In their Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, Coinbase shares closed at $328.28, giving the cryptocurrency exchange an initial market cap of $85.8 billion on a completely diluted basis.
The stock began trading at $381 and rapidly rose to $429.54 before sliding down below the initial price and hitting a low of around $310.
Even though no shares changed hands at that price, the price was still well above the reference price of $250 set Tuesday night before their Nasdaq debut.
Coinbase’s stock market debut, which was accomplished by a direct listing in which no stocks were sold prior to the opening, is another significant step forward in the evolution of bitcoin and other digital assets.
Coinbase had a market value of around $62 billion at the end of the day, excluding options and restricted stock units.
Coinbase, which was established in 2012 to make buying bitcoin easier, has grown to become the most popular crypto exchange in the United States, and its value has risen in tandem with the digital currencies bitcoin and ethereum.
The number of users on the service has risen to 56 million, up from 43 million at the end of 2020 and 32 million the year before.
Coinbase was valued at $8 billion in the most recent private equity round in 2018.
Coinbase is going public at a time when a record amount of money is flooding into cryptocurrencies, as tech investors are looking for high-growth opportunities.
Coinbase reported revenue of over $1.8 billion and net income of $730 million to $800 million in 2020, compared to $1.3 billion in 2019. The number of monthly transacting users has increased from 2.8 million three months ago to 6.1 million, according to the company.
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