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Coinbase yesterday announced its plans involving a proposed private offering of $1.25 billion.

Coinbase revealed plans to release $1.25 billion of convertible debt in a press release published yesterday. The exchange recently went public, and its stock, which has been performing poorly, has managed to trade above the $250 reference price. However, following the announcement that the company was looking for more cash, the stock plunged below the reference price level.

The announcement to roll out a convertible debt deal comes just a week after the company published its first-quarter results that looked very promising. Coinbase reported total revenue of $1.8 billion in Q1 of 2021. In a surprise move, the exchange is set to raise a huge sum by offering convertible senior notes due 2026.

In a statement, the company said, “This capital raise represents an opportunity to bolster Coinbase’s already strong balance sheet with low-cost capital that maintains operating freedom and minimizes dilution for Coinbase’s stockholders.”

Convertible bonds are a type of corporate bond that allow the holders to ask for payment in cash with interest or convert their notes into a predetermined number of common shares in the issuing company. According to a press release, the offering will be private and limited to only institutional investors.

As you’d expect of this type of debt, the company didn’t explain why it was raising funds but noted that proceeds would be used to cover corporate expenses. It appears the market didn’t take the news positively. Coinbase stock price lost 4% on the same day, briefly dropping to a record low of $238 before gaining ground and settling at $248.

The obscure nature of the term has seen many in the crypto community come up with suppositions on why the company is seeking more funds. One of the floated hypotheses is that the exchange is looking to acquire a crypto stash. The basis of this theory is that MicroStrategy followed a similar pattern in February and made a huge Bitcoin purchase afterwards.

The business intelligence firm conducted a $1.05 billion offering of convertible notes early this year. This was followed by an announcement that the company had completed the purchase of over 19,000 bitcoins at a cumulative price of about $1.6 billion. Coinbase isn’t the only company after more funds through the offering approach.

Jack Dorsey’s social platform Twitter also confirmed a convertible note offering in March. The company is reported to have worked out a plan to raise over $1 billion through convertible notes offering. Although it hasn’t divulged what the fund will be used for, there are speculations it may pull a MicroStrategy considering the co-founder’s pro-Bitcoin standpoint.

The post Coinbase Stock Dips After the Company Seeks More Cash appeared first on Coin Journal.

Here are the major stories you may have missed from the cryptocurrency sector this week:

Former Bank of China Governor: China will use its CBDC locally

The former head of the People’s Bank of China stated earlier this week that the country only plans to use its Digital Yuan within China’s borders. Zhou Xiaochuan, the Central Bank’s former boss, stated that China had no intentions of extending the digital currency’s application scope to a global scale.

In Xiaochuan’s opinion, employing the CBDC as a global reserve currency would not be without consequences, especially to the independence of countries’ monetary policies. So far, no confirmation or announcement has been made regarding the schedule for the complete implementation of the Digital Yuan.

However, there are plans to expand the scope of testing the currency, at least according to bank’s Deputy Governor Li Bo. There’s even more need to evaluate the Digital Yuan thoroughly in regards to the cross-border transfers as the country gears up for the Winter Olympics event that has been put off until next year.

It has been barely a month since reports emerged that many departments within the US government were studying the Digital Yuan to see if it threatened the hegemony of the US dollar. In response to these reports, a top ranking official at the Bank of Japan asserted that the claims were false and the Digital Yuan did not pose any threat.

Coinbase Pro adds support for Tether

The recently NASDAQ-listed exchange Coinbase has listed the Tether stable coin on its reserved Pro platform. The Ethereum-based virtual asset is already supported on other blockchains, with Coinbase specifying that it would “only support ERC-20 USDT running on the Ethereum blockchain.”

Pro users will be able to trade several Tether pairs including BTC/USDT, USDT/GBP, USDT/EUR, USDT/USD ETH/USDT, and USDT/USDC.

Tether is currently the largest stable coin by market capital and is pegged to the US dollar with a 1:1 ratio. An audit conducted last month disclosed that the digital asset was fully backed by fiat reserves, despite several reports having suggested otherwise. The stable coin, however, won’t be available to regular users using the standard Coinbase platform.

Uniswap records $10 billion weekly trading volume

Uniswap, the decentralised exchange on the Ethereum network, has recorded another achievement on its trading volume. Uniswap logged a weekly figure of $10 billion, despite the relatively high gas fees on the Ethereum network. Many traders have also flocked to the platform in the last few months, which could imply more growth in the coming days.

The project’s creator, Hayden Adam, posted the achievement on Twitter, observing that the figure had more than doubled in a period of six months. Adam explained that the protocol was on course to hit a record yearly trade volume exceeding $500 billion dollars. The team behind the Protocol is currently preparing for the final launch of Uniswap V3.

This new iteration is expected to improve on the current platform. At present, Uniswap is the leading DEX based on Ethereum. Together with Pancake Swap, which is based on the Binance Smart Chain, the two collectively account for nearly 15% of the total TVL of the DeFi sector.

House of Reps passes legislation to create crypto task force

Congress is making progress in its bid to make the crypto sector better for its US crypto investors. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a legislation to form a working group that will assess current crypto laws. The legislation, titled the Eliminating Barriers to Innovation Act, will now be presented to the Senate and if approved, will be forwarded to the President for the final approval. The Act recommends the creation of a taskforce that will be required to report on the current crypto rules and provide solutions to some questions surrounding crypto regulations.

This taskforce will primarily constitute members from the Commodity Futures Trading Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It will also include other parties such as scholars, investor watchdog groups, companies in the crypto space and entities governed by both regulatory bodies.

Deutsche Boerse Group resumes trading of Coinbase stock

The German Stock Exchange announced it was removing Coinbase from the list of stock on the Xetra digital stock exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange yesterday. The Deutsche Boerse Group explained that the move was because of missing reference data. The exchange has only been public for less than two weeks now and the delisting would be a blow to it.

The Group explained that the reference code used at the time of listing the stock was wrong. The fault on the reference code was described as unintentional and hasn’t been pinned on any party.

Deutsche Boersehas has since reinstated the stock to its offerings, with a spokesperson from Coinbase claiming it the delisting was “an administrative error”.

WeWork makes foray into the crypto sector

The popular US-based office space provider WeWork has confirmed its entry into crypto after announcing it would add digital assets to its books. The firm also disclosed it was partnering with the leading crypto exchange Coinbase and Bit Pay, a payment processing company. It went on to add that Coinbase would lead the way by being the first to settle payment in cryptocurrency.

The commercial real estate company explained it had recognized the growing need for better methods of payment hence the move. The decision comes as more companies start to discover the value of cryptocurrencies mainly due to influence from trailblazers like MicroStrategy and Tesla. WeWork concluded the announcement saying that the adoption of crypto was aligned to its overall goal of helping start-ups.

The post Weekly Report: Uniswap Sets New Record as Coinbase Suffers Setback appeared first on Coin Journal.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed its Coinbase Pro trading platform is adding support for Tether’s USDT stablecoin

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced yesterday it had added support for the Ethereum-based Tether (USDT) stablecoin on its Pro trading platform. The stablecoin also operates on other blockchains such as Tron, but Coinbase Pro has chosen to support the ERC-20 version of the USDT token.

Coinbase said in a blog post, “Starting Today, Thursday, April 22, transfer USDT into your Coinbase Pro account ahead of trading. Support for USDT will generally be available in Coinbase’s supported jurisdictions, with the exception of New York State.”

The crypto exchange said trading with USDT would launch right away as soon as the required liquidity is met. “Please note that Coinbase only supports ERC-20 USDT running on the Ethereum blockchain,” the post added.

Coinbase Pro traders can trade any of these Tether pairs: BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, USDT/EUR, USDT/GBP, USDT/USD and USDT/USDC. Tether (USDT) is a stablecoin pegged to the US Dollar and has a value of 1:1.

It was the first stablecoin launched in the cryptocurrency space (launched in 2014) and remains the largest in terms of market cap. The stablecoin issuer is one of the most controversial cryptocurrency projects in recent history. Tether was accused of artificially inflating Bitcoin’s price during the 2017 bull cycle.

There were claims that the USDT coins are not fully backed by fiat currencies. However, an external audit conducted earlier this year revealed that the stablecoins are fully backed by reserves.

Coinbase further clarified that USDT is not yet available on Coinbase.com or its mobile apps. The exchange will make a separate announcement if and when this support is added.

The post Coinbase Pro lists Ethereum-based Tether (USDT) appeared first on Coin Journal.

The Deutsche Boerse Group to delist Coinbase stock from Xetra digital stock exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange owing to missing reference data

The Deutsche Boerse Group announced yesterday that it is delisting Coinbase’s stock from its markets on Friday, citing missing reference data as the reason for delisting the cryptocurrency exchange,  which went public last week.

According to Reuters, Coinbase’s stocks will no longer trade on the Xetra digital stock exchange nor on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The stock exchange operator said the delisting would be in place until further notice.

The Group stated that when Coinbase’s shares began trading on the platforms, a wrong reference code — a so-called Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) code – was used, albeit accidentally. Deutsche Boerse said it was unsure how the mistake occurred.

The individual reference code is necessary for identification, and is also a regulatory requirement for admission to trading. Deutsche Boerse said, “The only way for Coinbase to resume trading is for the issuer to apply for an LEI.”

Furthermore, Clearstream, a Deutsche Boerse subsidiary and a leading firm in the clearing and settlement of trades, will also stop settling trade in Coinbase shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange from Friday. The firm cited regulatory reasons for this action and said its decision stands unless an accurate LEI is provided.

Coinbase began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange last week amidst a fanfare in the cryptocurrency space. COIN began trading at $380/share,  eventually peaking at $429. However, the stock has struggled since, and ended yesterday’s trading session at $311.92/share.

Coinbase’s listing remains the largest in the cryptocurrency space, with its market cap surpassing the $100 billion mark on its first day of trading. As of today, Coinbase has a market cap of $62.1 billion.

The post German Stock Exchange Delists Coinbase on Missing Reference Data appeared first on Coin Journal.

The flexible space provider WeWork is the latest name to enter the cryptocurrency sector

The US-based commercial real estate company WeWork has confirmed its entry into crypto following an announcement it will be adding crypto to its balance sheets. The company also revealed partnerships with the NASDAQ-listed exchange Coinbase and BTC payment service provider BitPay saying the collaboration will help facilitate crypto transactions.

“Through BitPay, a cryptocurrency payment service provider, WeWork will accept Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), Paxos (PAX), and several other cryptocurrencies as payment for its offerings. WeWork will also hold the currency on its balance sheet,” Business Wire reported.

BitPay chief executive, Stephen Pair, welcomed the partnership in a statement, asserting that the provider intended to transform how individuals and companies made transactions. Pair added that crypto was the future and described the development as ‘an innovative payment option’ that will simplify things for the WeWork community.

WeWork set forth that Coinbase would be the first member company to complete payments in crypto. The global coworking corporation acknowledged the increasing need for better and simpler payment methods citing it as the reason behind the move. It now joins several other companies from different industries that have already introduced crypto on their books. Tesla and MicroStrategy are some of the big names to have previously accomplished it.

Furthermore, the company will settle the payments to associated third-parties using crypto where applicable as well as Coinbase.

Speaking about the decision to enter the crypto sector, the Chief Executive, Sandeep Mathrani, explained that it was in line with the firm’s objective of working together with other Fintech companies.

 “As our member base continues to grow in the FinTech sector, so will our ability to adapt to their needs and service a new economy,” he said. “WeWork has always been at the forefront of innovative technologies, finding new ways to support our members. It only makes sense for us to expand on the optionality we provide by adding cryptocurrency as an accepted form of payment for our members.”

Several companies have been phased out in the past for failing to adapt to the changing times. The decision by the office-sharing and rental business to adopt crypto will, without doubt, help it remain relevant during this period.

The post WeWork adds Bitcoin and crypto payments to its services appeared first on Coin Journal.

It has been yet another exciting week in the cryptocurrency sector, with Coinbase making the news. Here is what you might have missed

Bitcoin flourishes as Ether continues with an uptrend

The two leading cryptocurrencies had quite a week, rising to their highest levels yet. Bitcoin came off the weekend with some slight upward momentum striking $60,000 early on Monday. The flagship cryptocurrency swung around this level for the rest of the day with only occasional minor dips before surging beyond $62,000 and later $63,000 on Tuesday. Bitcoin then rose sharply on Wednesday to set a new all-time high above $64,860.

Ether started the week exchanging hands at around $2,150 before rising to $2,200 on Tuesday. ETH price against the US dollar rallied towards $2,380 on Wednesday, breaking the $2,400 resistance level the next day. The token remained on a bullish run on Thursday, hitting a new high of $2,540 earlier today, according to data from coinmarketcap.

US Government departments assessing China’s digital yuan for any threat

Several government departments in the US are currently looking into the Chinese digital yuan to determine if it may threaten the US dollar. Bloomberg first covered the story of Biden’s administration increasing efforts to understand the Chinese digital yuan that’s currently in the testing phase. The popular news outlet cited unnamed sources who claim that the US is assessing the digital yuan said to pose a threat to the US dollar.

The US Government is keen to ensure the US dollar retains its position as the reference global exchange currency and will do everything to prevent it from being toppled. According to the Bloomberg report published on Sunday, the United States Treasury, Pentagon, National Security Council and State Department are all involved in assessing whether the digital yuan impacts the US Dollar. The departments are also working out how China plans to use the currency and if it will work around sanctions.

Countries in Europe and the US still lag in terms of development of a digital currency. The UK, the US, and other countries have shown interest in a digital currency, but none has made a significant jump towards development yet. The two leading countries in East Asia [China and Japan] have, on the other hand, made considerable progress. China is inching towards launch, whereas the Bank of Japan recently confirmed it had begun conducting trials on its digital yen.

Gary Gensler confirmed as the new SEC chair

Biden’s pick for SEC chair, Gary Gensler, will officially take over reigns at the US Securities and Exchange Commission following a successful confirmation. The former banker and Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair appeared before the Senate last month. He is expected to be sworn in soon and replace Jay Clayton, who resigned last year. Many in the crypto community hope that Gensler will introduce positive change in a sector that has often been found at fault with the Commission.

New York Stock Exchange makes entry into NFTs

The New York Stock Exchange is the latest name to enter the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) space. According to the announcement, the stock exchange operator will develop some NFTs from its notable listings. The New York Stock Exchange communicated that it had chosen six stock listings to mint as a start.

The six featured listings are audio streaming service provider Spotify, data warehousing firm Snowflake, Unity, food delivery company DoorDash, online gaming company Roblox, and e-commerce firm Coupang. The exchange confirmed that it would create more NYSE NFTs by extending the same beyond the aforementioned companies. The created NFTS can be accessed on the crypto trading platform Crypto.com.

The NYSE exchange shared a post on Twitter on Tuesday explaining the importance of NFTs and how these tokens work. NFTs are growing popular by the day as many companies begin to realise their value. Some of the big names already involved in NFTs include Playboy, NBA League, and Christie’s.

Morgan Stanley: Cryptocurrencies won’t be affected by digital currencies

US giant bank Morgan Stanley doesn’t believe CBDCs are any threats to cryptocurrencies. The bank reported that the digital currencies would be practical but they won’t take the place of cryptocurrencies. Many central banks are currently approaching the CBDC subject with a positive mind, with a few in advanced stages of developing them.

The multinational bank argues that cryptocurrencies are not at a risk of being supplanted by digital currencies since the former has many use cases. Morgan Stanley particularly pointed out that cryptocurrencies could serve as a store of value. Combined with their flexibility, the bank asserts it would be difficult for them to be toppled.

As it stands, financial and banking institutions have different stances on cryptocurrencies. A fraction of them has accepted and even adopted crypto in varying degrees, whereas some have continued showing disapproval. Morgan Stanley, on its end, claims that the firms cultivating innovations in this sector will be the ultimate winners.

Coinbase makes trading debut

Coinbase officially went public this week and got listed on the NASDAQ exchange market yesterday. Chief Executive Brian Armstrong revealed plans to go public a while back, and preparations have been going on since then. The US-based stock exchange set an initial reference price figure of $250 for the stock ahead of Coinbase going public.

Coinbase chose the unconventional direct listing approach to go public over the popular initial public offering approach. Some of the other notable companies to adopt this approach are Slack and Spotify. The leading cryptocurrency exchange made its debut at an initial price of $380 that only lasted for a short while. The price quickly surged to $429 per share a few minutes after the listing.

It is reported that Coinbase rewarded each of its employees with 100 shares that translate to $32,100 at the current price of $321.00. The platform is available on the NASDAQ market under the ticker name COIN. Other digital assets exchanges are said to be following the event and could also decide to go public in the future.

The post Weekly Roundup: Coinbase grabs headlines appeared first on Coin Journal.

Coinbase finally listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, trading at an initial price of $380 before soaring to $429 within minutes

Coinbase, one of the largest digital currency exchanges in the world, finally went public yesterday after successfully listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The direct listing follows months of preparation from Brian Armstrong and his team.

Trading under the ticker COIN, Coinbase’s stock began trading at $380 per share. However, it immediately climbed to $429 within a few minutes of listing. The initial trading price of $380 gave Coinbase an initial valuation of roughly $100 billion, making it one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency companies.

Although Coinbase went public via a direct listing and not the traditional initial public offering (IPO), the event still marks a great victory for the cryptocurrency sector. Cryptocurrencies have been gaining institutional and retail interest in recent months, and Coinbase’s listing could signify that the market is slowly going mainstream.

NASDAQ had set an initial reference price of $250. However, COIN began trading at $380 per share and immediately reached a daily high at $429. The cryptocurrency exchange gifted its employees 100 shares each, which became valued at $38,000 as the company went public.

Coinbase’s listing came after it delivered perhaps its best quarter in terms of earnings. The cryptocurrency exchange raked in nearly $2 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2021, surpassing its entire 2020 earnings ($1.3 billion).

Coinbase’s success is tied to the performance of Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies. The crypto market is in an extended bull cycle that has seen the total market cap surpass $2 trillion for the first time earlier this month. Bitcoin is up by more than 500% over the past year, after setting a new all-time high close to $65k this week.

With Coinbase now a publicly-listed company, several other cryptocurrency exchanges could follow suit. Kraken had already revealed its plan to launch an IPO before the end of the year.

The post Coinbase launches on NASDAQ at $380 initial price appeared first on Coin Journal.