Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) shares achieved a market valuation of $85.8 billion after its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday.
The shares of Coinbase opened at $381 and instantly surged to $429.54. However, hours later, its stock price plummeted to $310. COIN stock ended its first day of trading at $328.28 per share.
During its market debut, Coinbase was among the most actively traded companies with a market cap of more than $25 billion. Almost 40 million COIN shares changed hands. The cryptocurrency exchange’s employees and shareholders were among those who immediately sold shares following its public offering.
The exchange was founded in 2012 to ease the buying/selling of Bitcoin (BTC). Consequently, after the digital currencies market soared to all-time high levels, Coinbase rose to fame as the top crypto exchange in the United States. This followed the large endorsement of Bitcoin from major financial institutions and billionaires. Currently, Coinbase has more than 56 million users.
Coinbase IPO regarded as a “watershed” moment for the cryptocurrency industry
Major companies went public over the past six months. Palantir, Airbnb, and Roblox fetched market caps between $45 million and $106 billion during their IPO.