Coinbase from YC to DPO • Hacker News Board

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#571

Post by sdenott » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:51 PM UTC

rgifford wrote: post #385

The NYSEs parent company Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) is worth 66.40B. Today's IPO puts Coinbase at 100B+. The NYSE has been in operation since 1817. Coinbase has been in operation since 2012. The value of all crypto is Trading fees in the crypto-world are getting more competitive as more established players support crypto. I don't see a defensible market position here, let alone established track record or st…

No retail investor has accounts directly with the NYSE. Coinbase directly holds the customer relationship and if more government regulation comes down on crypto it will be a better moat for them against competitors.

I think Coinbase may still be overvalued but don't think it is directly comparable to NYSE or other major exchanges.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#572

Post by GordonS » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:51 PM UTC

llamataboot wrote: post #515

Compare Coinbase to say a major exchange like the NYSE. Realize that crypto is a space that could be damaged by gov intervention at any time. Realize that there is very little lock in effect on these markets, and fees are becoming less and less over time. How does Coinbase ever manage to justify a valuation this high? 100B.... Ping me when the stock price is under $100.

I'm not so sure. Western governments could had intervened and banned or heavily regulated crypto currencies at any time over the past several years. In particular, the Silk Road and Alpha Bay take-downs would have been the perfect opportunities - but they didn't take them.

Now we have crypto currency companies floating as public companies, and others (e.g. Tesla) heavily invested, speculatively, in Bitcoin - maybe crypto currency had now reached a point where it's too big to fail?

OTOH, some western governments and their security apparatus are all-in on mass surveillance and privacy invasion, and they are going to hate any real degree of currency anonymity, so more regulation could still be on the cards, but perhaps in (secret) consultation with the likes of CoinBase. The likes of Monero and Zcash are likely targets.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#573

Post by asenna » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:53 PM UTC

yumraj wrote: post #103

Fede_V wrote: post #35

I'm horrendously worried about crypto gaining more marketshare as long as proof of work crypto remains mainstream. It has significantly worse externalities than just about any company I can think of (including defense contractors/vaping companies), and, if it grows larger before we have clean energy, then we virtually guarantee we won't be able to tackle global warming. We are going to bestow a world that will be sig…

My biggest worry with Coinbase IPO is that it will become too big to ban, as now it will impact the stock market and not just the minority few who own it.

Are you also worried Facebook and Google have become too big to ban?

I don't get this logic.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#574

Post by fukmbas » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:54 PM UTC

llamataboot wrote: post #515

Compare Coinbase to say a major exchange like the NYSE. Realize that crypto is a space that could be damaged by gov intervention at any time. Realize that there is very little lock in effect on these markets, and fees are becoming less and less over time. How does Coinbase ever manage to justify a valuation this high? 100B.... Ping me when the stock price is under $100.

It's a bubble just like every other valuation. Writing is on the wall...valuations, stocks, cars, houses skyrocketing...wages stagnant. Something has to give

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#575

Post by tibiahurried » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:57 PM UTC

As many other recent IPO, this valuation is just out of this world. Also, Coinbase is not the only player in the space. Many also use Binance.us; it offers stacking, cheaper fees and usually lists more alt coins.

I must admin that I bought my first cryptos on Coinbase but soon realized how expensive it was and looked for alternatives.

I don't understand what is so unique about Coinbase and why this insane valuation. I am skeptical and not going to buy, at least not at this price.

Long term I expect exchanges to having to drop fees like stock exchanges. At that point, unless they can offer juicy interests rates like Celsius, how would they make money ?

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#576

Post by mrb » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

Nitpick: this was not an IPO, but a DPO (Direct Public Offering). In other words no new capital was raised today. Coinbase's existing shareholders (investors and employees) were simply allowed to sell their shares on the public market.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#577

Post by Animats » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

Remember how cryptocurrencies were supposed to eliminate the need for intermediaries who added cost to transactions?

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#578

Post by thebean11 » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

fuzzer37 wrote: post #544

mtnGoat wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do you really think if the sh*t hit the fan? the entire BTC network and the internet at large would still be working for you to transfer these units around? this to me is where the comparison to gold falls off. i can hold physical gold and silver and trade it at will even without power, pricing updates, etc. this does not apply to crypto. considering cutting internet access is now a normal thing during unrest, being…

The people who say that bitcoin is going to be useful when "shit hits the fan" have a very very specific definition of shit hitting the fan that is just so unrealistic.

Like hyperinflation and an economic crash? I'm not convinced either will happen, but they seem squarely within the realm of possibility.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#579

Post by ProAm » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

eloff wrote: post #464

Aunche wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spotify and Slack went public through direct listings as well.

Yeah, I wonder if this will become a trend. I always thought the underwriting agency in an IPO was a form institutional gate keeping / toll booth on the road to going public.

It will be a trend for heavy VC funded companies that are not really profitable (not speaking about Coinbase specifically). DPO's allow VC to recoup investments at around the 10 year mark for company's that do not make financial sense on paper.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#580

Post by mensetmanusman » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

llamataboot wrote: post #515

Compare Coinbase to say a major exchange like the NYSE. Realize that crypto is a space that could be damaged by gov intervention at any time. Realize that there is very little lock in effect on these markets, and fees are becoming less and less over time. How does Coinbase ever manage to justify a valuation this high? 100B.... Ping me when the stock price is under $100.

Governments love crypto because it is easier to track than cash once it is used for a fiat exchange. Not sure why they would be against it.