The optimistic predictions far outweigh the negative, fortunately. For instance, Greg Foss, the CFO of Validus Power corporation, has been a vocal supporter of the listing, seeing it as an opportunity for investors to diversify their portfolios and expand their range of investments.
Even Gunnar Jaerv, Chief operating officer of First Digital Trust, recently came forward to say that “The Coinbase listing is a huge step for the digital asset industry from both a mainstream adoption and regulatory point of view, signifying the acceptance of cryptocurrency business in traditional finance. Other exchanges following in Coinbase’s footsteps are entirely based on their readiness to go public. It will pave the way for Coinbase’s competitors to join the IPO movement. Kraken will most likely be next.”