Coinbase CEO cashes out $290M on stock's opening day
Armstrong sold 749,999 shares
Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, weighs in on the Coinbase IPO and cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase Global Inc. Chief Executive Brian Armstrong sold almost $290 million worth of company shares following last week’s stock-market debut.
Armstrong on April 14, the day Coinbase went public, sold a total of 749,999 shares in three separate blocks, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The sales were done between the prices of $381 and $410.40 per share.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OIN | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
The filing suggests Armstrong, who prior to the sales owned almost 40 million shares, or 20% of the company, unloaded about 1.5% of his stake.
Additionally, early investors including venture capitalists Fred Wilson and Marc Andreessen also used the direct listing as an opportunity to reduce their stakes in the company.
COINBASE BACKERS INCLUDE MARC ANDREESSEN, RAPPER NAS
Both Wilson and his firm Union Square Ventures sold 4.7 million shares for proceeds of $1.82 billion, filings showed. Andreessen and other related firms, meanwhile, sold a total of 1.18 million shares worth $449.2 million., various filings showed.
Coinbase shares opened for trading at $381 apiece and climbed as high as $429.54 before settling at $328.28. The Nasdaq set a reference price of $250.
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At $381 per share, Coinbase was valued at around $100 billion, meaning Armstrong, who at the time owned 20% of the company, was worth about $20 billion.
Coinbase shares closed at $342 apiece on Friday, 10% below where they opened for trading.