Coinbase's $20 billion Man | Bitcoin Bear Or Correction?

COINBASE OPENS ITS KIMONO

Ever since rumors started last summer that Coinbase was preparing to go public, interested parties have been eager to get a look behind the curtain at the crypto giant. Ahead of its public listing on Nasdaq in the coming months, the company publicly filed its S-1 registration document, which provides an unprecedented level of access and detail on the company’s financials, strategy and operations. For instance, Coinbase raked in $1.27 billion in total revenue in 2020 , more than double its $483 million net revenue the previous year, with a net margin of 25%. Additionally, the company said it has 43 million verified retail users on its platform, 2.8 million of which make monthly transactions, along with 7,000 institutions.

Furthermore, when Coinbase officially goes public, some of its investors and executives are going to get very, very rich. Starting with CEO Brian Armstrong, who took home nearly $60 million in compensation last year. His 21% stake in Coinbase could be worth north of $20 billion if the company reaches its rumored $100 billion valuation. Other key figures likely to see financial windfalls include co-founder Fred Ehrsam and venture funds Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital and Tiger Global.

BITCOIN & CRYPTO TAKE A BREATHER

After weeks of unprecedented growth, bitcoin and the broader crypto market have seen a roller-coaster week. Early in the week, the bitcoin price fell as low as $44,850 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, down 20% from its peak. It recovered somewhat following news that MicroStrategy planned to purchase another $1 billion worth of the asset and Square increased its bitcoin holdings by $170 million. That said, macroeconomic issues such as growing yields on benchmark bonds continue to weigh on the market, as investors worry that central banks may rein in their dovish policies to avoid runaway inflation.

Still, despite this speedbump analysts remain bullish on bitcoin and crypto. “Bitcoin is going to flip gold, and it’s going to subsume the entire gold market cap,” Saylor told CNBC this week ahead of MicroStrategy announcing it had added a further $1 billion worth of bitcoin to its already sizable holdings. He also noted in the interview that he expects bitcoin to become less volatile as it grows and matures.

ROUNDBALL ROCK

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) remain the new hot trend in crypto, and some of its leading players are starting to post extremely impressive revenues. NBA Top Shot, a blockchain-based platform on which users buy and sell officially licensed NBA collectible highlights known as “Moments,” has generated  over $205 million in total sales since going live less than six months ago—with nearly 65% of that total processed in the past week. Furthermore, according to crypto tracker CryptoSlam, Top Shot has done $187.3 million in sales over the past month, an extraordinary rise of 1,197% compared to the prior 30-day stretch.

What’s more, this traction could be just the start. NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs has reportedly begun talks with retired NBA players to secure rights to historical highlights. It has been rumored that the company would like to expand the product to other major professional sports, such as the NFL and MLB.

ELSEWHERE

Bitfinex, Tether settle with New York's Attorney General for $18.5 million [The Block]

Bitcoin Drops Below $45K, Eyes Biggest Weekly Price Loss Since March 2020 [CoinDesk]

Grayscale Considering 23 Cryptocurrencies for New Investment Products [Decrypt]

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