https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/coinbase-reference-price-250-ahead-of-direct-listing.html Skip Navigation logo logo Markets * Pre-Markets * U.S. Markets * Currencies * Cryptocurrency * Futures & Commodities * Bonds * Funds & ETFs Business * Economy * Finance * Health & Science * Media * Real Estate * Energy * Environment * Transportation * Industrials * Retail * Wealth * Life * Small Business Investing * Invest In You * Personal Finance * Fintech * Financial Advisors * Trading Nation * Options Action * ETF Street * Buffett Archive * Earnings * Trader Talk Tech * Cybersecurity * Enterprise * Internet * Media * Mobile * Social Media * Venture Capital * Tech Guide Politics * White House * Policy * Defense * Congress * Finding Solutions CNBC TV * Live TV * Live Audio * Business Day Shows * The News with Shepard Smith * Entertainment Shows * Full Episodes * Latest Video * Top Video * CEO Interviews * CNBC Documentaries * CNBC Podcasts * CNBC World * Digital Originals * Live TV Schedule Watchlist PRO * Pro News * Pro Live * Subscribe * Sign In Menu * Make It * USA * INTL Search quotes, news & videos SIGN IN logo Markets * Pre-Markets * U.S. Markets * Currencies * Cryptocurrency * Futures & Commodities * Bonds * Funds & ETFs Business * Economy * Finance * Health & Science * Media * Real Estate * Energy * Environment * Transportation * Industrials * Retail * Wealth * Life * Small Business Investing * Invest In You * Personal Finance * Fintech * Financial Advisors * Trading Nation * Options Action * ETF Street * Buffett Archive * Earnings * Trader Talk Tech * Cybersecurity * Enterprise * Internet * Media * Mobile * Social Media * Venture Capital * Tech Guide Politics * White House * Policy * Defense * Congress * Finding Solutions CNBC TV * Live TV * Live Audio * Business Day Shows * The News with Shepard Smith * Entertainment Shows * Full Episodes * Latest Video * Top Video * CEO Interviews * CNBC Documentaries * CNBC Podcasts * CNBC World * Digital Originals * Live TV Schedule Watchlist PRO * Pro News * Pro Live * Subscribe * Sign In Menu Tech Coinbase gets reference price of $250 per share from Nasdaq ahead of Wednesday's direct listing Published Tue, Apr 13 20214:54 PM EDTUpdated Tue, Apr 13 20215:10 PM EDT Ari Levy@levynews ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email Key Points * The Nasdaq said on Tuesday that Coinbase's reference price for its direct listing is $250, which would value the company around $65.3 billion on a fully diluted basis. * The reference price reflects past transactions and input from the investment bankers, but it does not indicate where the stock will open on Wednesday. * Coinbase is the Nasdaq's first significant direct listing, after Spotify, Slack, Palantir, Asana and Roblox all went public on the New York Stock Exchange. In this article * COIN Chesnot | Getty Images Nasdaq gave Coinbase a reference price of $250 a share on Wednesday ahead of its planned direct listing, which would value the cryptocurrency exchange at about $65.3 billion on a fully diluted basis. Coinbase is set to become the first major crypto business to go public in the U.S. and, should it reach a $100 billion market cap, will instantly be one of the country's 85 most valuable companies. The company's value has soared in the past year alongside bitcoin and ethereum, the primary currencies traded on the site. Coinbase chose the direct listing path to the public market rather than pursuing a traditional IPO. That means instead of raising cash by selling new shares to a group of institutional investors, Coinbase is allowing existing stakeholders to start selling immediately at a market-driven price. The reference price provided by Nasdaq reflects recent private market trades and input from investment bankers but does not indicate where the stock will open. This is Nasdaq's first major direct listing. In the five significant direct listings that have taken place on the New York Stock Exchange -- Spotify, Slack, Palantir, Asana and Roblox -- the opening price was on average about 37% above the reference price. If Coinbase opens with a similar percentage increase, the price would be around $343, very close to the average private market price in the first quarter of $343.58. Coinbase said last week in announcing preliminary first-quarter results that revenue in the period surged ninefold to $1.8 billion, and net income climbed to between $730 million and $800 million from $32 million a year earlier. The vast majority of transactions on Coinbase involve the purchasing of bitcoin and ethereum, which have been on a historic tear, climbing over 800% and 1,300%, respectively, in the past year. Arrows pointing outwards Bitcoin and ethereum over the past year CNBC For the full year of 2020, revenue more than doubled to $1.28 billion, and the company swung from a loss in 2019 to a profit of $322.3 million. Coinbase has mapped out a plan to be at the center of an emerging "cryptoeconomy," in which financial transactions and online marketplaces will largely move to the blockchain, giving investors a wide set of digital currencies to buy and trade. But the company has acknowledged that short-term growth will primarily be dictated by the price and transaction volume of bitcoin. WATCH: Crypto strategist on how Coinbase's debut validates cryptocurrencies VIDEO4:3404:34 Crypto strategist on how Coinbase's debut validates cryptocurrencies Squawk Box logo * Subscribe to CNBC PRO * Licensing & Reprints * CNBC Councils * Supply Chain Values * CNBC on Peacock * Advertise With Us * Join the CNBC Panel * Digital Products * News Releases * Closed Captioning * Corrections * About CNBC * Internships * Site Map * Podcasts * Ad Choices * Careers * Help * Contact * * * * * * * News Tips Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you. Get In Touch CNBC Newsletters Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox Sign Up Now Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Privacy Policy|Do Not Sell My Personal Information|CA Notice|Terms of Service (c) 2021 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Division of NBCUniversal Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. 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