Coinbase’s direct listing will be postponed to April

Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Bloomberg

Coinbase Global Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, is now aiming going public in April, after its plans for a direct listing this month failed, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because it was private.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing the company’s plans for a direct listing, an alternative to the traditional initial public offering.

A Coinbase representative declined to comment.

This week, Coinbase sponsors registered up to 114.9 million shares for trading when the shares were listed. In a direct listing, investors can start selling their shares as soon as the company starts trading, instead of waiting for a lockout period to end – usually until six months in an IPO.

Investment firms, including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures is among those whose shares may be traded, according to a regulatory document on Wednesday. CEO Brian Armstrong and Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam also own shares.

Coinbase’s shares changed hands at $ 200 to $ 375.01 in private transactions this year, the documents show. The volume-weighted average price per transaction for transactions from January to March 15 was $ 343.58, which would give Coinbase a public market valuation of around $ 67.6 billion, based on the total number of shares in circulation on Monday. The fully diluted amount – including employee incentive plans and restricted inventory units – would be significantly higher.

Read More: Coinbase is said to be valued at $ 90 billion in a private auction

The debut will be the first major direct listing to take place on Nasdaq. All previous listings were on the New York Stock Exchange, including those of Spotify Technology SA, Slack Technologies Inc., Asana Inc., Palantir Technologies Inc. and Roblox Corp., listed this month.

Coinbase’s latest financial statements revealed that the company is making money, differentiating itself from many other startups when they make their public debuts. Coinbase went from a loss to a profit of $ 322 million last year, with net revenue that more than doubled to $ 1.14 billion.