Coinbase Global Inc. was listed yesterday on Nasdaq. Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. It was founded in 2012 and is a fully regulated and licensed cryptocurrency exchange supporting all U.S. states except for Hawaii. Initially, the exchange only allowed Bitcoin trading but soon began adding other cryptocurrencies and altcoins that matched its decentralized criteria. Currently, the trading currency list on the exchange has expanded to include Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, and many others.
Coinbase shares opened at USD 381 per share on its first trading day at Nasdaq. This is 52% above its reference price of $250 a share. Coinbase soared to near $150b in valuation in its landmark listing. However, at the end of its first trading day, Coinbase had a market cap of $65.4bn, in close competition with the $67 billion worth ICE, the Parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
Coinbase now has 56 million users, up from 43 million at the end of 2020. Although some investors are calling Coinbase’s market debut a “watershed” moment for the cryptocurrency industry, many also note risks to come, including volatility and potential government regulation, to name a few.
Advertisement
The Coinbase Inc. company went public through a direct listing which is an alternative to an initial public offering that does not raise any money, and later unveiled a grand market response to its debut listing.
According to various Coinbase reviews, it has become one of the 150 most valuable public companies in the US, ahead of Discover Financial Services, First Republic Bank, and Nasdaq.
Advertisement
MoffettNathanson analyst Lisa Ellis believes that the shares could still have about 60% to climb to hit $600. Coinbase has increasingly built out its institutional side of the business, with that segment’s trading volume growing each of the last three years. Other outlets have reported that Coinbase also helped companies add bitcoin to their balance sheets, including Tesla and MicroStrategy.
