8 expert predictions ahead of Coinbase's hotly anticipated IPO next week
Coinbase is set to go public via direct listing on April 14.
Many view it as a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency space.
Insider compiled views from eight experts on what it could mean for rapidly growing digital currency market.
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Coinbase's debut on the Nasdaq on April 14 has been eagerly awaited, especially by cryptocurrency bulls who view the listing as a milestone for the digital currency ecosystem.
Adding to the excitement, the cryptocurrency trading giant reported a whopping $1.8 billion revenue in the first quarter of the year on Tuesday, compared to the $1.3 billion for all of 2020.
On the back of the eye-popping earnings, DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria increased his price target by 125% to $440 from $195. The analyst derived his adjusted price target from a 20x multiple based on the company's expected revenue this year.
The record-breaking quarter for Coinbase moved in lockstep with bitcoin's surge, which thus far has soared more than 100% year-to-date and 600% in the past 12 months.
While bitcoin's rally has stalled in the past days, it tested the $60,000-level record last week after Visa enabled the use of USD Coin and CME Group revealed it is expanding its suite of crypto offerings with micro bitcoin futures. On Thursday, billionaire Rick Caruso's real estate firm announced that it will start accepting bitcoin as rent payment - a first in the residential and retail real estate space.
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, offers a wide range of products and services from trading and custody services to offering a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. It has 43 million users in more than 100 countries.
Read more: A 29-year-old self-made billionaire breaks down how he achieved daily returns of 10% on million-dollar crypto trades, and shares how to find the best opportunities
Here's what eight crypto-industry experts had to say about Coinbase's public debut:
"The direct listing of Coinbase is a huge market signal, however, we're yet to see whether the long-term effect on the crypto industry will be positive or negative ... We are big fans of what Coinbase has done to date, but we worry about the centralizing effects of the concentration of users on a single platform, negating the true benefits of decentralization." - Alberto Jauregui, growth lead of Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem
"The Coinbase listing is a huge step for the digital asset industry from both a mainstream adoption and regulatory point of view, signifying the acceptance of cryptocurrency business in traditional finance. Other exchanges following in Coinbase's footsteps are entirely based on their readiness to go public. This will pave the way for Coinbase's competitors to join the IPO movement. Kraken will most likely be next." - Gunnar Jaerv, COO of First Digital Trust, a leading digital asset custodian in Hong Kong