No IPO for Coinbase; The 43 Million User-base Exchange is Taking the Direct Route

The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, Coinbase, is planning to go public through a direct listing, said the company in a statement. It reads,

“Coinbase Global, Inc. today announced its intent to become a publicly-traded company according to a proposed direct listing of its Class A common stock.”

Last month, the San Francisco-based company announced that it had filed its registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the time, the company didn’t clarify if it would pursue an initial public offering (IPO) or direct listing.

Coinbase will join the handful of companies, including Spotify, with the direct listing route to go public through direct listings. Roblox Corp., an online video game company, also announced that it’s planning a direct listing after raising capital privately and delaying its IPO.

In its 2020 review report, Coinbase revealed that it has more than 43 million users, with growth accelerating in late 2020.

Recently, another crypto exchange Gemini said that they could consider an IPO. Already eight crypto firms are eyeing initial public offerings amidst the surging cryptocurrency market.

According to Renaissance Capital, social trading platform eToro and mining company MicroBT, Bitmain Technologies, and Bitfury have joined the chatter of public offerings slated for this year, which provides IPO ETFs and institutional pre-IPO research.

“Given current appetite for cryptocurrencies, I expect extremely strong demand for bellwether crypto companies that are already turning a profit,” Emmanuel Goh, co-founder, and chief executive officer of data analytics Skew, told Bloomberg.