Coinbase Inc., the San Francisco crypotcurrency exchange,
could go public by the end of 2020, according to a report from Reuters, which
cited three people familiar with the matter.
The plans are in the early stages and would require the
approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission. It would be the first
cryptocurrency company to go public.
Sources told Reuters Coinbase has been in talks to hire
investment banks and law firms. The company said Wednesday it has hired Paul
Grewal, vice president and deputy general counsel at Facebook, to be its chief
legal officer.
Coinbase told Reuters it does not comment on rumors or
speculation.
The news agency said the company is considering a direct
listing, which has become more common in recent years because new shares are
not issued and existing investors can sell their shares more easily.
Coinbase, founded in 2012, was valued at $8 billion at its
last funding round of $300 million in 2018. It has raised more than $500
million in total and says it has more than 35 million users who trade virtual
currency.
The company is among the most valuable alumni of Y
Combinator, emerging from the Mountain View-based accelerator in its Summer
2012 batch. Other investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, DFJ
Growth, Blockchain Capital and Union Square Ventures.
The IPO market so far in 2020 has been dominated by life
sciences and biotech companies, but in the last month several tech companies
have been said to be eyeing the public markets, including Airbnb, Unity
Technologies, Shift Technologies, Palantir and Snowflake.
Click
here for the original article.