Coinbase Global, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, made its debut on the Nasdaq on April 14. When the dust settled on its initial day, its price stood at $328.28. With a market cap of $86 billion, Coinbase invited comparisons with Facebook’s and Airbnb’s initial public offerings.
The event was notable for several reasons, Global Finance reports. Coinbase, with 56 million registered users, became the first crypto company to list on a US stock exchange; it was also Nasdaq’s first major direct listing. The firm sidestepped a typical IPO and the increasingly popular SPAC as routes to the public.
As CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC, “I wanted there to be just a true market on day one that set the price, not something that was set behind closed doors.” The direct listing, which provides greater accessibility to retail investors, is also more “true to the [democratic] ethos of crypto,” he added. Read more.
