Surprise, Surprise: Coinbase Files IPO

“While we’re always excited to see increased interest in crypto, it’s also important to point out that this is not only a time of high volumes but also price volatility,” CEO Brian Armstrong wrote. “The market can move in either direction much faster than equity markets.”

Go ahead and tack on yet another high-profile company to go public in 2021. Coinbase Global, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, said Thursday that it had filed confidentially with the SEC for an initial public offering.

The news comes, conveniently, near the end of a sizzling year for Bitcoin. On Wednesday, Bitcoin blew passed $20,000 for the first time, and the following day it was trading above $22,500, up 241% on the year, making it the top performing investment of 2020. The SEC Finally Cracks Robinhood

Pioneered in 2012, Coinbase has a cool 35 million verified users in more than 100 countries, with lifetime trading volume surpassing $320 billion. It employs over 1000 people and the online platform allows users to buy, sell, transfer and store digital currency.

The Silicon Valley shop has garnered $537.4 million in funding. Its last round, which raised $300 million in 2018, valued it at $8 billion. The filing positions Coinbase to launch an IPO in 2021, along with Bumble, Marqeta, Roblox, Robinhood, and Affirm Holdings. Affirm To Squeeze In IPO Before The Year Ends

The CEO also alluded to Coinbase’s multiple outages this year as the exchange has struggled to keep up with a flood of traders looking to capitalize on Bitcoin’s high volatility. Although we may occasionally fall short, we will always do our best to address our shortcomings and transparently communicate any information that our customers need to confidently manage their accounts and make informed trading decisions,” Armstrong wrote.