Pre-IPO Coinbase stock trades 45% above rumored private market price

Coinbase is rumored to have chosen the Nasdaq over the New York Stock Exchange for its upcoming direct stock listing.

The stage might be set, but prospective investors are still wondering exactly how much Coinbase stock is worth.

Industry outlet The Block cited an unnamed source who claimed Coinbase stock was being matched for $200 per share on the Nasdaq Private Market, where insiders with vested shares can cash out early.

Coinbase is going public at a $50 billion valuation. A modest performance (in this investment climate) on its opening will push it beyond that of DoorDash's 60 billion market cap.

That means, Coinbase will be the second most valuable firm to exit Ycombinator only behind Airbnb.
— Mason Nystrom (@masonnystrom) February 1, 2021

If that’s true, Coinbase would be valued at $50 billion, sizing the top US cryptocurrency exchange about 10% bigger than DocuSign, Peloton, and Monster Beverage Corp.

Pre-IPO shares already trade on crypto derivatives platform FTX, which gives us some indication as to whether the market believes The Block’s unnamed source.

Pre-IPO Coinbase stock is now worth around $290 per share on FTX — 45% higher than its supposed price on the Nasdaq Private Market.

This means FTX traders currently price Coinbase at $73 billion, which would make the exchange more valuable than the likes of Activision Blizzard, Atlassian, and COVID-vaccinators Moderna.

Both potential valuations far exceed Messari’s $28 billion estimate in December, and go way beyond Coinbase’s measly $8 billion price tag from a funding round in late 2018.

None of this is investment advice. Markets for pre-IPO shares come with their own unique set of risks. Always do your own research.