Popular cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase recently valued itself at $8 billion in an acquisition deal that included its common shares, according to Recode. The latest figure is quite an increase from the company’s August VC valuation of $1.6 billion.
Coinbase acquired Bitcoin startup Earn.com for what is rumoured to have been the equivalent of roughly $100 million. While Earn’s investors reportedly settled on being paid in cash for the acquisition, some members of its management team took payment in the form of stock packages. Allegedly among them was former Earn CEO (now Coinbase CTO) Balaji Srinivasan.
“Thanks to the blockchain, anywhere there’s a phone, there’s a job.” — @earndotcom https://t.co/N9WBFxp4Zv
— Mohsen Khalikhali (@Mossibat) April 17, 2018
The firm’s final valuation will be confirmed once the company completes a 409a valuation, a formal report detailing the value of a company’s common stock.
The 500% increase in valuation has likely been caused by the veritable explosion of the cryptosphere that has taken place over the past several months. Despite the fact that the cryptocurrency markets still haven’t managed to come anywhere close to their December peak, the cryptosphere is still booming, so much so that Coinbase reported $1 billion in profits last year.
As one of the most user-friendly platforms to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, Coinbase has essentially positioned itself as the go-to exchange for most users who are buying cryptocurrency for the first time.
However, the competition is growing increasingly fierce; apps like Revolut and Robinhood are gaining stronger footholds with lower fees and equally (if not more) easy-to-use interfaces. Revolut, which is based in the UK, was recently valued at $1.7 billion, raising $250 million in its Series C round.
That’s nothing to shake a stick at, especially since Coinbase hasn’t managed to shake off its reputation for high fees and horrendously slow customer service in some important corners of the internet. However, Coinbase is still charging ahead with a number of new products and services, including Coinbase Custody, Coinbase Ventures, Coinbase Asset Management, and an index fund.
Announcing Coinbase Index Fundhttps://t.co/ca98IKrzUv
— Coinbase (@coinbase) March 6, 2018
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