Coinbase Global announces plan to go public via direct listing just as Bitcoin's price soars

Popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COINB) plans to go public via a direct listing. The firm announced on its company blog that the move will be “pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission [that] Coinbase Global Inc. previously announced on Dec. 17, 2020, that it had confidentially submitted. … The Form S-1 is expected to become effective after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.” Messari.io, which follows the crypto market, wrote recently that Coinbase could fetch a $28 billion valuation. Coinbase said in October 2018 that a $300 million Series E fundraising at that time valued the firm at “over $8 billion.” Tiger Global Management led that funding round, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain, Wellington Management, Y Combinator Continuity and other sources. New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has also invested in the firm.