Bitcoin surges to a new all-time high above $63,000 as Coinbase set to debut
As investors awaited the highly-anticipated stock market debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high of $63,236 on Tuesday.
According to data from Coin Metrics, the price of bitcoin climbed as high as $63,236 before dropping slightly to around $62,877. It was last up about 5% in the last 24 hours.
Ether, also set a fresh record, climbing to $2,230.
Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has more than doubled in price as mainstream investors jumped into cryptocurrencies. Tesla recently made a $1.5 billion bet on bitcoin and now accepts the digital currency as a method of payment for its cars. While Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are looking to offer their wealthy clients some exposure to bitcoin.
On Wednesday, Coinbase will go public through a direct listing that could value the company at as much as $100 billion — more than major trading venue operators like Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange.
Crypto investors are hailing Coinbase stock market debut as a major milestone for the industry after years of skepticism from Wall Street and regulators.
“This is really good and really important for the industry,” Marcus Swanepoel, CEO and co-founder of London-based cryptocurrency platform Luno, told CNBC. “It’s going to increase the trust and transparency in our industry.”
“There’s still a bit of distrust in the industry and I think having a company of that size be public is going to help a lot of people realize that this is not just an asset class to take seriously but also a business to take seriously.”
Coinbase, founded in 2012, is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States.
Its revenues have been rising this year as a result of the surge in the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The company reported estimated revenues of $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021, a nine-fold increase from the same period a year earlier, while profits grew to between $730 million and $800 million.
Source: CNBC
