The Coinbase Story: History, DPO, COIN Stock & More

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc (ticker: COIN) was the talk of the town over the past month after it went public via a direct listing on the 14th of April, 2021. 

If you’re an Indian investor curious about Coinbase and the COIN stock, this blog is for you. We’ll tell you everything about Coinbase and how to invest in COIN shares from India for as low as $1 using Cube Wealth. 

Important: This blog is meant to educate readers and the information furnished here is not to be construed as investment advice from Cube Wealth. Please consult a wealth coach or financial advisor before investing in any asset

What Is Coinbase?

Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where you can buy and sell 90+ crypto products like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. It’s like NYSE, BSE, and NSE but fully digital. 

Coinbase was established in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and secured funding from prominent VCs like Union Square Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and seed funding accelerator company Y Combinator. 

The crypto platform earns money through transaction commissions and fees when an investor buys or sells a crypto asset. This includes a margin fee and a Coinbase fee which represents 96% of its net revenue.

What Is Coinbase Worth?

Coinbase disclosed a lifetime revenue of $3.4 billion** in an SEC filing. It also announced that the Coinbase platform hosts assets totalling up to $223 billion. 

Given these facts, Coinbase Global Inc was valued at $47 billion before going public at a reference price of $250 per share. The company has grown by more than 80% since it was valued at $8 billion in 2018.  

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The Fundamentals Of Coinbase Inc

1. Founders: Brian Armstrong & Fred Ehrsam

2. Users: 56 million+

3. Quarterly Trade Volume: $335 billion 

4. Lifetime Trade Volume: $456 billion

5. Lifetime Revenue: $3.4 billion**

6. Assets: $223 billion

7. Products: 90+ crypto assets

8. Presence: 100+ countries

**Figure accurate as of December 2020.

Coinbase Competitors At A Glance

1. Binance

2. Bitfinex

3. Kraken

4. Upbit

5. Gemini

When Did Coinbase Go Public?

Coinbase Global Inc went public via a direct listing instead of an IPO on the 14th of April, 2021 after successfully completing all the formalities with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The company went live on Nasdaq with the ticker symbol COIN and was valued at $85 billion on its debut, almost 1.5x its value before listing ($47 billion). Coinbase has a market cap of $64 billion as of 19-04-2021.

Read this blog to know more about the 9 biggest Indian IPOs

Why Did Coinbase Choose DPO Vs IPO?

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves creating new shares that are underwritten by financial institutions like banks and then sold to public investors. This process is costly and carries hefty bank fees. 

A Direct Public Offering (DPO) or direct listing does not involve creating new shares. Thus, an underwriter is not required to execute the process of going public. Instead, existing shares are sold to the public.

A DPO is cheaper than an IPO and Coinbase decided to take the direct listing route because of the low cost involved. Spotify (ticker: SPOT) was another famous company that went public via a direct listing. 

Have you heard of NFOs? They’re IPOs for mutual funds. Read about NFOs here

How Did Coinbase Stock Perform On Nasdaq?

The Coin stock was set to go live at a reference price of $250. This, however, was expected to increase within minutes of the COIN share going live. As expected, COIN zoomed to $381 at the start of 14-04-2021.

Coinbase was worth roughly $100 billion at a point during its first day on Nasdaq. Famous investors like Ark Invest’s founder and CEO Cathie Wood bought upwards of $245 million worth of COIN shares.

COIN stock ended the first day at $328.28 that valued the company above $85 billion, more than the market cap of NYSE ($67 billion) and Nasdaq ($26 billion). 

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Coinbase Stock Fundamentals

1. Company Name: Coinbase Global Inc

2. Crypto Share Name: COIN

3. COIN Share Price: $329.19* (₹24,718.09)

4. Market Cap: $64.29 billion

Buy COIN shares for as low as $1 on Cube

Can You Buy Coinbase Stock From India?

Yes, you can buy Coinbase stock from India using a powerful app like Cube Wealth. Cube helps you invest in US stocks in a simple and straightforward way. Here’s how Cube does it:

• Cube helps you open a US brokerage account with DriveWealth 
• You buy US stocks like COIN, MSFT, AAPL, GOOG, TSLA, and more for as low as $1
  

Here’s how you can buy COIN shares from India using Cube Wealth

• Download Cube Wealth
• Complete your KYC
• Finish the LRS formalities
• Select the COIN stock
• Invest as little as $1
  

Ready to invest? Buy COIN stock now 

FAQs

Q. Is Coinbase publicly traded?

Ans. Yes, Coinbase Global Inc (ticker: COIN) is a publicly traded cryptocurrency company that went live on the Nasdaq on the 14th of April, 2021. It is currently valued at over $64 billion. 

Q. What is Coinbase stock symbol?

Ans. Coinbase started trading with the ticker symbol COIN on the Nasdaq. Investors can buy the COIN stock from India using the Cube Wealth app for as low as $1. 

Q. Did Coinbase go public today?

Ans. Coinbase went public on Wednesday, 14th April 2021. COIN stock began trading above its reference price of $250. COIN was worth $328.28 per share at the day’s close.  

Q. How much is Coinbase stock?

Ans. Coinbase stock (ticker: COIN) is worth $329.19 per share and has a market cap of approximately $64.29 billion as of 20-04-2021. However, Indian investors can invest as little as $1 in COIN using Cube Wealth. Get The App Now

Q. Why is Coinbase so popular?

Ans. Coinbase is a popular cryptocurrency exchange that allows investors to buy and sell crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It’s popularity soared after it went public in April 2021 via a direct listing with the ticker symbol COIN.