On the very first day of trading in shares of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on the NASDAQ, top managers and early investors of the company sold shares worth $ 5 billion.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has sold 749,999 COIN shares at prices ranging from $ 381 to $ 410, according to reports posted on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website. He received approximately $ 291.8 million. It should be noted, however, that the indicated volume of shares is only about 1.5% of his stake in the company.
A noticeably larger number of shares were sold by Coinbase board member Fred Wilson. He sold 4.7 million shares and raised approximately $ 1.8 billion. Wilson’s Union Square Ventures sold the same number of shares.
Another board member, Marc Andreessen, teamed up with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and two affiliated companies to sell 1.18 million shares of Coin for $ 449 million.
A direct share offering differs from an IPO in that existing shares enter the market, rather than new ones being issued. Thus, the sale of shares by investors and top managers of Coinbase increased the liquidity of the security and the share of shares in circulation (free float).
As a reminder, Coinbase’s direct public offering took place on April 14th. The Nasdaq Exchange has set the recommended share price at $ 250. After the start of trading, the stock price reached $ 420, and then declined to $ 310. At the end of the first day of trading, the company’s capitalization amounted to $ 85.7 billion. Currently, COIN securities are traded at $ 329.5.
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