The Under-Appreciated Significance of Coinbase Going Public Once the Coinbase registration statement becomes effective and Coinbase shares trade publicly, a sea change will have occurred in the US without most people recognizing it. Part of that unacknowledged difference will be the broader awareness of blockchain and cryptoasset trading it brings. It is both novel and important to have a public company dedicated to the emerging technology and the markets it creates. It is cool that Coinbase founders, employees, and early investors will get rewarded for seeing the future before the rest of the world. No doubt the event augers well for other blockchain and cryptoasset companies going public. Oh, and Coinbase is doing it by direct listing, rather than an old-fashioned underwritten offering or new-fangled SPAC.