Coinbase debuts on stock market with $86 bln in market cap

Crypto exchange Coinbase debuted in New York yesterday with traders valuing it at $86 billion in the first day of trading.

Echo Wang from Reuters reported:

Coinbase Global Inc was valued at $86 billion at the end of its Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, in a choppy day of trading when its valuation went as high as $112 billion.

Coinbase’s stock market debut, done through a direct listing where no shares are sold ahead of the opening, marks another milestone in the development of bitcoin and other digital assets.

CNBC’s Ari Levy wrote:

Skirting the traditional IPO process, Coinbase listed its stock directly, allowing employees and existing shareholders to sell shares immediately at a market-based price. In pursuing a direct listing, Coinbase followed tech companies like Spotify, Slack, Palantir and Roblox, which helped standardize the process.

Excluding options and restricted stock units, Coinbase closed the day with a market cap of about $62 billion.

Bobby Allyn from NPR noted:

Coinbase’s listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “COIN” was heralded by enthusiasts as a turning point for once-obscure digital currencies.

“Today was a landmark moment,” said cryptocurrency investor Ian Lee. “Crypto is the future of finance.”

Bradley Tusk, a political consultant and venture capitalist who financially backed Coinbase, said the company’s public offering shows that more Wall Street banks and other traditional investors are warming up to the idea of cryptocurrency.