Coinbase IPO potentially valued at $28 billion, research says

Popular cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase Global, announced yesterday that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Also known as the registration statement under the Securities Act of 1993, Form S-1 is a requirement for U.S.-based companies intending to file for an initial public offering. Coinbase’s submission will become effective after the SEC finalizes its review process.

Meanwhile, Mira Christanto, a researcher at Messari Crypto, has arrived at a potential valuation of $28 billion after looking at Coinbase’s trading figures. Christanto’s valuation comes from splitting the company’s business segments into trading fees, custody figures, and other criteria.

As per trading fees, the researcher noted that a large percentage of trading volume on the exchange comes from institutional clients, with an average holding of $703 per client.

Coinbase has also enjoyed a rise in its crypto custody figure, along with the general rallying of the market. Custody figures grew from just $7 billion in 2019 to $20 billion in 2020.

According to the researcher, equity investors are hungry for crypto exposure. Grayscale, MassMutual, MicroStrategy, and a host of others are all surging in terms of investments and assets under management.

Christanto also mentioned a major reshuffling of the company’s board, an indication that Coinbase is preparing to go public. She said:

Recently the company shuffled its board to include venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Google veteran Gokul Rajaram along with former Cisco CFO Kelly Kramer in what appears to be final preparations for an offering that could see the company valued at $28 billion.