Coinbase Soars Above Reference Price in Nasdaq Debut By Investing.com

By Christiana Sciaudone

Investing.com —  Coinbase, the first major crypto company to go public, opened at $381, soaring 52% over the $250 reference price.

The price continued to climb just after the open around 1:25 PM ET. Nasdaq had given Coinbase a reference price of $250, which valued the cryptocurrency exchange at about $65.3 billion. The company listed directly on the exchange, bypassing a traditional initial public offering and allowing for a market-driven price. 

The excitement over the crypto world comes as bitcoin trades near a record, surging above $62,500. A year ago, bitcoin was worth less than $7,000. Ethereum has also jumped, from about $157 to around $2,338 over the past 12 months.

The nine-year old provider of financial infrastructure and technology for crypto currencies enables about 43 million retail users, 7,000 institutions, and 115,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries.  

Preliminary first-quarter results show sales of $1.8 billion, more than all of last year. Net income is expected to be between $730 million and $800 million from $32 million a year earlier. For the years ended Dec. 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019, the company generated revenue of $1.3 billion and $533.7 million, respectively, and a loss of $322.3 million and $30.4 million, respectively.