Crypto Exchange Coinbase Postpones IPO To April

Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has postponed its direct listing to April, according to Bloomberg.

What Happened: The exchange had initially planned to go public later this month, but those plans have now fallen through, said sources close to the matter who wished to remain anonymous. The reasons for the delay have not been specified.

Why It Matters: Coinbase is the largest US-based crypto exchange by volume, accounting for $1.5 billion in daily volumes according to CoinMarketCap.

Analysts have estimated that Coinbase has a pre-IPO valuation of over $68 billion, based on the exchange’s most recent filing with the SEC, but a report from its Nasdaq private auction have suggested its current valuation may be as high as $100 billion.

A valuation of this size would make Coinbase one of the most valuable exchange listings, and crypto proponents, in particular, have been anticipating the effects of the listing on the larger crypto market.

The exchange’s most recently updated SEC filing showed that it had registered 114,850,769 Shares of Class A Common Stock to be listed via a direct listing on Nasdaq.

See also: How to Buy Coinbase IPO (COIN) Stock

“The trading volume and price of shares of our Class A common stock may be more volatile than if shares of our Class A common stock were initially listed in connection with an underwritten initial public offering,” noted the exchange in the filing.

What else: Before the listing was postponed, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to Reddit to offer retail investors the opportunity to participate in an AMA, where Coinbase’s team would answer any questions relating to Coinbase’s business, vision, and the crypto economy.

As we’ve prepared Coinbase for its public listing, we’ve spent a lot of time educating institutional investors about the company and crypto in general.

— Coinbase (@coinbase) March 17, 2021

The most popular questions, based on the number of user upvotes received, were those concerning Coinbase’s criteria for listing new assets and issues around the fee discrepancy between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro.