The value of the Coinbase cryptocurrency trading platform jumped to more than $112 billion in its Nasdaq stock debut on Wednesday, April 14th, but then fell below its share price as bitcoin fell.
Coinbase’s huge valuation, which is higher than that of traditional stock exchanges, such as the Intercontinental Exchange Group and the Nasdaq itself, is a milestone for crypto and the company itself, which began almost a decade ago, when few people had even heard about bitcoin and many platforms were managed by amateurs from their homes.
Shares of Coinbase closed at $328.28, down 14% from $381 on the Nasdaq, after rising to $429.54. Based on the closing price of the share, the company’s valuation amounted to about $86.5 billion.
Bitcoin – which, along with Ethereum, accounted for 56% of Bitcoin revenue for 2020 – fell below $62.000, having previously approached $65.000.
Coinbase’s stock market debut is not just a measure of its success, given that its valuation was just $8 billion dollars during the last financing of the company in 2018, but also a victory for the Nasdaq.
Coinbase chief financial officer Alesia Haas said on Wednesday that one of the reasons the company chose the Nasdaq was because the stock exchange offered the code “COIN”, as opposed to the New York Stock Exchange.
The Nasdaq raised its benchmark price for a Coinbase stock to $250 on Tuesday. Shares of the company changed hands in March at prices indicating a valuation of $90 billion.
