Coming into the year 2021, we all knew the vast majority of IPOs and mergers that were set to take place. Lucid Motors, Airbnb, Doordash, Roblox, Bumble, Instacart, Robinhood, Stripe, Coinbase… the list goes on and on, but only one of those newcomers is actually performing exceptionally well during its infancy. That company is Coinbase Global and they are set to IPO in mid April. 

Coinbase is seeking to build up the crypto economy by providing its users with “a more fair, accessible, efficient, and transparent financial system enabled by crypto”. They do so through their mobile platform that is essentially a bank for cryptocurrencies and transactions. You can buy, sell, or convert cryptocurrencies on their platform as well as store cash for later use. Coinbase Global already has over 43 million users and over 90 billion dollars in assets on their platform. 

As for the forecast for their IPO, the crypto company may be in some murky water. Coinbase is set to IPO during one of the most questionable times for the future of the stock market. The market as a whole is tanking and tech stocks are being hit the hardest. This is due to the Fed’s sceptical outlook on the future of the market. Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, has been sending out various briefings on how the Fed plans to act over the next year or so given the status of the dying pandemic. They plan to do whatever they can in order to keep inflation rates at a steady 2%, but this may vary as demand is expected to increase for goods and services in the travel and social markets. These statements along with rumors of increasing interest rates caused panic among conservative investors and drove them out of the market. In the short term, the market is not something you want to get into right now, but that is exactly what this crypto company is planning to do. 

That being said, Coinbase Global has been producing some amazing numbers. Unlike many of the other infant companies that went public this year, Coinbase has been making money, and a lot of it. Last year, the crypto company went from a loss to a profit and came out on the other end with $1.14 billion in revenue. Not to mention Coinbase backers have been selling their shares at prices ranging from $200-$375.01, according to the filing, per Bloomberg. “The volume-weighted average price per share was $343.58 from January to March 15, and that would lead to a valuation for Coinbase of around $67.6 billion based on the number of shares outstanding as of Monday, March 15, although the full value, with employee incentive plans and restricted stock units, would be much higher”, Bloomberg reported. This raises the bar from when Airbnb reached insane highs during their IPO.

Although Coinbase is considered a speculative play, I would personally consider buying it after the IPO frenzy dies down. I am expecting this IPO to act like the others from this year. Meaning Coinbase will likely skyrocket on IPO day, and decline steadily the weeks following. After around a month or two after their IPO, I will consider buying. More importantly, I will wait for the market correction to pull through before starting a position in this company as this could be a very drawn out collapse.