Coinbase Inc is planning a U.S. stock market listing for later this year or early 2021, Reuters reported Thursday.
The plan is subject to approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. If successful, Coinbase could become America’s first major cryptocurrency exchange to go public.
Instead of an initial public offering (IPO}, where new shares are created, Coinbase is considering listing a stock market directly, Reuters reported, quoting three sources familiar with the plans.
In a direct listing, “no new shares are created and only existing, remaining shares are sold,” eliminating the risk of diluting an existing shareholding. Existing investors are not subject to any lock-in period and may sell their shares directly to the public.
Reuters said the exchange has not yet registered its listing intentions with the SEC, “but has been in talks to hire investment banks and law firms.” It is not yet clear which stock exchange Coinbase is targeting.
Priced at over $ 8 billion, Coinbase is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. More than 35 million people use the 8-year-old platform to buy and sell digital assets such as bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH) and ethereum (ETH).
Coinbase will not be the first cryptocurrency-related business to have its shares publicly traded on the US stock exchange. Bitcoin mining equipment maker Ebang recently listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Canaan Creative shares are also listed on the same course.
However, Coinbase’s size of business and its popularity make it public of great significance, especially in an industry eager to gain approval from traditional mainstream investors, who, until now, have tended to dismiss cryptocurrency as an asset speculative.
Coinbase did not comment on the listing issue.
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