Coinbase, the biggest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, seeks to ride Bitcoin's meteoric rise as it released an intention to seek a public share listing, Reuters reported on Friday.
Coinbase disclosed Thursday its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public, setting the stage for a major stock market listing for the American cryptocurrency exchange.
Based on the filing, Coinbase had a net revenue of $1.14 billion last year, up from $483 million from the previous year. It also posted a net income of $322 million for the year after reporting a loss in 2019.
Additionally, Coinbase reported around $136 million in other revenues, which include direct sales of digital assets and interest income, pushing the company's total revenue for the year at around $1.2 billion.
Coinbase's public debut has been much-anticipated thanks to recent activity among bitcoin and other blockchain-based assets and its growing valuation on private exchanges.
"Our net revenue is substantially reliant on the prices of crypto assets and volume of transactions executed on our platform. If such price or volume declines, our operating results and financial condition would be affected," CNBC quoted the company as saying in the filing.
Coinbase said it will use a direct listing to offer its shares instead of a traditional IPO. A direct listing is an alternative to an IPO, and it involves investors converting their stakes into stock listed on an exchange, CNBC said.
Trading in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) comprise 56% of users' trading volume, the company said. Bitcoin was trading at just below $52,000 per coin on Thursday, according to Coin Metrics.
Coinbase, reported to be worth more than $100 billion in recent private transactions, said it plans to list its shares on the NASDAQ under the symbol "COIN."
More than 43 million investors in more than 100 countries use Coinbase, accounting for $455 billion in trades and $90 billion in assets on the platform, according to CNN Business, citing the company's website.
