Benzinga - One of the biggest public listings of all time happened when Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) went public via a direct listing in April 2021. The public company gave investors another way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency sector without owning a crypto wallet or physical crypto.
Here’s a look at the performance of leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) versus Coinbase shares.
What Happened: Coinbase went public on April 14, 2021. The company went public at a time when it was seeing massive growth and the cryptocurrency market was booming, leading to increased demand and a high valuation.
Many analysts believed in the long-term success story of Coinbase. CNBC host Jim Cramer famously said he liked Coinbase to $475 in a tweet on the company’s debut.
Ark Funds CEO Cathie Wood has backed the stock and accumulated large positions in the cryptocurrency platform. Coinbase is a top five holding in the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK), Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE: ARKW) and the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKF).
Coinbase shares have fallen significantly since their IPO, with the cryptocurrency sector hit by bankruptcies and collapses throughout 2022.
The cryptocurrency platform also faces regulatory hurdles, with the SEC announcing it has sued Coinbase on Tuesday, June 6 over securities violations.
While both Coinbase and Bitcoin have seen their valuation fall since 2021, here’s a look at the performance of each since the date of the Coinbase IPO.
Related Link: How To Buy Bitcoin
Investing $1,000 in Coinbase IPO or Bitcoin: Coinbase shares debuted on April 14, 2021. Shares opened for trading at $381, significantly higher than an initial reference price of $250. Shares traded between $310 and $429.51 in its first day of trading and closed the day at $328.28, down from the opening price.
A $1,000 investment in the Coinbase IPO at the opening price of $381 could have purchased 2.62 shares. The same 2.62 shares would be worth $133.54 today, based on a price of $50.97 for Coinbase shares at the time of writing. This represents a loss of 86.6% since the Coinbase IPO.
Bitcoin traded between $61,554.80 and $64,863.10 on April 14, 2021. A $1,000 investment in Bitcoin at the opening price of $63,523.75 could have purchased 0.01574 BTC. The $1,000 investment would be worth $419.63 today, based on Bitcoin's price of $26,660.01 at the time of writing. This represents a decline of 58.0% since the Coinbase IPO.
While both investments would be down over 50% since April 2021, investors would have fared better by investing directly in Bitcoin instead of investing in the Coinbase IPO.
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