A cryptocurrency exchange is more valuable than听oil听驳颈补苍迟听BP after it debuted as a听publicly-owned听company on the Nasdaq.听听
Coinbase听reached a听market value of nearly $65.4 billion after the opening day of trading, which听sees the firm valued at $85.8bn when options and stock-based awards are听taken into account.听
The 21% stake owned by CEO Brian Armstrong,听38, a former Airbnb software engineer, is now worth around $13bn.听
Shares debuted on the Nasdaq at a price of $381 and hit a high of $430 and low of $118 鈥� perhaps reflecting the unpredictable nature of crypto trading itself听鈥撎�before听closing at $328.听
Coinbase is an听exchange for trading in听Bitcoin and other digital currencies such as Ethereum and Ripple鈥檚 XRP.听
Founded in 2012, it has听more than 56 million users across 100-plus countries. The firm听charges听transaction fees听on trades and generated an astonishing听$1.8bn in estimated revenue in the first three months of 2021, greater than听its听2020听total, as crypto enjoys a prolonged 鈥榖ull run鈥� of confidence.听听
Bitcoin鈥檚 valuation听hit a record听$64,000 on Tuesday while Ethereum, the second most popular crypto, also听hit an all-time high.听
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Coinbase听made听$322m听in听profit听last year after a听loss of more than $30m in 2019.听
鈥淲hat we hope is it just brings a lot more transparency to this industry, and a lot more focus,鈥� said its CFO Alesia Haas (below). 听
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen that with the attention that Coinbase has received during the past few months.鈥�听
Coinbase opted for a direct listing,听allowing normal investors to immediately buy shares, rather than an听IPO, which meant the listing听did not generate any funding for the company.听
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“There’s going to be volatility with new technologies and the companies associated with them. That’s okay. That’s a feature, not a bug,” Coinbase president Emily Choi told the BBC.听
“If you believe in the long–term idea about digital value and what crypto assets create, you’re just going to play this as a long-term thing.”听