Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Few people could have predicted the stratospheric progression they have experienced in recent years (and those who did have become millionaires). Since the end of 2020, cryptocurrencies and bitcoin in particular have been grabbing the headlines after reaching all-time highs. Today they make history again thanks to the fact that the cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase is going public.

This American startup is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country. According to Bloomberg data, it was valued at $ 67.6 billion, and Nasdaq set a first reference price of $ 250 per share before debuting on the exchange.

These figures are much lower than those that we have finally seen: a starting price of $ 381, that rose at first almost reaching $ 430, before finally decreasing to $ 328.28, giving the company an estimated market value of 86,000 million. Despite this bittersweet debut, Coinbase is already one of the 85 most valuable companies in the United States.

A promising future lies ahead for one of the few startups to go public with a profit. Last year Coinbase earned $ 322 million, with revenues of $ 1.14 billion. These really high figures have been surpassed during the first quarter of 2021. The cryptocurrency fever has certainly helped Coinbase to reach record levels so far this year. This is shown in the data provided by the SEC (U.S Securities and Exchange Commission):

• $ 1.8 billion in revenue.
• $ 730-800 million in net income.
• $ 223 billion in assets.
• $335 billion in volume of operations.
• 56 million verified users.
• 6.1 million active users.

Revenues for the first quarter are ten times higher than those of 2020.

Without a doubt, the company of Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase) has chosen the right moment for this operation, by taking advantage of the general euphoria for cryptocurrencies. To begin quoting on the stock market, they have opted for the direct listing, instead of an IPO (Initial Public Offering), launching the first major direct listing operation on Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange in the United States after NYSE.

This operation underpins the value of cryptocurrencies. Their new relevance as assets is beginning to cause headaches among the main financial institutions. Gone are the days when bitcoin and other digital currencies were associated with environments of dubious legality, on the deepweb and the hacker world. More and more companies accept bitcoin as a means of payment. Large firms such as Tesla, Microsoft, KFC, Visa, PayPal and Burger King already accept payments with the digital currency. But not only do large companies surf the bitcoin wave: there are many small businesses that are embracing cryptos. You can find them all on Coinmap:

36% of small businesses in the United States already accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.

The consolidation of cryptocurrencies as a regular currency is advancing by leaps and bounds. With a market capitalization that exceeds 2 trillion dollars, their phenomenal success has brought the greatest challenge to the financial system in the last decade. Throughout this year we will analyze the evolution of this trend and how the main central banks face this great challenge.

Will bitcoin become the currency of the future?