Coinbase unveils plans for direct stock listing

The San Francisco-based digital currency exchange plans to go public later this year.

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges, has been rumored for some time to be considering a direct listing.

In an official blog post, the cryptocurrency exchange disclosed plans to pursue a direct listing of its Class A common stock, pursuant to a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. The Form S-1 registration statement will become effective after the securities regulator completes its review.

The direct listing format would not offer new shares but instead sell existing shares directly to the public. Some advantages of the format for those holding stock in the company can include the ability to sell without lockups, a model recently employed by Palantir and which has the potential to create “instant billionaires”.

“This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities,” Coinbase said. “This announcement is being issued in accordance with Rule 135 under the Securities Act.”

The exchange first disclosed its intent to go public on Dec. 17 by filing a draft registration with the SEC. A report from Business Insider later claimed that Coinbase intends to work with Goldman Sachs on a public offering, but no confirmation was provided at the time.

Coinbase’s last valuation, in 2018, had the company pegged at $8 billion. Crypto analytics company Messari says the exchange could be worth $28 billion after a public offering. 

This story is still in development and will be updated.