Coinbase is all set to make its public debut on Nasdaq tomorrow with 115 million shares, and the most buzz seems to be around its market valuation. The pre-IPO shares of Coinbase are currently listed on the FTX exchange and crossed $600 per share at the time of reporting. The current pricing project a $156 billion valuation for the exchange
Many pre-market estimates have suggested a valuation of over $100 billion and that number has only gone up post company’s first-quarter financial report, highlighting over $800 million in revenue and 56 million registered customers.
Coinbase first announced its plans of going public towards the end of December last year and faced a minor hiccup post its S-1 Filing as it was fined $6.5 million by the CFTC. The exchange had earlier postponed the plans of direct listing in March to April but was cleared earlier this month by the SEC. Coinbase shares would be listed under the ticker symbol $COIN.
Coinbase profits in the first quarter of 2021 overshadowed the profit of the entire 2020, which is understandable given the sudden hype around the crypto ecosystem over the past 3-4 months. 2021 has seen an aggressive adoption spree of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies that include retail investors, Wall Street traders, Hedge Funds, and financial giants.
Crypto Companies Valuation Soar in the Wake of Rising Demand
The first quarter of 2021 was not just about Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Blackrock, and many others rushing to add Bitcoin exposure, the rising demand has also seen many crypto startups and companies’ valuation skyrocket and more than double in a month. Apart from Coinbase, Bakkt, Kraken, and a few other crypto mining companies have also decided to go public this year.
Goldman Sachs: “Bitcoin is not an asset class.”
Also Goldman Sachs: “Bitcoin is the best performing asset class this year.”
— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth) April 12, 2021
Former New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) CFO called Coinbase listing a real financial innovation. On the other hand, the regulators around the world and in the United States especially seem to realize the potential of digital assets and are working towards better crypto regulations as Crypto turns into a $2 trillion market.
