Coinbase Targets Direct Nasdaq Listing of its Class A Common Stock

After the confidential submission of a draft registration statement to become a publicly-traded company announced last year, Coinbase has taken a major step to be listed on the giant US stock exchange – Nasdaq.

• CryptoPotato reported earlier that Coinbase had submitted a confidential draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public via a direct listing instead of an IPO. Initial estimations suggested that the potential valuation was at about $28 billion. 
• Earlier today, the company announced that it had filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Commission “relating to a proposed public direct listing of its Class A common stock.” 
• This signifies a vital step towards becoming a publicly-traded company. Coinbase plans to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “COIN.” 
• It’s worth noting, though, that while the registration statement has been filed, it has yet to become effective. As the company explained it:  

• “These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.” 

• Furthermore, Coinbase asserted that its filing doesn’t “constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.” 
• The company reported that its net revenue results for 2020 were substantially larger than the 2019 numbers – $1.1 billion against $483 million. The expenses had also increased from $580 million in 2019 to nearly $870 million last year.