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Well, pretty soon. Yesterday, crypto exchange
Coinbase filed paperwork with
the SEC to go public. It's likely to be one of the first big IPOs of
2021.
The rundown: Coinbase was founded in 2012 by
Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, and has since grown from a bitcoin
exchange into one of the foremost crypto companies.
- Armstrong
incited controversy earlier this year when he explained in a
blog post that Coinbase was a strictly apolitical company and offered
buyouts to any employees who disagreed. Sixty took him up on it.
Run the numbers: Coinbase has raised over $547
million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square, and
BBVA. It was most recently valued at about $8 billion and boasts about 35
million users, more than Schwab.
This is really a
story about crypto's glow-up
Cryptocurrencies were once the Gunther of the financial
world because of their volatility and murky-at-best legal status. But this
year, they're approaching Phoebe
(irrefutably the best cast member).
- Bitcoin,
the largest cryptocurrency, is up over 200% on the year.
- Just
this week, it surpassed $20,000 for the first time ever on its way up
to $23k.
Bitcoin's price is surging as more Patagonia vests
embrace crypto. Traditional investors such as Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley
Druckenmiller have come out in favor of bitcoin. Institutional investors
Fidelity and MassMutual have also gotten on board, and financial platforms
Square and Robinhood now allow crypto trading.
There are a couple
major unknowns
Coinbase hasn’t announced 1) which
exchange it will list on or 2) how the IPO will be structured. We could
even see a blockchain-based IPO—if the SEC is in the mood to approve that
sort of thing. If not, Coinbase could follow Spotify and Slack's path to a
direct listing.
Bottom line: If you've ever hung out with
crypto folks, you know they're the people at the bar who order a round of
French 75s. Coinbase's IPO will not be typical.
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