The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange facilitated the purchase of $ 1.5 billion of Bitcoin (BTC) by Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), the Bloc reported Wednesday.
What happened: The purchase of the company led by Elon Musk was carried out in the first week of February over several days, according to the Block.
The order was reportedly routed to several counter trading desks in the same way that Coinbase conducted the purchase for MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR).
Coinbase’s main brokerage arm has more than five Fortune 500 companies as customers, a source told Block.
Why does it matter: Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange is being valued at almost $ 77 billion as it prepares to go public, which is greater than Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE: ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, informed CoinDesk.
The stock’s heady appreciation comes at a time when the BTC hit a record high of more than $ 52,000 on Wednesday.
The valuation is based on Coinbase’s private stock trading on the Nasdaq Private Market at $ 303 a unit, people familiar with the matter told CoinDesk.
“In the first week it cost $ 200 a share, in the second week it cost $ 301 each and in the third week it was $ 303 each. Then you can see price discovery happening, ”according to the publication’s source.
At the time Coinbase announced its IPO plans in December, the company was valued at $ 8 billion based on a 2018 financing round.
The cryptocurrency exchange is running an anonymous order book before its direct listing, whose date is not yet known, CoinDesk noted.
Nearly 254 million shares on the cryptocurrency exchange will be in circulation and available for trading as the company goes public, people familiar with the IPO told CoinDesk.
Share price: Tesla shares closed almost 0.2% higher at $ 798.15 on Wednesday and fell 0.56% in the after-hours session. BTC traded 6.12% higher at $ 52,225.99.
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