Coinbase to go public via direct listing

​Coinbase Global, Inc. (Coinbase), a digital currency exchange based in San Francisco announced that it intends to go public using a direct listing.

Unlike the traditional initial public offering (IPO), the way of a direct listing does not create any new shares and only existing, outstanding shares are sold with no underwriters involved.

Coinbase revealed that it proposed a direct listing of its Class A common stock. 

According to Coinbase's announcement, the cryptocurrency exchange had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After the SEC completes its review process, the Form S-1 is expected to become effective.

​Despite the confirmation of the public listing, the financials of the company is not public yet, nor the current valuation of the company is known. Messari, a blockchain research company, earlier estimated that Coinbase could be valued at as much as $28 billion upon public listing.