Coinbase says it has confidentially filed for an IPO
Cryptocurrency giant Coinbase announced on Thursday that is has confidentially filed for a public offering, becoming the latest in a parade of high-profile startups to pursue an IPO in 2020. — Founded in 2012 as a simple way for consumers …
It matters because Coinbase would be the first major pure-play US crypto exchange to reach public markets, giving investors a listed proxy for the entire sector just as a parade of 2020 startups rush to price their own offerings.
First-order effects
Coinbase gains a regulated path to liquidity for early employees and 2018-era investors, while retaining control over when financial details become public thanks to the confidential route.
The SEC now holds Coinbase's registration statement, forcing the exchange to begin disclosing revenue concentration and regulatory risk it has so far kept private.
Second-order effects
A listed Coinbase becomes the benchmark valuation every private crypto rival gets measured against — the playbook Gemini later ran when it confidentially filed after settling with the CFTC, and Blockchain.com echoed in its own confidential filing.
Exchanges competing for institutional custody and trading volume will face pressure to match whatever disclosure standards a public Coinbase adopts, raising the compliance bar across the sector.
Third-order effects
If the direct-listing structure holds through to the January announcement of intent, crypto exchanges are converging on going public without underwriters — bypassing the banks that once gated tech exits.
Public-market reporting cycles will turn crypto exchanges' quarterly results into macro signals for the asset class itself, entangling exchange earnings with broader market sentiment in a way regulation will eventually have to address.
The trend: Crypto exchanges are exiting via confidential filings and direct listings, converting themselves from venture-backed startups into listed financial institutions on their own timetable.
CB IPO gets more eyes on Bitcoin and crypto With more crypto adoption this probably does well over time Shows how much potential there is with investing in crypto start ups (high risk & high reward) I'd personally rather put more money in Bitcoin or start ups than IPOs https://tw…
I love crypto exchanges as a business because they are cash cows getting a piece of every transaction. Congrats to everyone at coinbase! https://twitter.com/...
Coinbase announces IPO. When the S1 is out it will be interesting to see how correlated Coinbase revenue is with crypto bull/bear markets. https://fortune.com/...
A message from Coinbase about crypto market rallies: While we're always excited to see increased interest in crypto, we recommend taking a long-term view of the market. https://blog.coinbase.com/...
Well this could get entertaining fast - spiritually, LOL: “Fred Ehrsam told Fortune the company is “spiritually” built to go public via an offering involving digital tokens on a blockchain” coinbaseCoin ERC20 token?! https://twitter.com/...
Your financial advisor in the United States can't legally reco anything crypto. Imagine trading and not at least peaking at crypto markets https://blog.coinbase.com/...
.@coinbase says it filed paperwork with SEC to go public, confirming @Reuters scoop from July with @ASenjourno & @annairrera. As we reported then, if SEC approves the plans, it'd be a landmark victory for cryptocurrency advocates https://blog.coinbase.com/... https://www.reuters.…
Coinbase was my second ever angel investment, almost 8 years ago. Couldn't be more excited for this. Congrats to @brian_armstrong & @fehrsam. And to all the great friends I've made within the company over the years 🎉 https://twitter.com/...
Another sign of bitcoin/crypto optimism? Coinbase says it has confidentially filed for IPO. Should be fun to eventually see the S-1. https://blog.coinbase.com/...
With bitcoin at $23K, an IPO market where financials barely matter and jupiter and saturn aligning, there's never been a better time https://twitter.com/...