Why Coinbase Soared Following Its Initial Public Listing Today
Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase started trading publicly Wednesday through a direct listing process. Anticipation for the listing was apparent before the first trade, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) itself trading at a record price of over $64,000 early. At its opening price of $381 per share just before 1:30 p.m. EDT, Coinbase was being valued at approximately $100 billion. That share price was also about 55% above the reference price, and in initial trading, it climbed from there.
Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the U.S. by volume. Globally, it has over 56 million verified users, operates in more than 100 countries, and has over $220 billion in assets on its platform. Retail cryptocurrency investors generate 95% of its transaction revenue, with the balance from institutional investors. So all in all, it's not surprising that its public debut is drawing significant investor interest.
Image source: Coinbase.
Source Fool.com