This illustration photo shows the Coinbase logo in the background as a person checks cryptocurrencies prizes on a smartphone in Los Angeles on April 13, 2021. — AFP picNEW YORK, April 14 — Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase makes a highly anticipated stock market debut on Nasdaq today amid frenzied interest in bitcoin and other virtual currencies despite concerns about a bubble.
Other virtual currencies — such as ether, Litecoin or Stellar Lumens — have also surged in line with bitcoin.Founded in 2012 in San Francisco by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, the platform allows users to buy and sell about 50 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. As a result of this craze, Coinbase’s revenue has increased almost tenfold in the course of a year to US$1.8 billion in the first quarter, according to company estimates.The success of Coinbase and cryptocurrencies in general has given some rivals ideas: the head of the California-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Kraken told CNBC last week he hopes to take his company public next year, also via a direct listing.
“The bigger question is whether any valuation is sustainable, particularly given how many governments aren’t particularly enamoured of cryptocurrencies,” Hewson said.