Cryptocurrencies are hitting record highs ahead of Coinbase going public

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gone on a tear this afternoon, surging to record highs ahead of the direct listing of US crypto exchange Coinbase on the Nasdaq tonight.

The listing is also good news for Westpac and its investment fund, Reinventure, which dropped $50 million investment in Coinbase back in 2015 and could be set to see a 20x return on that investment.

Bitcoin is up nearly 6% in the last 24 hours to a fresh highs above $US64,500, while Ethereum has jumped more than 10% to climb above US$2,391.

The outstanding performer of the last 24 hours has been the joke meme crypto Dogecoin, soaring nearly 80% to US$0.13 cents. It high a fresh all-time high of US11.5c around lunchtime today.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1382170216986120193

Of the top 10 cryptocurrencies, only Tether is in the red from trading today.

Cryptocurrencies prices on Weds, Apr 14, in AUD. Source: Coinbase.

The frenzy comes ahead of the tonight’s Nasdaq listing of Coinbase, with many believing it will hit the market with a valuation higher than Airbnb, which was worth US$91 billion when it went public last December.

While Nasdaq.com set a reference price for Coinbase of US$250 per share, valuing the business at nearly US$50 billion, it’s no more than a benchmark for performance when the stock starts trading.

The Nasdaq noted that Coinbase shares traded above US$343 on a volume-weighted average price privately during first quarter of 2021 and the company says they’ve been as high as $375.

Many are expecting Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) to be worth $100 billion on listing – a figure that would give Westpac’s Reinventure a windfall of more than $900 million.

Some analysts have put a $600 estimate on $COIN’s share price.

Another Australian company that’s done well out of Bitcoin’s rise today is ASX-listed DigitalX (ASX:DCC), which saw its share price skyrocket 37.88% to $0.091 at market close on Wednesday, having released its Bitcoin exposure this morning.