The exchange of bitcoin (BTC) and US cryptocurrencies, Coinbase, confirmed this Thursday, January 28, that it will go to the stock market through direct quotes and not by an Offer Initial Public (IPO). The company awaits a response to the request sent in December to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to continue with the regulatory process.
The exchange house made official the mechanism it will use for its entry to the stock market after preliminary versions that spoke of a possible IPO, as indicated in the statement posted on its website.
“Coinbase Global, Inc. today announced its intention to become in a public company listed on the stock exchange through a direct listing proposal of its class A common shares. This listing proposal is expected to be carried out through a registration statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission Form S-1 and Stock Market “, explained Coinbase.
IPOs and direct quotes are two mechanisms used by those companies that want to go public and trade stocks. In the mechanism chosen by Coinbase, no new shares are created, but rather that it operates with existing securities, without the participation of intermediaries. In this case, promoters, investors or employees who own shares of this type can market them directly to the interested public.
On the other hand, in IPOs, new shares are issued that are then managed by brokers , investment banks, mutual funds or insurance companies, for example. CryptoNews announced in December that Coinbase was considering entering the stock market using a direct listing rather than an IPO. The company did not provide details on the reasons that led it to make that decision.
Coinbase in hot times for the market
The information is presents at a heated time for the stock market. The situation that occurred with GameStop shares, the case of the group on Reddit WallStreetBets and the purchase restrictions imposed by RobinHood, Interactive Brokers and Ameritrade, for the purchase of securities, keeps the market in turbulence financial space.
At this point the question arises, will what is currently happening on Wall Street benefit or harm Coinbase? The rise in the price of bitcoin and a greater acceptance of cryptocurrencies on a global scale could tip the balance in favor of the exchange .
For the research firm Messari, the market valuation of Coinbase could be about $ 28 billion. The agency considers this amount as it is one of the “top exchanges,” according to analyst Mira Christanto.
According to the information service CoinGecko, Coinbase Pro, the company’s professional platform for exchanges, the exchange is the second most used by traders with a daily trade of 5.5 billion of dollars. The exchange house operates with 43 cryptocurrencies and 125 trading pairs.
