(Bloomberg) — Coinbase Global Inc. has finally climbed back above its direct listing price Friday for the first time in more than two years.
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The company’s stock rose 5.8% Friday to close at $256.62 a share, its highest since December 2021.
When the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange went public in a direct listing in 2021, the reference price was set at $250 per share. Though there was early enthusiasm for the stock — shares rallied to an all-time high close of $350 in November 2021 — they ended their first 12 months of trading down 38%.
Coinbase shares remained under pressure for the next few years as a crypto-winter hit digital tokens and trading platforms came under increased scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the last year, however, Coinbase has ripped higher lifted by the price of Bitcoin, — which surged to an all-time high Friday — and the SEC’s approval of exchange-traded funds that invest directly in the digital asset. Shares of the trading platform are up more than 300% in the last 12 months.
Of course, surpassing the direct listing reference price may not bring much relief to any early investors still holding shares. In its first day of trading in 2021, the stock opened at a price of $381, mostly driven by retail buying, and rallied as much as 13% before falling to end the day lower. Coinbase ended 2022 down 86%.
Still, the stock has been grinding higher along with Bitcoin, the world’s largest crypto based on market value. Even two recent glitches on the platform — within less than a week of each other — which had some individual investors seeing zero balances in their Coinbase accounts hasn’t deterred share growth.
Other crypto-linked stocks have also gotten a lift during the latest jump in Bitcoin’s price. Shares of MicroStrategy Inc. and CleanSpark Inc. are all up on the year, continuing rallies from 2023.
(Updates stock moves at market close.)
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