US exchange, Coinbase postpones its direct listing to April

TL;DR Breakdown

• Coinbase proposed direct listing has been postponed to April, according to sources familiar with the matter.
• The exchange plans to sell about 114.9 million shares in the direct listing.

The leading United States cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has recently made headlines across multiple crypto and international media platforms because of its plan to go public. As Cryptopolitan reported, the exchange is planning to trade on the New York-based stock exchange, NASDAQ, through a direct listing and not as a traditional initial public offering (IPO). 

According to new reports, however, Coinbase proposed direct listing will happen in April.

Coinbase to go public in April

Bloomberg reported the development today, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. They claimed that Coinbase previously planned to trade on the public market later this month. However, it slipped this month, and so, the exchange has postponed the listing to the coming month. The main reason for the postponement was not specified by the source. 

In February, the exchange filed Form S-1 with the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its intention to go public on NASDAQ via direct listing – still under review. A direct listing means that the exchange will offer its existing shares to the public, rather than creating or issuing new ones. The exchange is looking to sell about 114.9 million shares in the public market.

Kraken, eToro prepares to go public 

Coinbase moves to trade on the public is setting the ground for other crypto companies to follow. Many people see this as a milestone that will extend the crypto market to institutions that don’t want to engage with digital currencies directly. Meanwhile, Kraken and eToro are reportedly considering plans to go public.

eToro intends to achieve this through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), while Kraken plans to follow the same route as Coinbase, although in the next year.