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They are trying to "Exit". That is what they call a IPO or a Sale in startups. They get paid with cash, then they buy houses, stocks, bitcoin, cars with that ca

They are trying to "Exit". That is what they call a IPO or a Sale in startups. They get paid with cash, then they buy houses, stocks, bitcoin, cars with that cash. The "Mission" of Coinbase exists because they don't want to say "Our mission is to build a 100 billion dollar company and then cash out" it sounds better and feels better to say that you are democratizing and decentralizing power for the people.

vmception 6y ago
A direct listing is markedly different than an IPO or sale. It should just be added to your list of examples.
dehrmann 6y ago
Especially when you're running a company that facilitates the exchange of high-price trading cards. If those cards are popular and expensive, and the market thinks you're worth 22% as much as JP Morgan, it's a great time to cash out. They might be eyeing a direct listing because institutional investors know that price is ridiculous, but also because they see Coinbase as something of a competitor, so the only interest will be from retail investors.
- silexia 6y ago
  The three comments preceding mine are brilliant at cutting through the pump and dump hype around Coinbase.
- alasano 6y ago
  If somehow you could dissociate the tech from the currency aspect, would you still qualify cryptocurrencies as "high-price trading cards"? I wonder because where some people are attracted to crypto because of the monetary gain and then learn about the technology, others are turned off by the constant focus on the $ value and then don't learn about the technology. I truly find it fascinating to imagine our future running on a crypto layer. I'm not talking about bitcoin specifically due to its inherent limitations (which may or may not be bypassed through second layer solutions). But playing around with some of the DeFi stuff, seeing directed acyclic graph ledgers perform at 10k tps and seeing projects which truly can bring value to people really gets me hyped about these things working seamlessly together. The internet is not worth a lot because of the protocols underneath it but because of what people have built on it over the years. These various cryptocurrencies interacting with each other more and more gives me the same impression. Every boom/bust cycle crypto goes through brings in more creativity from people who are building on this new world and I have trouble finding fault with it. Would love to hear some arguments on how this view of things could be biased or perhaps wrong.
  - ErikAugust 6y ago
    What projects do you believe truly can bring value to people?
TheBlight 6y ago
Both can be true. ie. wanting to build something cool and potentially good for society while also enjoying the fruits.
- bob33212 6y ago
  Certainly. Just look at some of the people on Etsy. Some of them are pure artists who do what they do because they love it, not because they were hoping become a 100M brand some day. Some of them make good money because their products are so great and unique. But those same people are generally not looking to sell their company.
  - TheBlight 6y ago
    You don't think an Etsy artist who became popular enough to hire employees and make a large brand would ever sell shares of their business? Or is that type of Etsy user immoral/incorrect? Not clear to me what point you're making here.
    - bob33212 6y ago
      Why did they create their Etsy store? Was it to make as much money as possible? If the goal is just to make money then they should cash out at the peak of their brand.
      - TheBlight 6y ago
        What I meant to convey with my original reply is that making as much money as possible and trying to improve society aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Then you proceeded to seemingly present a mutual exclusion of either someone making art for art's sake or making art simply to make as much money as they can.
        bob33212 6y ago
        You can only have one #1 priority. Maybe following your #2 priority helps achieve #1. Is that what you are saying? Selling a Crypto Company for Fiat makes Crypto more legit?
mikkelam 6y ago
Ah the unspoken words of most startups. No one will ever admit to it, but too many are conceited in their quest. I don't see anything wrong with it, but the status quo is that building a company has to be a true calling to change the world.

vmception 6y ago

A direct listing is markedly different than an IPO or sale. It should just be added to your list of examples.

dehrmann 6y ago

Especially when you're running a company that facilitates the exchange of high-price trading cards. If those cards are popular and expensive, and the market thinks you're worth 22% as much as JP Morgan, it's a great time to cash out. They might be eyeing a direct listing because institutional investors know that price is ridiculous, but also because they see Coinbase as something of a competitor, so the only interest will be from retail investors.

silexia 6y ago
The three comments preceding mine are brilliant at cutting through the pump and dump hype around Coinbase.
alasano 6y ago
If somehow you could dissociate the tech from the currency aspect, would you still qualify cryptocurrencies as "high-price trading cards"? I wonder because where some people are attracted to crypto because of the monetary gain and then learn about the technology, others are turned off by the constant focus on the $ value and then don't learn about the technology. I truly find it fascinating to imagine our future running on a crypto layer. I'm not talking about bitcoin specifically due to its inherent limitations (which may or may not be bypassed through second layer solutions). But playing around with some of the DeFi stuff, seeing directed acyclic graph ledgers perform at 10k tps and seeing projects which truly can bring value to people really gets me hyped about these things working seamlessly together. The internet is not worth a lot because of the protocols underneath it but because of what people have built on it over the years. These various cryptocurrencies interacting with each other more and more gives me the same impression. Every boom/bust cycle crypto goes through brings in more creativity from people who are building on this new world and I have trouble finding fault with it. Would love to hear some arguments on how this view of things could be biased or perhaps wrong.
- ErikAugust 6y ago
  What projects do you believe truly can bring value to people?

TheBlight 6y ago

Both can be true. ie. wanting to build something cool and potentially good for society while also enjoying the fruits.

bob33212 6y ago
Certainly. Just look at some of the people on Etsy. Some of them are pure artists who do what they do because they love it, not because they were hoping become a 100M brand some day. Some of them make good money because their products are so great and unique. But those same people are generally not looking to sell their company.
- TheBlight 6y ago
  You don't think an Etsy artist who became popular enough to hire employees and make a large brand would ever sell shares of their business? Or is that type of Etsy user immoral/incorrect? Not clear to me what point you're making here.
  - bob33212 6y ago
    Why did they create their Etsy store? Was it to make as much money as possible? If the goal is just to make money then they should cash out at the peak of their brand.
    - TheBlight 6y ago
      What I meant to convey with my original reply is that making as much money as possible and trying to improve society aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Then you proceeded to seemingly present a mutual exclusion of either someone making art for art's sake or making art simply to make as much money as they can.
      - bob33212 6y ago
        You can only have one #1 priority. Maybe following your #2 priority helps achieve #1. Is that what you are saying? Selling a Crypto Company for Fiat makes Crypto more legit?

mikkelam 6y ago

Ah the unspoken words of most startups. No one will ever admit to it, but too many are conceited in their quest. I don't see anything wrong with it, but the status quo is that building a company has to be a true calling to change the world.