The listing method is finalized! Coinbase announced that it will go public directly

On Thursday, major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced in an official blog that the exchange plans to go public through a direct listing.

In the announcement, Coinbase stated, “Coinbase will become a public company under a direct listing plan for Class A common stock. Such listing is expected to be based on the S-1 registration form of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Coinbase previously announced on December 17, 2020 that it had submitted a registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC. Depending on market and other conditions, the S-1 form is expected to become effective after the SEC completes its review process.”

According to Bitpush, direct listing, also known as direct public offering (DPO), is a method for a company's stock to be publicly traded without the help of a bank for an initial public offering (IPO). The company does not need to work with an investment bank to underwrite the issued stock. In 2020, Spotify, a well-known music service application company, also landed on the New York Stock Exchange through a direct listing.

Direct listings do not raise capital from outside parties like an initial public offering, but rather company employees and investors convert their ownership rights into shares, which are then listed on a stock exchange. Once the shares are listed, the public can purchase the shares, and existing investors can cash out at any time, without the lock-up period of a traditional IPO.

According to an earlier report by BitPush, earlier this week, Coinbase also announced its latest operating data on its official website.

As of December 31, 2020, the assets on the Coinbase platform exceeded US$90 billion and there were more than 43 million registered users. The assets controlled by Coinbase Custody accounted for "more than 50%" of the total US$90 billion, and Coinbase has "executed single transactions of more than US$1 billion for some of the world's largest institutions."

Olaf Carlson-Wee, CEO of Polychain and former Coinbase employee, mentioned his views on Coinbase’s listing in an interview with crypto media TheBloc.

He said, "This is a real hardcore financial services business with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Even if you don't have Bitcoin or crypto assets, you will understand what a business is, and you will understand that Coinbase is a very good business."

With a valuation of over $60 billion, Coinbase would likely become one of the largest companies to go public in 2021.

Image source: pixabay

AuthorLiang Che

This article comes from Bitpush.News. Reprinting must indicate the source.