The Coinbase application for exchanging cryptocurrencies that is displayed on the screen of an iPhone.
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Digital Currency Exchange Coinbase announced Thursday that the company plans to go public via a direct listing to bypass the traditional IPO route.
Coinbase was founded in 2012 and has grown to become the largest digital money exchange in the US. With investors’ renewed interest in cryptocurrencies, it is reaching the public market. Bitcoin is trading at over $ 32,000, up over 260% over the past year.
Coinbase is jumping on the trend of companies choosing direct listings rather than initial public offerings to avoid diluting their existing shareholders and handing cheap stocks to new investors. Spotify was the first major tech company to embark on this path in 2018. Since then, Slack, Palantir, and Asana have followed suit, and gaming company Roblox expects to conduct a direct listing next month.
Coinbase announced its original intention to go public in mid-December.
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