Coinbase Global Inc. cryptocurrency platform COIN,
became the most valuable stock exchange in the US on Wednesday, ending the trading day at $ 328.28, valuing the company at nearly $ 86 billion on a diluted basis.
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, the third-largest winner in the NBA, was one of the investors who just cashed in on the Coinbase IPO.
Through their investment company Thirty Five Ventures, Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman invested in Coinbase in 2017. At the time, Coinbase was raising capital for their D-Series financing. This rounding of funding raised over $ 100 million. dollars, at a valuation of $ 1.6 billion, according to business reporter Joe Pompliano.
The company, whose users deal mainly with bitcoin BTCUSD,
and ethereum ETHUSD,
it now has a valuation 53 times higher than it was when Durant invested, signaling a massive jump in the value of his investment.
It’s unclear how much Durant invested in Coinbase in 2017, but has made millions of dollars in the past, such as his $ 1 million investment in Postmates before he sold to Uber UBER,
in 2020. A $ 1 million investment in Coinbase in 2017 would be worth over $ 53 million today.
Durant and Thirty Five Ventures have also invested in several start-ups, including financial services company Acorns, sports organization Andbox and alternative asset management company Alt.
Other notable investors who received the Coinbase IPO were the billionaire PayPal PYPL,
and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, libertarian hedge fund manager turned venture capitalist Dmitry Balyasny, Google GOOG,
GOOGL,
Ventures founder Bill Maris and political strategist and investor Bradley Tusk.
Coinbase Global cryptocurrency shares rose 1.4% on Thursday, and some Wall Street analysts say Coinbase is a buyout.
In Thursday afternoon trading, stock benchmarks such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
gained 282 points, or 0.8%, the S&P 500 SPX index,
trades 42 points higher, a gain of 1%, and the Nasdaq COMP Composite Index,
increases by 160 points or 1.2%.