Insider activity reports for Coinbase\u2019s COIN stock indicate that multiple early investors and executives dumped billions in equity shortly after COIN\u2019s direct listing, with at least one C-suite director cashing out their stake in the cryptocurrency exchange entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Data from Capital Market Laboratories and confirmed by filings on Coinbase\u2019s Investor Relations website shows a total of 12,965,079 shares sold by insiders, worth over $4.6 billion at COIN\u2019s $344.38 per share Friday close. <\/p>\n
Notable transactions include Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas selling all of her 255,500 shares at a price of $388.73, while CEO Brian Armstrong sold 749,999 shares in three transactions at various prices, netting a total of $291,827,966. He retains 300,001 shares worth over $1 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Capital Market Laboratories’ data did not indicate that any directors or insiders purchased additional shares, only sold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sales prompted jeering and amusement on social media, with many observers likening the sales to a classic \u201cpump and dump\u201d\u00a0in which insiders and team members dump tokens into retail liquidity shortly after a listing. <\/p>\n
While early investors and executives looked to cash in, there are at least a handful of major buyers. Hedge fund manager Cathie Wood is placing a big bet on the exchange, having purchased over $350 million in shares for three different Ark ETFs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Likewise, many Coinbase employees now have stake in the company, as 1,700 Coinbase staff were gifted 100 shares each as a \u201cthank you\u201d from the company. <\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Coinbase was embroiled in a string of negative headlines relating to CEO Brian Armstrong’s handling of a new policy that restricted focus on political and social issues at work. Armstrong insisted that the company remain “mission focused,”\u00a0and the company’s mission includes a goal of becoming \u201cthe leading global brand for helping people convert digital currency into and out of their local currency.\u201d<\/p>\n